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UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
AT  LOS  ANGELES 


MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 


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MODERN  METHODS 
OF  CHARITY 


An  Account  of  the  Systems  of  Reliefs  Public 

and  Private,  in  the  Principal  Countries 

Haviitg  Modern  Methods 


BY 

CHARLES  RICHMOND  HENDERSON 

ASSISTED  BY  OTHERS 


THE   MACMILLAN   COMPANY 

LONDON:  MACMILLAN  &  CO.,  Ltd. 
1904 

■^U  rights   reserved 


Copyright,  1904 
By  the  MACMILLAN  COMPANY 

Set  up  and  electrotyped.     Published  December.  1904 


The  Mason  Press 
Syracuse,  New  York 


H38 


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f  CONTENTS 

^       Preface vii 

Tables  of  Money  Values xiii,  xiv 

!)/ 

V  PART  I 

)'  COUNTRIES  WITH  DEVELOPED  SYSTEMS  OF  PUBLIC  RELIEF 

NORTHERN  EUROPE  AND  AMERICA 

CHAPTER  I 
Germany i 

CHAPTER  H 
Austria-Hungary 76 

<                                                  CHAPTER  in 
%^        Switzerland 138 

J  CHAPTER  IV 

The  British  Empire: 

Section  i — England 165 

Section  2 — Scotland 235 

Section  3 — Ireland 272 

Section  4 — India 287 

Section  5 — Australasia 302 

Section  6 — Canada 316 

CHAPTER  V 
Holland 332 

V 


yl  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  VI 
Sweden  and  Norway 35° 

CHAPTER  VH 
Denmark 3^3 

CHAPTER  VHI 
The  United  States  of  America 380 

PART  II 

LATIN  COUNTRIES 

CHAPTER  IX 
France 512 

CHAPTER  X 
Italy 556 

CHAPTER  XI 
Belgium 610 

PART  III 

CHAPTER  XII 
Russia 631 

PART  IV 

CHAPTER  XIII 
The  Jews. 

Section  i  —European 656 

Section  2— American 676 

Bibliography 689 

Index 703 


PREFACE 

Since  the  appearance  in  1870  of  the  valuable  work  of  Emming- 
haus  on  Poor-Relief  in  the  Different  Countries  of  Europe,  we 
have  no  compendium  which  presents  the  essential  features  of 
public  and  private  charity  in  the  Western  world,  and  important 
changes  have  occurred  since  that  volume  was  published.  A  com- 
parative treatment  of  this  subject  is  desirable  for  students,  prac- 
tical workers  and  travelers  who  visit  institutions  and  need  to 
"orient"  themselves  in  each  land.  The  editor's  experience  as  a 
university  teacher,  as  a  lecturer  before  mixed  audiences  and  as 
an  executive  officer  in  a  metropolitan  society  of  charity  organiza- 
tion has  brought  this  need  very  vividly  and  constantly  before 
his  mind.  Ignorance  of  what  other  people  are  doing  means 
blundering  experiment,  opinionated  obstinacy  in  antiquated 
methods,  and  waste  of  energy  and  resources. 

Thoughtful  actors  in  philanthropy  are  not  seeking  an  atomic 
mass  of  isolated  facts  or  personal  tricks  of  benevolent  invention, 
but  general  laws,  rational  results  of  experience  and  reflection 
which,  like  valuable  merchandise,  will  bear  transportation  over 
sea.  Gossip  is  for  the  idle  hour  and  the  winter  fireside;  science 
is  the  common  theme  of  the  republic  of  letters  and  the  fraternity 
of  competent  leaders, — current  as  pure  gold  even  when  melted 
down  and  coined  in  different  mints.  Emerson,  in  his  Represen- 
tative Men,  said:  "1  go  to  a  convention  of  philanthropists. 
Do  what  I  can,  I  cannot  keep  my  eyes  off  the  clock.  But  if  there 
should  appear  in  the  company  some  gentle  soul  who  knows  little 
of  persons  or  parties,  of  Carolina  or  Cuba,  but  who  announces 
a  law  that  disposes  of  these  particulars,  and  so  certifies  me  of 
the  equity  which  checkmates  every  false  player,  bankrupts  every 
self-seeker,  and  apprises  me  of  my  independence  on  any  condi- 
tions of  country,  or  time,  or  human  body,  that  man  liberates  me ; 
I  forget  the  clock."     The  comparative  method  of  dealing  with 


Vlll 


PREFACE 


isolated  phenomena  of  the  same  class  leads  by  the  most  direct 
path  to  the  discovery  of  the  law,  the  principles  of  explanation  and 
the  principles  of  regulation  and  progress. 

"We  know  that  science  is  the  handful  of  ultimate  principles 
gathered  out  of  the  tufted  mass  of  facts;  but  what  gropings  to 
discover  them !  Centuries  of  research  are  often  condensed  into 
a  principle  that  a  line  may  state. "^ 

The  attempt  has  been  made  to  present  facts  without  bias, 
yet  with  careful  selection  of  phenomena  which  seem  to  be  really 
significant  and  decisive.  In  each  chapter  will  be  found,  in  very 
condensed  form  of  statement,  the  facts  relating  to  the  extent  of 
each  kind  of  social  need,  the  law  governing  state  activity  on  be- 
half of  the  classes  of  dependents,  the  methods  of  public  organiza- 
tion and  administration,  the  cooperation  of  public  and  voluntary 
agencies,  the  provision  made  for  defectives,  helpless  children  and 
misguided  youth,  and  the  recent  ministrant  functions  of  govern- 
ments which  have  a  tendency  to  diminish  appeals  to  charity. 

Quite  as  important  are  the  facts  relating  to  the  judgments  of 
experts  in  each  country,  and  considerable  space  has  been  given 
to  these.  Popular  opinions,  sentiments  and  prejudices,  even 
superstitions  are  often  influential ;  as,  for  example,  the  crude 
religious  feelings  which  maintain  the  custom  of  indiscriminate 
almsgiving  and  the  survival  of  street  mendicancy.  When  the 
opinions  are  those  of  persons  with  scientific  education,  modern 
ideals  and  long  practical  experience,  they  are  facts  of  positive 
value.  The  recommendations  of  bodies  of  experts,  made  after 
protracted  and  repeated  discussion,  even  if  they  have  not  yet  been 
adopted  in  customs,  regulations  and  laws,  have  a  claim  to  be  con- 
sidered;  they  also  are  social  facts. 

Naturally  interest  in  such  practical  subjects  culminates  in 
the  induction  of  a  judgment  called  a  "social  imperative,"  be- 
cause the  ultimate  object  of  the  entire  investigation  is  the  founda- 
tion of  principles  and  rules  for  the  guidance  of  conduct.  The 
reader  has  a  right  to  ask  at  each  step:  What  of  it?  How  does 
all  this  array  of  facts  teach  us  to  make  a  more  economical  use  of 
public  and  private  gifts  to  the  poor?  Are  there  any  guiding  max- 
ims which  will  help  the  benevolent  visitor  and  administrator  to 
mitigate  suffering,  relieve  distress,  restore  lost  self-respect  and 

'  Charles  Wagner,  The  Simple  Life,  p.  19. 


PREFACE 


IX 


courage,  save  children  from  growing  up  paupers  and  criminals, 
and  preserve  the  race  from  degeneration?  Such  are  the  ques- 
tions which  serious  minds  asic  in  the  presence  of  this  inquiry. 
And  the  materials  here  brought  together  from  thousands  of 
sources  and  from  all  the  most  advanced  nations  of  the  earth  have 
a  message  of  guidance  as  well  as  of  explanation,  sympathy  and 
hope. 

There  are  social  imperatives  and  they  lift  themselves  com- 
mandingly  above  the  ranges  of  phenomena.  Reason  working 
upon  this  vast  body  of  experience  arrives  at  conclusions  which, 
though  not  absolutely  final  for  all  ages  and  lands,  are  relatively 
valid  for  given  conditions.  European  civilization  has  not 
emerged  from  centuries  of  struggle  with  error  and  poverty  with- 
out results,  and  it  does  not  turn  a  face  of  stone  to  the  duty  of  the 
immediate  future.  A  survey  of  the  phenomena  here  placed  in 
order  for  comparison  reveals  certain  tendencies  of  expert  judg- 
ment which,  within  the  limits  of  our  conditions,  are  reliable  and 
authoritative.  If  the  metaphysician  scorns  these  judgments  as 
lacking  in  the  sublime  qualities  of  eternity,  universality  and  ab- 
soluteness, we  can  at  least  affirm  that  they  are  useful  and  neces- 
sary, even  morally  obligatory,  in  our  time  and  in  countries  with 
European  civilization. 

One  who  reads  the  descriptions  and  analyses  of  the  various 
systems  of  charity  will  naturally  receive  two  apparently  contra- 
dictory impressions, — one  of  differences  and  the  other  of  like- 
nesses of  methods.  Deeper  than  all  superficial  variations  and  re- 
semblances are  the  general  and  permanent  causes  which  are  at 
work  in  all  countries  and  the  principles  of  administration  which 
underlie  all  systems,  whether  public  or  private. 

Some  readers  are  very  much  tempted  to  look  for  what  is 
startling  and  extraordinary,  therefore  the  exceptional.  Only 
the  unusual  and  the  rare  seems  to  them  interesting.  This  child- 
ish state  of  mind  is  one  effect  of  excessive  newspaper  reading, 
where  the  sensational,  the  striking,  the  astounding  is  made  con- 
spicuous on  the  front  page,  with  all  the  help  of  stunning  scare- 
heads,  red  ink,  caricatures  and  cartoons. 

Yet  the  differences  of  methods  are  instructive  and  should  be 
noted.  They  are  due  to  diverse  stages  of  development,  differ- 
ences in  climate  and  productions,  racial  traits,  political  history, 


X  PREFACE 

religious  and  educational  institutions.  If  there  were  no  differ- 
ences it  would  not  be  necessary  to  give  a  separate  chapter  to 
each  country.  But  variations  themselves,  with  sufficient  knowl- 
edge, may  be  traced  to  the  working  of  general  forces  acting  by 
law.  Nothing  is  accidental  or  isolated  from  the  broad  stream  of 
social  evolution.  We  have  not  treated  the  unlikenesses  scien- 
tifically so  long  as  we  simply  observe  them,  wonder  at  them,  and 
fail  to  bring  them  under  some  wide  principle. 

In  the  discovery  of  likenesses  we  are  on  the  track  of  provis- 
ional generalizations  and  safe  deductions.  In  all  civilized  countries 
which  have  become  rich  enough  to  afford  the  luxury  a  dependent 
group  appears.  When  the  domestic  group  no  longer  suffices  for 
support,  and  slavery  or  serfdom  has  been  abolished,  the  liberated 
laborer  becomes  free  to  be  a  pauper.  The  parent,  slaveholder  or 
landlord  transfers  responsibility  to  the  commune  or  the  nation. 
As  modern  societies  differentiated  and  developed  their  political 
and  ecclesiastical  organizations  the  question  of  division  of  labor 
and  burden  pressed  for  answer.  The  gradual  separation  of 
church  and  state  in  modern  times  required  an  adjustment.  Gen- 
erally speaking  the  nations  of  Europe  of  the  Latin  type  of  insti- 
tutions have  laid  emphasis  on  private  and  ecclesiastical  agencies, 
while  the  Germanic  peoples  have  required  their  governments  to 
provide  systems  of  relief.  But  the  tendency  is  very  manifest  to 
extend  the  political  activity  up  to  the  point  where  every  citizen 
is  provided  by  law  with  what  is  actually  necessary  to  maintain 
existence.  Even  in  Italy  and  France  this  tendency  has  grown 
stronger  in  recent  years. 

Gradually  it  has  been  made  evident  that  public  and  private 
charity  are  not  rivals  but  parts  of  one  system,  and  that  they  com- 
plement each  other,  both  being  necessary.  Hence  there  are 
everywhere  efforts  to  define  the  appropriate  fields  of  pul)lic  and 
cf  private  agencies  and  to  promote  a  good  understanding  and 
effective  cooperation  between  them. 

Without  attempting  in  a  formal  way  to  restate  the  principles 
which  have  emerged  from  ])ractice  and  reflection  we  may  refer 
to  topics  which  are  treated  with  some  degree  of  fullness  in  sev- 
eral chapters.  Thus  the  principle  of  individual  treatment  of  de- 
pendent persons  and  families  is  at  the  basis  of  the  methods  of 
the  German  municipal  systems,  of  the  Catholic  Societies  of  St. 


PREFACE 


XI 


Vincent  of  Paul  and  of  the  British  and  American  Charity 
Organization  Society. 

The  recent  methods  of  deahng  with  foundHngs  are  the  result 
of  failure  and  success,  of  blundering  good  intention  and  of  exact 
scientific  experiment.  The  ancient  turning  cradle  has  almost 
disappeared;  the  medical  men  have  drawn  up  rules  for  diet  and 
care ;  the  law  grows  more  strict  in  the  enforcement  of  parental 
responsibility;  the  administration  of  relief  seeks  to  save  mother 
with  and  by  means  of  the  child. 

Modern  medical  charity  has  called  to  its  help  the  discoveries 
of  laboratory  and  hospital ;  has  created  the  new  profession  of  the 
trained  nurse ;  has  utilized  the  entire  range  of  sanitary  and  hy- 
gienic precepts. 

In  all  countries  a  strenuous,  hopeful  and  effective  warfare  has 
been  carried  on  against  consumption,  the  physicians  and  admin- 
istrators forming  a  holy  alliance  with  charity  workers. 

In  all  countries  where  cities  and  industries  have  developed 
with  unparalleled  rapidity,  and  the  individual  person  and  family 
is  dependent  on  social  conditions,  the  necessity  for  a  preventive, 
protective  and  prophylactic  policy  has  come  to  distinct  recogni- 
tion. Of  this  tendency  toward  providence  and  far  vision  of  the 
future  this  volume  contains  numerous  and  significant  illustra- 
tions. 

The  care  of  the  insane  has  been  based  on  accepted  principles, 
as  freedom  from  restraint,  adequate  service  of  trained  attendants, 
purely  medical  control. 

A  note  of  explanation  is  necessary  to  make  clear  the  share  of 
the  labor  done  by  the  different  persons  whose  names  appear  in 
connection  with  this  volume.  First  is  placed  the  name  of  Dr.  E. 
Miinsterberg,  City  Councillor  and  Director  of  Poor-Relief  in 
Berlin,  one  of  the  first  authorities  in  the  world  in  this  field. 
Without  having  his  consent  to  use  the  materials  which  he  has 
been  for  many  years  collecting  and  interpreting,  the  preparation 
of  this  volume  within  any  reasonable  time  would  have  been  very 
difffcult.  Owing  to  the  pressure  of  his  offfcial  duties  Dr.  Miin- 
sterberg could  not  take  direct  part  in  the  preparation  of  this  book 
nor  in  shaping  its  final  form.  He  must  not  be  held  responsible 
for  more  than  is  indicated  in  this  statement ;  but  it  would  be 
impossible  to  state  too  strongly  my  sense  of  gratitude  for  his 


Xll 


PREFACE 


generous  and  patient  interest  in  the  work  and  his  help  in  most  of 
the  chapters. 

In  order  to  fill  the  gaps  in  the  materials  and  to  present  the 
story  while  it  is  fresh  from  life  and  its  facts  still  significant,  it 
was  necessary  to  secure  a  great  deal  of  assistance  in  the  labor 
of  translating,  recomposition,  discovery  of  recent  changes,  and 
consulting  hundreds  of  documents,  reports,  articles  and  books 
bearing  on  the  subjects.  The  editor  invited  to  this  task  of  co- 
operative toil  several  3'oung  scholars  and  trusted  students  of  for- 
mer days  who  now  occupy  honorable  and  useful  positions  as 
teachers,  administratrators  and  writers.  Their  names  are  printed 
in  connection  with  the  chapters  which  they  wrote  or  to  which 
they  contributed. 

The  editor  has  written  certain  chapters  and  carefully  exam- 
ined every  line  and  every  word  in  the  articles  furnished  by  others. 
While  no  pains  have  been  spared  to  make  every  statement  abso- 
lutely reliable,  errors  have  probably  crept  into  the  text,  and  the 
editor  will  be  grateful  to  any  person  who  will  call  them  to  his 
attention. 

The  editor  takes  this  most  suitable  occasion  to  thank  the 
host  of  kind  fellow  workers  and  students  who  have  for  thirty 
years  past  helped  him  collect  materials  for  this  volume.  In  the 
United  States,  in  Canada,  in  England  and  in  many  places  in  Con- 
tinental Europe  where  he  has  come  as  a  stranger  to  the  busy  and 
burdened  superintendents  of  institutions  he  has  found  a  sincere 
and  friendly  welcome,  he  has  been  supplied  with  information, 
and  from  every  place  has  carried  away  pleasant  and  grateful 
memories.  Reports  and  documents,  copies  of  forms,  letters  on 
specific  phases  of  work  are  in  his  library  from  all  parts  of  the 
world.  Only  a  small  part  of  this  material  could  be  reproduced 
in  a  volume  like  this  one,  and  the  task  of  selection  and  rejection 
was  by  no  means  easy. 

It  would  be  natural  to  inquire  the  reason  for  many  omissions, 
for  example,  the  charity  methods  in  Spain,  Portugal,  Greece.  In 
some  instances  satisfactory  materials  could  not  be  obtained. 
The  Romance  countries  seemed  to  be  represented  in  Italy, 
France,  Belgium  and  the  French  and  Italian  cantons  of  Switzer- 
land. 

CHARLES  RICHMOND  HENDERSON. 

The  University  of  Chicago,  September,  1904 


TABLE  OF  MONEY  VALUES 


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XIV 


TABLE  OF  MONEY  VALUES 


PART  I 

COUNTRIES  WITH  DEVELOPED  SYSTEMS  OF  PUBLIC 
RELIEF— NORTHERN  EUROPE  AND  AMERICA. 

CHAPTER  I. 

GERMANY 

BY    C.   R.    HENDERSON 

In  mediaeval  times  the  church  was  the  social  organ  for  relief  of 
the  destitute,  those  who  were  not  supported  by  family  or  landlord. 
Religious  belief  expressed  itself  in  the  casual  gifts  to  beggars  and 
suffering  neighbors,  in  the  parish  relief  administered  by  priests,  and  in 
the  contributions  to  those  who  thronged  the  doors  of  monasteries  in 
times  of  misery.  Everywhere  the  ancient  local  communal  bond  was 
recognized  even  under  ecclesiastical  organizations,  on  the  basis  of  ter- 
ritory and  possessions. 

In  the  cities  after  the  Reformation  poor  relief  was  the  affair  of  the 
commune  which  was  regarded  as  at  once  civil  and  ecclesiastical,  and  in 
this  local  circle  outsiders  and  homeless  wanderers  had  no  recognized 
rights.  During  the  terrible  Thirty  Years'  War  all  the  institutions  of 
assistance  went  to  ruin  with  other  social  organizations.  Upon  the 
heels  of  devastating  wars  followed  the  world-plague  of  beggary.  To 
repress  the  insistent  demands  of  the  hordes  of  mendicants  the  author- 
ities resorted  to  severe  and  cruel  measures, — incarceration,  flogging, 
branding  with  hot  iron,  slavery.  Only  gradually  were  humane  and 
discriminating  methods  introduced,  and  a  distinction  made  between 
the  public  unfortunates  and  the  sturdy  rogues 

Since  the  right  to  relief  could  be  asserted  only  by  a  member  of  a 
narrow  commune,  one  was  a  fugitive  if  he  became  sick,  crippled  or 
destitute  in  any  other  commune  of  his  country.  There  was  no  national 
system.     If  a  man  attempted  to  beg  he  was  driven  away,  and  it  was 


2  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

even  difficult  to  secure  employment  when  local  craftsmen  were  jealous 
of  their  market.  Nothing  remained  but  to  perish  in  misery  or  join 
thieves  and  robbers. 

It  was  found  in  the  process  of  time  and  trial  that  cruel  and  repress- 
ive measures  against  beggary  were  ineffectual.  Men  must  live  in 
some  way,  and  if  not  wisely  helped  they  will  help  themselves.  When 
the  police  become  cruel  the  pity  of  the  people  is  aroused  and  indis- 
criminate alms  defeat  the  law.  Some  method  of  sifting  the  unfor- 
.  tunate  poor  from  the  vagabonds  must  be  found. 

Modern  industrial  conditions  compel  men  to  move  from  place  to 
place  according  to  the  demand  for  labor  and  commodities,  and  the 
market  of  a  village  is  quite  apt  to  be  the  capital  city  or  a  foreign  coun- 
try. No  longer  are  all  a  man's  customers  and  employers  found  in  the 
circle  of  his  acquaintances  and  neighbors.  Hence  any  workman  is 
liable  to  find  himself  a  stranger,  sick  or  injured,  robbed,  penniless  in 
a  place  distant  from  home.  The  system  of  relief  must  recognize  the 
new  economic  situation. 

The  political  conditions  have  also  changed ;  and  the  local  township 
has  come  to  be  a  part  of  a  state,  and,  since  1870,  each  state  a  member 
of  the  Empire,  in  which  each  citizen  of  a  parish  has  the  rights  of  a 
German  citizen  wherever  he  travels ;  and  among  his  rights  is  that  to 
relief  when  in  dire  need. 

The  poor  law  must  find  a  way  to  decide  the  strife  of  interests  of  the 
communes.  If  a  commune  is  required  to  relieve  its  own  members  it  is 
not  willing  to  spend  its  income  on  citizens  born  elsewhere.  And  a 
commune  in  which  a  pauper  was  born  is  unwilling  to  receive  him  back 
after  long  years  of  absence  in  a  place  where  he  has  spent  the  produc- 
tive years  of  his  life,  only  to  carry  his  weight  in  useless  old  age.  The 
place  of  birth  alone  could  not  fix  the  ground  for  settlement,  and  corre- 
sponding right  to  relief ;  only  the  place  where  a  man  has  lived,  labored 
and  reared  a  family  can  be  regarded  as  really  his  home.  Modern 
German  legislation  has  accepted  in  a  modified  form  the  right  of  relief 
at  home ;  and  home  is  defined  to  be  the  locality  where  a  man  has  resided 
for  a  reasonable  length  of  time,  during  which  he  has  become  incor- 
porated in  the  life  of  the  community,  and  has  lost  all  real  connection 
with  his  former  home,  if  he  had  lived  elsewhere.  This  place  where  a 
German  citizen  may  appeal  for  relief  in  distribution  is  called  the 
"relief  residence"  (Unterstiitciingswohnsitc). 

The  North  German  Federation  first  introduced  a  general  law  on 


GERMANY  ^ 

this  subject;  but  it  was  one  of  the  first  acts  of  the  great  German 
Empire,  June  i,  1870,  to  enact  a  law  protecting  its  weakest  citizen  in 
every  part  of  the  realm.  Bavaria  and  Alsace  have  their  own  methods  ; 
the  former  being  very  near  the  new  German  law  and  the  latter  having 
a  voluntary  system  inherited  from  its  earlier  French  connection. 

The  first  requirement  of  this  law  (not  essentially  modified  by  the 
later  legislation  of  March  12,  1894)  is  that  a  German  citizen  must  be 
helped  in  his  misery  where  he  chances  to  be  at  the  moment ;  and  later 
it  will  be  determined  who  will  pay  the  cost, — whether  another  com- 
mune, or  the  state,  or  the  Empire,  or  some  sick-benefit  fund,  or  a  trade 
union.  This  temporary  assistance  is  a  duty  of  the  commune  where 
the  disaster  falls,  and  the  administration  of  the  relief  is  a  civil  duty  of 
the  local  officials  for  the  poor.  The  district  thus  liable  is  the  local 
poor  union  (Ortsarmenverband) .  When  it  comes  to  the  question  who 
shall  pay  for  the  outlay  the  "relief  residence"  is  decisive.  The  prin- 
ciple obtains  that  every  German  citizen  enjoys  such  settlement  who 
after  his  eighteenth  year  has  resided  continuously  two  years  in  a  given 
place  and  during  that  time  has  not  received  relief.  A  woman  shares 
the  settlement  of  her  husband,  and  children  have  that  of  the  parents. 
If  a  person  has  been  absent  more  than  two  years,  after  reaching  the 
eighteenth  year  of  age,  without  remaining  in  any  one  commune  long 
enough  to  obtain  a  settlement  there,  then  the  state  or  province  must 
assume  the  burden.  The  district  thus  liable  is  called  a  provincial  poor 
union  {Landcsarmenverhand) .  The  district  which  supplied  the  tem- 
porary relief  in  distress  is  repaid  its  costs  by  the  district  which  is 
legally  liable.  The  law  also  provides  for  the  erection  of  institutions 
by  the  united  means  and  efforts  of  several  poor  districts ;  as  for  the 
insane,  the  defectives,  etc. 

B.^  In  order  to  understand  German  poor  relief  we  must  call  to 
mind  the  fact  that  throughout  Germany,  with  the  exception  of  Alsace- 
Lorraine,  the  care  for  the  poor  is  made  a  legal  obligation.  This 
obligation  is  enjoined  upon  communes,  municipalities,  and  communal 
corporations  in  the  way  just  described.  Assistance  granted  to  foreign- 
ers invariably  falls  back  upon  the  state.  This  system  of  reimburse- 
ment, it  must  be  distinctly  understood,  is  merely  a  financial  measure 
for  the  purpose  of  equalizing  the  burdens  of  poor  relief  among  the 
several  communities ;  it  does  not  give  to  the  poor  any  legal  right  to 

^Dr.  E.  Munsterberg,  American  Journal  of  Sociology,  January,  March,  1897. 


4  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

claim  the  aid  of  a  district.  Whether,  in  any  individual  case,  aid  is 
really  necessary,  and  of  what  kind,  and  in  what  amount, — all  of  these 
questions  are  decided  by  the  authorities  in  whose  district  the  applicant 
is  living.  Complaint  because  of  the  refusal  of  aid  can  be  registered 
only  with  the  officers  of  relief,  not  in  a  court  of  law. 

In  view  of  the  great  variety  of  organizations  for  poor  relief,  the 
poor  laws  are  content  to  make  one  general  requirement,  viz.,  that  aid 
is  to  be  granted  in  case  of  need,  within  the  range  of  necessity.  Details 
as  to  plan  of  work,  organization,  etc.,  are  left  for  each  community  to 
decide  for  itself.  In  what  manner  the  work  is  to  be  carried  on  must 
be  determined  by  local  conditions,  such  as  the  wealth  of  the  church  and 
ecclesiastical  orders,  the  wealth  of  the  community  at  large,  the  extent 
of  the  population,  and  the  administrative  system  underlying  the  work. 
In  smaller  communities  and  less  densely  populated  localities,  where 
the  entire  field  can  be  easily  surveyed,  a  moderate  fund  is  raised  for 
charitable  purposes,  the  dispensation  being  left  entirely  in  the  hands  of 
a  salaried  official  (mayor  or  alderman).  Occasionally  we  find  a  com- 
munity possessing  such  liberal  endowments  that  public  relief  is  hardly 
necessary.  In  the  poorer  rural  districts  people  generally  prefer  to 
furnish  their  dependents  provisions  and  necessaries  of  life,  or  give 
them  a  home  in  the  poorhouse.  In  medium  sized  places  (cities  of 
20,000-100,000),  however,  as  well  as  in  large  cities  (of  over  100,000 
inhabitants),  a  particular  organization  becomes  necessary,  which  is 
generally  quite  separate  from  the  strictly  administrative  machinery, 
and  is  met  with  under  such  names  as  Armenveriualtung,  Armendirec- 
tion,  Armcnhchorde,  and  the  like.  Among  the  latter  we  may  distin- 
guish three  principal  methods.  First :  the  director  of  the  Armenvcr- 
waltiing,  generally  the  mayor  or  some  member  of  the  local  adminis- 
tration, examines,  usually  through  paid  officials,  every  application  for 
aid ;  these  officials  report  on  the  case  and  thus  reach  a  decision.  This 
is  now  the  least  common  method,  all  more  important  relief  authorities 
having  dropped  it.  Second :  the  administrative  board  has  a  number 
of  unpaid  assistants  ;  to  each  of  these  is  assigned  one  or  two  small  dis- 
tricts, within  which  he  is  to  examine  carefully  all  cases  of  poverty  and 
distress  that  may  occur ;  his  findings  he  reports  to  the  board,  usually 
with  some  suggestion  or  recommendation  as  to  the  kind  of  aid  to  be 
granted ;  the  decision  of  this  matter,  however,  rests  with  the  board. 
Third  :  the  board  has  the  entire  business  management  in  its  hands ;  the 
individual  cases  are  divided  among  a  number  of  honor  offices ;  the 


GERMANY  5 

holders  of  these  offices  not  only  examine  and  report  on  cases  in  their 
charge,  but  also  determine  what  relief  measures  are  to  be  employed, 
and,  if  the  case  does  not  require  hospital  care  or  removal  to  an  insti- 
tution, they  even  apply  the  remedy  themselves  and  assume  a  sort  of 
guardianship  over  the  dependents  during  the  time  they  receive  aid. 
This  is  the  method  now  most  generally  in  use ;  it  is  based  on  the  prin- 
ciple of  the  Elberfeld  system,  that  the  unpaid  official  must  be  held 
responsible  for  the  resources  which  the  community  places  at  his  dis- 
posal for  the  work.  Following  the  example  of  Elberfeld,  nearly  all 
the  cities  of  the  Rhine  have  adopted  this  system,  while  many  other 
large  cities  have  reestablished  or  revived  it,  as  Hamburg  did.  The 
old  charity  system  of  the  city  of  Hamburg,  superseded  in  1893  by  the 
present  one,  was  organized  by  Biisch  and  Voigt  at  the  end  of  the 
eighteenth  century,  and  was  received,  at  the  time,  with  a  great  deal  of 
well-deserved  admiration.  It  was  based  on  entirely  similar  principles. 
The  fundamental  principle  of  the  Elberfeld  system  might  also  be 
expressed  thus  :  thorough  examination  of  each  individual  dependent, 
continued  careful  guardianship  during  the  period  of  dependence,  and 
constant  effort  to  help  him  regain  economic  independence.  But  these 
requirements  can  be  fulfilled  only  through  the  assistance  and  coopera- 
tion of  a  sufficient  number  of  well-qualified  persons.  And  the  great 
results  the  Elberfeld  system  has  attained  must  be  attributed  largely  to 
its  success  in  regulating  and  keeping  alive  this  cooperation.  The  first 
experiments  along  this  line  were  made  at  the  beginning  of  this  century 
in  the  form  of  an  organization  of  municipal  charities,  including  all 
religious  denominations ;  its  purpose  was  in  the  first  place  to  check 
indiscriminate  almsgiving,  thus  diminishing  the  great  evil  of  men- 
dicity, and  at  the  same  time  to  take  the  place  of  ecclesiastical  poor 
relief,  which  no  longer  sufficed.  Here,  already,  the  principle  of  thor- 
ough examination,  careful  guardianship,  and  continued  assistance  was 
established.  But  in  practical  administration  the  greatest  difficulty 
was  experienced  because  of  the  small  number  of  helpers  at  command 
and  their  insufficient  organization.  Then  the  number  of  helpers  was 
increased,  they  were  divided  among  the  local  districts,  and  their  duties 
defined  as  those  we  have  indicated.  But  the  successful  working  of 
this  arrangement  was  again  curtailed  and  hampered  by  the  fact  that 
the  helpers  remained  mere  investigators  and  reporters,  the  decision  as 
to  manner  and  amount  of  the  aid  to  be  granted  still  remaining  in  the 
hands  of  the  supervising  board.     The  evils  which  it  was  intended  to 


6  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

combat  were  not  remedied,  the  poor  taxes  increased,  the  number  of 
beggars  was  on  the  increase,  and  the  ideas  of  the  poor  regulations 
were  not  carried  out.  It  remained  for  a  citizen  of  Elberfeld  to  dis- 
cover the  proper  method,  estabhshing  the  personal  responsibility  of 
the  helpers.  Thus  a  great  advance  was  made  toward  the  solution  of 
one  of  the  most  important  problems  of  poor  relief,  viz.,  the  proper 
relation  between  donor  and  recipient.  In  this  spirit  the  reorganization 
was  effected,  at  Elberfeld,  in  1852.  We  recognize  in  the  reorganiza- 
tion three  points  of  importance  :  (0)  individualization,  (b)  the  visitors 
have  a  voice  in  the  determination  of  means,  (c)  decentralization. 
The  first  is  attained  by  a  division  of  the  entire  city  into  quarters,  such 
that  each  shall  not  contain  more  than  four  dependents  (individuals  or 
heads  of  families),  and  the  placing  of  each  quarter  under  the  super- 
vision of  a  visitor.  The  visitor  {Armenpfleger)  is  the  chief  organ  of 
poor  relief;  it  is  his  duty  to  visit  the  poor  of  his  quarter  at  regular 
intervals,  to  keep  himself  constantly  informed  as  to  their  circum- 
stances, and  to  exert  an  educational  and  refining  influence  over  them 
and  their  families.  He  is  to  be  their  friend  and  adviser,  and  is  to 
insist  on  discipline  and  order.  Ill-disposed  and  lazy  persons  it  is  his 
duty  to  report  to  the  authorities  for  legal  prosecution.  The  arrange- 
ment which  gives  the  visitors  the  decision  as  to  manner  and  amount  of 
the  aid  is  this :  The  quarters  are  grouped  into  circuits  or  districts ;  the 
visitors  of  a  circuit  have  regular  meetings  for  the  purpose  of  discuss- 
ing the  work,  taking  counsel,  and  deciding  on  the  amount,  the  kind, 
and  duration  of  the  assistance  to  be  given.  At  the  head  of  each  such 
circuit  there  is  a  superintendent  or  inspector  (Vorstehcr),  who  pre- 
sides over  and  directs  the  proceedings  of  the  circuit  and  negotiates 
between  the  visitors  and  the  central  board.  The  central  administra- 
tive board  (Hauptz'cnvalfiing)  is  composed  of  a  representative  of  the 
city  administration  (Stadtvcnvaltuug)  and  of  members  of  the  city 
council.  It  has  charge  of  the  general  direction  of  poor  relief,  the 
control  of  the  decisions  and  resolutions  of  the  circuits,  the  making  of 
general  regulations  affecting  all  quarters,  the  supervision  of  institu- 
tional and  hospital  relief,  etc.  Moreover,  it  is  the  duty  of  this  central 
board  to  search  out  the  causes  of  poverty,  to  acquaint  itself  with  the 
conditions  of  the  poorer  classes,  to  prepare  and  direct  measures  of  a 
general  nature,  to  see  that  the  means  at  disposal  are  wisely  used, — in 
short,  to  attend  to  everything  not  directly  connected  with  passing  upon 
the  individual  cases.     Their  control  over  the  proceedings  of  the  circuit, 


GERMANY  7 

therefore,  does  not  imply  a  suspicious  scrutinizing  of  each  individual 
case,  but  is  merely  to  give  them  an  opportunity  to  see,  in  a  general 
way,  that  the  principles  laid  down  in  the  poor  laws  are  being  carried 
out.  The  validity  of  the  decisions  of  the  circuit  is  not  dependent  on 
the  approval  of  the  board. 

With  the  single  exception  of  the  chairman  of  the  general  board, 
who  usually  belongs  to  the  higher  class  of  salaried  municipal  officials, 
all  the  offices,  those  of  the  board,  the  superintendents,  and  the  visitors, 
are  purely  honor  offices.  The  members  of  the  general  board  are 
chosen  by  the  municipal  council,  the  remaining  officials  by  the  board ; 
and  all  are  obliged  to  perform  the  duties  of  their  respective  offices 
without  any  remuneration.  This  is  in  accord  with  the  entire  system 
of  German  self-government,  which  makes  a  large  number  of  offices 
purely  honorary ;  especially  is  this  true  of  their  system  of  poor  relief. 
And  the  peculiarity  of  this  latter  system  is  that,  contrary  to  the  custom 
of  other  forms  of  self-government,  the  offices  are  not  limited  to  per- 
sons who  have  already  won  the  greatest  respect  of  their  community,  or 
who  are  made  prominent  by  reason  of  wealth  or  social  position,  or  who 
may  have  leisure  to  attend  to  the  duties  of  an  honor  office.  Here  we 
find,  on  the  contrary,  that  all  classes  of  citizens  are  drawn  into  the 
service,  and  that  a  special  effort  is  made  to  enlist  the  citizens  of  modest 
means,  the  tradesman,  the  mechanic,  and  the  better  class  of  laborers  as 
visitors.  Experience  has  proved,  beyond  a  doubt,  that  circuits  made 
up  entirely  of  helpers  from  the  upper  classes  distribute  their  funds  far 
more  lavishly  than  those  composed  of  helpers  of  all  classes,  and  that 
helpers  drawn  from  the  upper  classes  too  easily  lose  their  sympathy 
with  their  wards,  from  whom  they  are  socially  too  far  removed. 
Moreover,  both  at  Elberfeld  and  in  other  cities,  it  has  become  a  tacitly 
accepted  custom  that  the  office  of  a  visitor  in  the  poor  relief  depart- 
ment is  the  first  round  in  the  ladder  of  municipal  honor  offices  ;  and  no 
one  can  reach  the  upper,  more  highly  esteemed  positions,  who  does 
not  begin  on  the  bottom  round. 

The  machinery  we  have  thus  described  is  complemented  by  a 
thoroughlv  organized,  well-regulated  business  management.  This  is 
composed  of  a  number  of  salaried  officials  forming  a  division  of  the 
general  board,  whose  work  supplements,  in  a  variety  of  ways,  that  of 
the  honor  offices.  It  is  their  duty  to  gather  statistics  concerning  each 
individual  receiving  aid,  to  collect  these  statistics  in  books  and  papers, 
so  that  they  will  be  easily  accessible  to  anyone  desiring  information 


g  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

concerning  a  particular  person.  It  is  also  their  duty  to  examine  the 
proceedings  of  the  circuits,  and  to  bring  to  the  notice  of  the  general 
board  any  faults  that  may  be  discovered.  The  object  of  all  this,  how- 
ever, is  not  to  control  or  direct  the  work  of  the  visitors,  but  to  supple- 
ment it ;  but  without  this  cooperation,  supervision  and  mediatory  inter- 
position there  would  be  no  decentralization,  but  the  exact  opposite ;  for 
the  independence  of  the  several  circuits  would  lead  to  entire  arbitrari- 
ness, to  a  dangerous  inequality,  and  the  system  would  be  lost.  Finally, 
it  may  be  added  that  the  work  of  all  these  offices,  the  general  board, 
the  superintendents,  the  helpers,  and  the  business  management,  must 
be  carefully  regulated  by  wise  poor  laws  and  by  instructions.  These 
must  furnish  a  good,  reliable  guide  to  a  judicious  performance  of  duty, 
without  curtailing  in  the  least  the  freedom  of  decision  in  a  particular 
case.  The  value  of  good  directions  can  never  be  overestimated.  Lack 
of  them  and  dependence  upon  the  good  sense  and  good  will  of  the 
various  officials  may  entirely  frustrate  the  accomplishment  of  the 
desired  results.  To  draw  up  proper  regulations  and  directions,  with- 
out going  too  much  into  minute  details,  and  to  carefully  adapt  them  to 
a  local  environment  will  always  be  the  most  important  part  of  the 
preparation  for  a  reform  of  poor  relief. 

The  fact  already  brought  out,  that  there  are  general  fixed  laws 
governing  poor  relief,  which  should  be  applied  under  all  circum- 
stances, is  to  be  considered  in  the  light  of  what  we  have  just  said  in 
regard  to  the  adaptation  of  these  laws.  Nothing  could  be  more  sense- 
less than  to  attempt  to  introduce  the  Elberfeld  system,  without  making 
material  changes  in  it,  into  all  communes,  even  into  all  German  com- 
munes. To  begin  with,  there  is  a  vast  difference  between  the  sizes  of 
the  several  communes.  A  measure  that  would  be  wise  in  a  city  of 
even  100,000  inhabitants  might  not  be  a  success  in  Berlin,  with  about 
two  millions  of  people  in  the  city  and  suburbs.  Hamburg,  with  its 
600,000,  occupies  a  position  between  the  two ;  likewise  Dresden,  Leip- 
sic,  Munich  and  other  cities.  Besides  this  the  class,  the  kind  of  popu- 
lation makes  a  very  material  difference.  While  Elberfeld  has,  on  the 
whole,  a  settled  population,  composed  largely  of  skilled  laborers,  the 
surrounding  districts,  with  their  mining  and  manufacturing  industries, 
are  inhabited  by  a  very  fluctuating  population  which  makes  vastly 
different  demands  upon  relief  work.  The  agricultural  East  has  quite 
other  needs  in  this  line  than  the  industrial  West.  Wherever  the 
growth  of  our  modern  cities  creates  special  labor  districts,  where  a 


GERMANY  g 

single  house  often  shelters  a  colony  of  paupers,  the  Elberfeld  quarter 
system  cannot  work;  moreover,  it  would  be  very  difficult  to  find  a 
sufficient  number  of  helpers  in  such  a  district,  and  the  fundamental 
idea  of  the  Elberfeld  system,  that  of  maintaining  friendly,  neighborly 
relations  between  the  helper  and  fellow-men,  is  almost  entirely  lost; 
for  the  constantly  shifting  population  renders  the  establishment  of 
such  relations  well-nigh  impossible.  On  the  other  hand,  the  system  of 
administration  is  of  importance.  Where  all  or  nearly  all  the  officers 
are  salaried  and,  as  a  consequence,  the  work  tends  to  become  formal 
and  methodical,  it  should  be  quickened  by  the  institution  of  honor 
offices.  Where,  as  in  Hamburg, — and  in  this  respect  Hamburg  prob- 
ably comes  nearer  the  American  form  of  government  than  any  other 
German  city, — the  local  government  has  for  centuries  controlled  all 
public  offices,  and  has  never  paid  any  of  its  poor  relief  officials  except 
the  lowest  clerks, — here  it  was  found  necessary  to  add  a  number  of 
more  highly  trained  officials.  Perhaps  it  is  for  this  very  reason  that 
the  Hamburg  reforms  excited  a  considerable  interest  in  America, 
because  it  not  only  attempts  an  appropriate  reform  of  the  general 
system  of  poor  relief,  but  also  seeks  to  harmonize  the  work  of  the 
professional  (salaried)  officers  and  that  of  the  honor  offices,  and  to 
supplement  the  one  by  the  other. 

The  deficiency  of  the  Hamburg  poor  relief  arose  mainly  from  the 
fact  that  the  relief  work  had  not  kept  pace  with  the  growth  of  the  city ; 
the  boundaries  of  the  old  quarters  remained  unchanged,  while  the 
number  of  visitors  was  not  increased.  The  result  was  that  a  single 
visitor,  as  a  rule,  had  from  20  to  30  cases  in  charge ;  in  some  districts 
the  number  ran  as  high  as  40-50,  and  in  a  few  even  to  70-80.  It  will 
be  readily  seen  that  one  who  undertakes  the  duties  of  a  visitor  besides 
his  regular  business  or  trade  cannot  give  40  or  even  20  persons  or 
families  sufficient  attention  to  thoroughly  understand  and  constantly 
oversee  their  circumstances,  to  say  nothing  of  his  being  their  friend 
and  adviser,  and  performing  the  most  important  social  function,  that 
of  a  helper.  And  as  a  matter  of  fact  the  work  of  the  visitor  had,  with 
a  few  praiseworthy  exceptions,  become  limited  to  the  receiving  of 
applications  for  assistance  and  a  more  or  less  careful  examination  at 
the  time  of  the  granting  of  the  first  aid.  But  then  the  aid  once  granted 
was  usually  paid  year  after  year,  without  a  renewed  investigation ;  and 
in  the  first  year  after  the  reorganization  it  was  found  upon  investi- 
gation that  in  nearly  5,000  of  the  9-10,000  cases  then  receiving  aid  the 


lO  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

assistance  was  no  longer  necessary.  The  principal  type  of  this  class' 
were  widows  with  several  children.  At  the  time  of  the  death  of  their 
husbands  they  were,  indeed,  entirely  helpless ;  but  after  a  lapse  of 
some  ten  years,  during  which  their  children  had  grown  up,  they  were 
very  well  able  to  support  themselves  without  any  assistance  whatever, 
and  in  some  of  these  cases  the  joint  earnings  of  several  children  living 
with  their  mother  were  found  to  exceed  considerably  the  income  of  the 
better  class  of  laborers.  Another  respect  in  which  the  old  system  of 
Hamburg  was  deficient  was  this  :  the  records  and  other  such  materials 
were  not  collected  at  one  central  office.  The  result  was  that  as  soon  as 
an  indigent  pauper  became  reasonably  well-known  in  one  part  of  the 
city  and  was  no  longer  believed  to  be  in  need  of  support,  all  he  had  to 
do  was  to  move  to  another  part  of  the  city,  there  to  receive  aid  again, 
instead  of  being  legally  prosecuted.  In  addition  to  this  the  super- 
intendent of  the  circuit  was  overburdened  with  much  unnecessary 
clerical  work,  which  would  have  been  far  better  done  by  professionals. 
All  this  led  to  contradictions  in  the  work  of  the  several  circuits,  to  dis- 
similarity and  inequality  in  the  application  of  the  poor  laws,  careless- 
ness and  lack  of  control  in  the  business  management,  and  together 
with  these  all  of  the  other  evils  which  are  wont  to  result  from  careless 
and  planless  charity  :  money  was  often  squandered  on  people  who  were 
either  unworthy  or  not  in  need ;  worthy  poor,  who  were  too  backward 
to  apply  to  the  independent  helpers  for  aid,  were  neglected  ;  poor  judg- 
ment was  often  shown  in  giving  money  instead  of  provisions,  or  alms 
instead  of  work,  or  in  supporting  the  parents  instead  of  placing  their 
child  in  an  orphanage  or  other  institution,  etc.  In  spite  of  all  this  it 
must  be  said  that  in  Hamburg  the  system  of  honor  offices  rests  upon 
such  venerable  traditions  that  the  sense  of  responsibility,  in  many 
cases,  was  very  strong,  and  the  abuses  were  not  nearly  so  great  nor  so 
numerous  as  might  have  been  expected.  Nevertheless  the  grievances 
were  sufficient  to  convince  all  judicious  minds  of  the  absolute  necessity 
of  a  thorough,  energetic  reform.  This  view  was  very  materially 
advanced  by  the  publications  and  assemblies  of  the  German  Society 
for  Poor  Relief  and  Philanthropy,  which,  like  the  National  Conference 
of  Charities  and  Correction,  seeks  to  disseminate  correct  principles  of 
poor  relief  and  philanthropy. 

The  reform  was  begun  in  the  fall  of  1892  by  the  employment  of  an 
expert.^     This,  however,  had  absolutely  no  connection  with  the  break- 
*  This  was  Dr.  E.  Mijnsterberg. 


GERMANY  II 

ing  out  of  the  cholera  the  same  fall,  frequent  public  statements  to  the 
contrary  notwithstanding.  The  reform  and  the  calling  of  an  expert 
had  been  decided  upon  long  before  the  cholera  broke  out,  although  the 
two  events  were  contemporaneous.  And  yet  the  cholera  did  have  a 
considerable  influence  upon  the  development  of  poor-relief  in  the  suc- 
ceeding years  of  the  reform.  In  the  first  place,  the  epidemic  showed 
that  public  relief  was  by  no  means  able  to  meet  the  demands  of  such 
an  emergency,  thus  deepening  the  conviction  of  the  necessity  of  a 
reform  and  giving  the  work  the  benefit  of  favorable  public  sentiment. 
In  the  second  place,  however,  the  distress  created  a  need  for  speedy 
and  more  extended  relief  work  than  even  a  well-organized  public  relief 
could  have  furnished.  As  a  result  sub-committees  were  promptly 
organized  in  each  of  the  smaller  districts  of  the  city,  for  such  work  as 
providing  boiled  water,  provisions,  clothing,  and  gifts  of  money,  find- 
ing temporary  homes  for  children,  and  supervising  the  distribution  of 
the  abundant  stores  which  flowed  in  from  all  directions,  even  from 
foreign  lands.  The  whole  of  this  work  was  under  the  superintendence 
of  a  central  committee  composed,  besides  a  few  leading  spirits,  of  the 
chairmen  of  the  sub-committees.  In  spite  of  the  mistakes  made  by 
these  committees,  principally  at  the  start,  they  performed  most  extraor- 
dinary services  in  supplying  rapid  and  suitable  relief.  A  very  large 
number  of  men  and  women  devoted  themselves  to  the  work  in  the 
most  unselfish  manner,  and  during  this  brief  period  learned  more 
about  poor-relief  and  philanthropy  than  long  years  of  experience  in 
connection  with  public  relief  or  private  philanthropic  societies  could 
teach.  For  the  reform,  the  importance  of  this  work  lay  in  the  fact 
that  it  convinced  all  classes  of  the  necessity  of  relief  work,  and  brought 
out  and  even  distinguished  a  large  number  of  persons  hitherto  entirely 
unknown  in  this  work,  to  whom  the  directors  of  relief  work  could 
successfully  appeal,  when,  a  little  later,  the  reformed  system  was  in 
need  of  a  force  of  auxiliaries.  This  circumstance,  therefore,  was  very 
favorable  to  the  success  of  the  reform.  True,  the  cholera  did,  on  the 
other  hand,  create  conditions  which  were  far  from  normal,  and  w^hich, 
at  the  outset,  severely  obstructed  the  work.  The  great  increase  in  the 
number  of  dependents  was  brought  about  not  by  actual  needs  alone, 
and  the  loss  to  many  of  their  supporters,  but  also  by  the  fact  that  many, 
while  all  kinds  of  assistance  were  so  freely  given,  learned  to  like  such 
subsidies,  and  supposed  they  were  now  going  to  continue  indefinitely. 
The  first  step  in  the  introduction  of  the  reform  was  the  working  out  of 


12  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

a  plan  which  should  at  the  same  time  take  advantage  of  the  most  recent 
scientific  and  practical  experience,  and  be  adapted  to  local  conditions. 
The  first  of  these  requirements  made  the  resulting  system  a  modifica- 
tion, agreeing  with  the  Elberfeld  system  principally  in  the  entire  inde- 
pendence of  the  visitors,  while,  in  compliance  with  the  second,  the 
independence  of  the  districts  was  extended  in  many  ways  ;  for  instance, 
they  were  given  the  right  of  nomination  for  the  offices  of  superintend- 
ent of  a  district  and  of  new  helpers  and  visitors ;  the  appointment  to 
both  these  offices  being  usually  the  prerogative  of  the  general  manage- 
ment. The  choice  of  a  temporary  superintendent  or  chairman  was 
left  entirely  to  the  districts  ;  moreover,  they  were  given  a  considerable 
power  to  vote  aid. 

The  quarter  system,  on  the  other  hand,  which  is  characteristic  of 
the  Elberfeld  system,  was  dropped  on  principle ;  it  was  also  found 
necessary  to  drop  their  system  of  granting  aid  for  a  very  brief  period 
only.  The  principal  advantage  of  the  quarter  system  lies  in  the  fact 
that  each  dependent  is  from  the  start  in  definite  relations  to  a  par- 
ticular helper,  in  whose  "quarter"  he  lives,  the  quarter  being  very 
closely  defined  within  certain  streets  and  house  numbers  ;  the  visitor  is 
therefore  able  to  keep  very  fully  informed  of  the  conditions  in  his 
quarter ;  he  can,  within  the  range  of  the  few  houses  allotted  to  him, 
find  out  every  case  that  may  demand  his  attention,  and  come  in  contact 
with  the  poor  of  his  quarter  frequently  and  in  many  dififerent  ways. 
The  disadvantages  are  these :  a  given  case  must  of  necessity  remain 
always  under  the  same  visitor ;  under  circumstances  a  sort  of  protec- 
torate is  developed;  and  (especially)  an  approximately  even  distribu- 
tion of  the  population  among  these  quarters  has  ceased.  Frequently 
certain  houses  are  occupied  almost  solely  by  the  poorer  class,  while 
others  do  not  contain  a  single  dependent.  It  is  therefore  possible 
under  this  system,  and  it  actually  did  occur  in  Hamburg,  that  some 
visitors  had  in  charge  houses  containing  fifty  to  sixty  paupers,  while 
others  never  saw  anyone  in  need.  Hamburg,  therefore,  as  well  as 
Berlin,  Leipsic,  and  Dresden,  had  adopted  the  district  system  {Bezirks- 
system).  Here  the  district  includes  quite  a  number  of  streets  and 
places.  The  district  assembly  or  council  is  made  up  of  the  district 
superintendent  or  chairman  (B eairksvorsteher)  and  a  number  of  vis- 
itors, varying  with  the  needs  of  the  district — usually  not  under  twelve, 
under  no  circumstances  more  than  twenty.  But  none  of  these  visitors 
has,  at  the  outset,  any  relation  to  a  particular  house  or  its  occupants. 


GERMANY 


13 


On  the  contrary,  every  applicant  for  aid  must  first  present  himself  to 
the  district  chairman  (Vorsteher),  who  refers  him,  by  means  of  an 
application  blank,  to  one  of  his  helpers ;  this  helper,  then,  is  obliged  to 
examine  into  the  case,  supply  any  urgent  and  immediate  need,  and 
report  at  the  next  district  assembly.  Usually  the  case  will  be  left  in 
his  charge  for  further  treatment  as  long  as  the  dependent  continues  to 
reside  in  his  district ;  the  case  may,  however,  be  given  to  another  vis- 
itor for  further  treatment.  The  advantage  of  this  dividing  of  depend- 
ents among  the  several  helpers  by  the  superintendent  lies  in  the  fact 
that  the  latter  can  employ  all  his  helpers,  not  only  in  the  same  degree, 
but  also  each  one  according  to  his  ability,  without  giving  to  all  an 
equal  number  of  cases.  He  will  be  able  to  give  one  living  very  near  at 
hand  more  cases  than  he  gives  to  one  living  at  some  distance,  more  to 
a  man  of  considerable  leisure  than  to  a  very  busy  man ;  to  entrust  to 
some  very  energetic  person  the  investigation  of  a  case  demanding  a 
great  deal  of  energy,  and  to  refer  cases  of  aged  people  or  children, 
where  a  tender  heart  is  not  so  likely  to  be  taken  undue  advantage  of, 
to  some  tender-hearted  person.  Thus  a  superintendent  is  able  to 
meet  every  need  of  a  case,  and  at  the  same  time  to  prevent  the  over- 
burdening of  particular  helpers.  He  can  also  change  helpers  in  a 
case,  placing  a  dependent,  either  successively  or  simultaneously,  under 
the  charge  of  several  visitors.  This  system,  which  is  very  elastic,  has 
proved  extraordinarily  successful  in  Hamburg. 

The  second  point  of  difference,  the  lengthening  of  the  period  of 
time  for  which  aid  is  granted,  was,  as  has  been  said,  a  matter  of  neces- 
sity. In  the  nature  of  the  case  it  is  very  desirable  that  aid  be  voted 
only  for  a  very  brief  period,  two  or  four  weeks  (in  Elberfeld  the  time 
is  a  fortnight).  But  had  this  policy  been  adhered  to  in  Hamburg,  it 
would  have  necessitated  such  frequent  sessions  of  the  districts  as  to 
preclude  from  the  very  beginning  the  willingness  of  the  helpers  to 
assume  the  responsibilities  of  their  office,  or  at  any  rate  to  give  rise  to 
a  mere  formalism  soon  after  the  introduction  of  the  reform.  Instead, 
however,  the  dependents  are  divided  into  several  classes.  Those  of 
whose  genuine  distress  there  is  no  reason  to  doubt,  the  aged,  sick,  and 
frail — in  general,  all  sexagenarians — may  be  granted  an  allowance  for 
six  months ;  younger  persons,  as  widows  with  several  children,  not 
longer  than  three  months ;  all  others,  as  able-bodied  men  and  persons 
not  sufficiently  well  known,  are  granted  aid  only  from  one  session  to 
the  next,  generally  one  month,  in  order  that  such  cases  may  be  under 


14  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

constant  surveillance.  For  like  reasons  it  was  thought  best  to  hold 
regTjlar  meetings  of  the  districts  only  once  a  month  in  Hamburg,  since 
fortnightly  meetings  would  have  been  too  poorly  attended,  while  on 
the  present  plan  the  attendance  has  hitherto  been  very  good.  These 
meetings  are  of  very  great  importance ;  in  them  all  cases  are  thor- 
oughly discussed  by  all  the  helpers,  and  after  due  deliberation  the 
proper  measure  of  relief  is  decided  upon  by  a  vote  of  the  entire  body. 
In  this  way  the  assembly  is  bound  more  closely  together,  its  members 
are  kept  informed  as  to  conditions  throughout  the  entire  district,  and 
they  gradually  arrive  at  uniform  principles.  It  has  been  noticed,  also, 
that  friendly  relations  between  the  superintendent  and  the  helpers  are 
encouraged  by  this  system. 

A  further  point  of  difference  between  this  and  the  Elberfeld  system 
is  the  insertion  of  an  intermediary  between  the  district  and  the  general 
administrative  board;  this  is  the  circuit  (Kreis),  including  a  number 
of  districts.  In  its  geographical  boundaries  it  follows  roughly  those 
of  the  ward  {Stadthezirk).  The  members  of  the  circuit  are  the  super- 
intendents or  chairmen  of  the  districts,  while  the  chairman  of  the 
circuit  in  turn  is  a  member  of  the  central  board.  The  circuits  discuss 
matters  of  common  interest  to  all  the  districts,  and  hear  complaints 
against  the  decision  of  the  districts ;  they  also  consider  and  rule  upon 
motions  to  grant  hospital  or  institutional  care  {AnstaltspUege)  for  an 
extended  period  of  time,  or  allowances  exceeding  a  certain  specified 
limit. 

The  central  board,  having  for  its  chairman  and  vice-chairman  two 
members  of  the  senate,  is  composed,  as  to  the  rest  of  its  membership, 
of  sixteen  persons,  chosen  directly  by  the  representative  body  of  the 
city  government  (Biirgerz'crtretting)  on  nomination  by  the  board.  It 
exercises  a  general  supervision  over  the  circuits  and  the  districts,  it  is 
the  court  of  last  appeal  for  complaints,  fixes  general  rules  and  prin- 
ciples, investigates  the  condition  of  the  people  at  large,  and  decides 
upon  more  general  remedial  measures  and  agencies.  The  business 
management,  finally,  serves  as  the  organ  of  the  central  board,  prepar- 
ing and  carrying  into  effect  the  resolutions  of  the  latter ;  it  collects  and 
keeps  in  a  general  registry  information  concerning  all  dependents. 
All  applications  for  aid  must  pass  through  this  central  office.  If,  in 
urgent  cases,  this  was  not  possible  before  the  voting  of  the  aid,  the 
whole  matter  is  afterwards  brought  to  the  notice  of  the  business  man- 
agement through  the  minutes  of  the  district  and  circuit  assemblies 


GERMANY 


15 


and  such  other  papers  from  which  it  is  copied,  and  filed  with  the  rest 
of  the  papers  referring  to  the  particular  pauper  in  question.  This 
plan  makes  it  very  easy  to  detect  duplication  of  relief.  Moreover, 
whenever  it  appears  from  the  papers  that  any  circumstance  of  impor- 
tance has  escaped  the  notice  of  the  visitor  who  has  the  case  in  charge, 
he  is  notified  of  their  full  contents.  When  the  decision  and  resolu- 
tions of  one  body  are  at  variance  with  the  laws  or  the  business  regu- 
lations, they  are  submitted  to  the  next  higher  authority,  the  circuit  or 
the  central  board.  One  of  the  most  important  principles  of  work  is 
the  demand  for  absolute  reliability  and  the  promptness  and  dispatch 
of  the  business.  The  work  of  the  business  management  includes  a 
great  many  separate  branches,  such  as  the  treasury  department,  the 
collecting  of  subscriptions  from  well-to-do  relatives  of  dependents,  the 
making  good  of  claims  a  dependent  may  have  upon  other  poor  funds. 
All  this  is  carefully  regulated  in  detail  by  instructions  and  rules. 

The  entire  corps  active  in  poor-relief  includes  about  twenty  mem- 
bers of  the  central  board,  somewhat  more  than  100  district  chairmen, 
nearly  1,600  helpers  and  nearly  100  clerks.  The  distinction  between 
the  function  of  the  honor  offices  and  those  held  by  professional  or 
salaried  officials  may  briefly  be  stated  thus  :  the  former  foster  the  spirit 
of  the  work ;  the  latter  have  the  care  of  the  forms ;  each  is  supple- 
mented and  modified  by  the  other,  so  that  neither  arbitrariness,  dis- 
order, and  looseness,  on  the  one  hand,  nor,  on  the  other,  stiff  formality 
and  excessive  writing  may  hamper  the  work.  This  aim  has  thus  far 
been  realized  in  a  very  satisfactory  manner. 

It  was  said  above  that  the  general  principles  of  poor-relief  are  so 
fixed  as  to  be  applicable  everywhere,  if  properly  adapted  to  local  envi- 
ronments. This  will  be  borne  out  by  a  comparison  of  German  and 
American  conditions.  When  the  American  reader  has  informed 
himself  concerning  the  Elberfeld  system,  its  working  and  application, 
and  compares  with  it  the  methods  and  institutions  in  vogue  in  the 
larger  cities  of  America,  he  will  immediately  and  entirely  concur  in 
the  statement  that  only  a  system  of  careful  investigation  of  the  indi- 
vidual case  is  in  accord  with  correct  principles  of  poor-relief.  More- 
over, he  will  fully  understand  why,  in  Germany,  the  development  of 
this  principle  has  led  to  outdoor  relief  as  the  principal  form  of  public 
relief,  while  in  America  indoor  relief,  the  almshouse,  is  predominant. 
This  contrast  results  from  that  between  a  system  of  honor  offices  and 
one  of  salaried  offices.     If,  in  Germany,  each  commune  has  hundreds, 


l6  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

if  necessary,  even  thousands,  of  citizens  who  are  wiUing  to  assume 
the  task  of  helping  the  poor,  it  is  evident  that  they  can  rightly  perform 
this  duty  only  by  entering  into  some  sort  of  neighborly  relations  to 
the  poor.  And  if,  in  America,  it  is  not  possible  to  disburse  public 
funds  and  public  means  otherwise  than  through  salaried  public  offi- 
cials, it  is  no  more  than  right  to  demand  such  control  and  supervision 
as  is  possible  in  the  almshouse.  Add  to  this  the  fact  that  the  frequent 
changes  of  administration,  both  state  and  municipal,  place  public 
offices  within  the  grant  of  each  new  manager,  that  appointment  to 
office  has  become,  in  no  small  degree,  a  reward  for  services  rendered 
elsewhere,  and  the  need  of  some  means  of  control  is  very  much 
augmented.  Especially  does  this  hold  true  for  poor-relief,  where 
there  is  danger  lest  the  aid  granted  be  made  a  reward  for  political 
services  rendered  by  the  recipient. 

It  is  not  mere  chance  that  Warner,  whose  book  is  a  summary  of 
rich  experience  and  a  fine  theoretical  understanding  and  insight, 
arrives  at  the  very  samiC  conclusion  and  expressly  says  :  "It  is  through 
the  development  of  a  system  of  honor  offices  that  outdoor  relief  in 
Germany  has  been  robbed  of  its  dangers,  and  it  will  be  in  part  by 
the  extension  of  the  honor-office  system  in  this  country  that  the  spirit 
of  willingness  to  serve  the  state  may  be  developed." 

So  long  as  one  holds  to  the  principle  of  individualization  he  will 
concede  that  outdoor  relief,  with  well-qualified  helpers  and  visitors, 
gives  the  greater  assurance  of  careful  investigation  and  continued 
surveillance  of  the  environment  of  dependents,  and  of  their  rapid 
return  to  normal  economic  conditions.  The  advantages  are  these : 
It  is  possible  to  find  out  exactly  what  the  condition  of  the  dependent 
has  been  previously,  to  get  a  knowledge  of  his  character  and  the  life 
he  is  leading;  to  look  into  his  home  surroundings  and  to  ascertain 
the  state  of  health,  education,  etc.,  of  himself  and  of  his  family. 
Furthermore,  it  is  much  easier  to  decide  whether  aid  shall  be  given 
in  the  form  of  money  or  of  provisions,  by  the  securing  of  work,  or 
by  intervening  with  some  private  charity.  True,  the  frail  and  the 
sick  must  still  be  cared  for  by  indoor  relief,  but  not  in  the  workhouse. 
This  principle  of  individualization  makes  it  possible,  also,  to  separate 
the  family  and  legally  to  prosecute  the  criminal  or  drinking  husband, 
while  at  the  same  time  the  innocent  family  is  supported.  Under 
circumstances  recourse  may  then  be  had  to  the  workhouse.  This 
should  be  done  only  in  exceptional  cases ;  but  then  this  method  should 


GERMANY  1 7 

be  applied  with  the  utmost  rigor  and  severity,  every  other  form  of 
aid  being  denied.  But  in  order  that  this  be  successful,  it  is  abso- 
lutely necessary  that  the  almshouse  be,  in  reality,  a  workhouse,  i.  e., 
maintained  solely  for  persons  who  will  not  work,  but  who  can  work, 
and  will  finally  be  forced  to  choose  this  way  of  escaping  the  pangs  of 
hunger.  Should  they  seek  to  satisfy  their  wants  by  culpable  means, 
as  begging,  stealing,  or  teaching  their  children  to  do  these  things, 
they  are  to  be  placed  in  a  workhouse  by  force,  or  turned  over  to  the 
civil  authorities.  The  baneful  custom  of  making  the  almshouse  "the 
charitable  catch-all  for  the  community"  must  be  abolished  entirely. 
Especially  is  it  necessary  that  children,  the  sick,  and  the  frail  be  cared 
for  in  separate  institutions.  When  aged  people  are  kept  in  the  same 
institution  with  indolent  persons,  there  is  great  danger  lest  the  in- 
dulgence and  forbearance  necessary  toward  the  former  slacken  the 
discipline  and  thus  alter  the  entire  character  of  the  place.  The  re- 
verse may  also  come  true ;  the  strictness  and  severity  necessary  in  the 
reformatory  treatment  of  the  lazy  and  immoral  may  make  the  dis- 
cipline that  of  a  house  of  correction,  and  work  injustice  and  injury 
to  the  aged  and  feeble. 

All  the  more  important  and  well-conducted  poor-relief  organiza- 
tions in  Germany  base  their  efforts  on  these  principles.  The  visitor 
is  required  to  inform  himself  by  personal  visits,  inquiry  among  neigh- 
bors, at  bureaus  of  information,  etc., — if  necessary,  even  calling  in 
the  advice  and  assistance  of  the  public  physician  for  the  poor 
(Armenarat) — concerning  the  health  of  the  dependent  and  his  family, 
the  sanitary  condition  of  their  dwelling,  etc. ;  he  is  also  to  find  out 
whether  or  not  the  dependent  be  possessed  of  any  property  or  means, 
whether  he  may  have  any  claim  on  relief  funds  of  any  sort,  or  upon 
relatives ;  besides  all  this  the  visitor  is  to  ascertain  the  exact  amount 
of  the  earnings  both  of  the  dependent  himself  and  of  his  relatives, 
then  determining  the  manner  and  amount  of  aid  to  be  granted,  after 
due  consideration  of  all  these  facts.  In  the  collecting  of  the  infor- 
mation the  business  management  assists  if  necessary.  All  these 
matters  are  then  to  be  constantly  watched  over,  the  visitor  recording 
all  information  in  the  books  he  is  required  to  keep  concerning  each 
family  under  his  charge.  Due  attention  and  consideration  must,  of 
course,  be  given  to  important  changes,  as  the  remarrying  of  a  widow, 
death  of  children  in  a  dependent  family,  inheritance  of  property,  etc. 
The  books  mentioned  above  are  to  be  kept  in  such  a  manner  as  to 


l8  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

enable  one  at  any  time  to  get  a  full  and  clear  idea  of  the  circumstances 
in  the  case.  Whenever  the  aid  in  a  particular  case  is  temporarily 
discontinued,  the  book  is  returned  to  the  business  management,  where 
it  is  kept,  to  be  reopened  should  the  same  family  renew  their  applica- 
tion for  support.  When  a  dependent  moves  from  one  district  to 
another,  the  book  passes  into  the  hands  of  the  visitor  in  the  district 
into  which  he  moves. 

The  visitor  first  refers  the  applicant  to  those  who  may  be  indebted 
to  him  or  otherwise  under  obligation,  relatives,  employers,  insurance 
or  benefit  funds  (Versichcrungskassen),  etc.;  in  this  direction  the 
visitors  oftentimes  accomplish  a  great  deal  in  recalling  faithless  per- 
sons, especially  relatives,  to  their  duty  and  their  rightful  obligations. 
Often  the  visitor  has  connections  with  some  private  charity  to  which 
he  can  appeal  in  the  interest  of  especially  worthy  people.  Frequently 
he  will  even  supply  an  immediate  want  from  his  own  purse,  seeing 
that  the  case  is  only  a  temporary  exigency  and  that  the  applicant  has 
never  before  been  dependent  upon  public  relief.  In  many  cases,  too, 
the  visitor  is  able,  through  his  own  personal  influence,  to  find  employ- 
ment for  his  charge,  thus  making  it  possible  to  relieve  the  latter's 
distress  by  a  temporary  allowance  only.  The  training  of  the  citizen 
in  the  duties  of  a  visitor  and  helper  is  productive  of  excellent  results, 
arousing  in  him  a  manifold  interest  for  his  ward,  and  teaching  him 
to  search  out  all  possible  ways  in  which  the  needed  relief  may  be 
supplied  most  promptly  and  most  thoroughly.  It  is  unnecessary 
to  state  that  this  principle,  which  is,  of  course,  emphatically  expressed 
in  the  regulations,  is  not  obeyed  by  all,  that  many  slight  their  duties 
as  visitor  and  helper  and  regard  the  whole  work  in  an  altogether  too 
perfunctory  manner;  on  the  whole,  however,  this  work  is  not  only 
very  successful,  but  of  very  great  variety  both  in  manner  and  direction 
of  their  efforts. 

Whenever  the  conditions  in  any  case  are  found  to  be  such  as  to 
warrant  relief  at  public  expense,  the  total  receipts  of  the  family  are 
to  be  ascertained  and  the  allowance  fixed  accordingly.  The  length 
of  time  for  which  and  the  amount  in  which  assistance  is  to  be  given 
must  depend  upon  the  nature  of  the  distress  and  its  probable  dura- 
tion. This  aid  consists  principally  in  money,  provisions  being  used 
only  in  a  supplementary  manner,  chiefly  clothing  for  children  of 
school  age,  together  with  such  articles  as  bedding,  underwear,  and 
the  like.     In  general,  however,  the  principle  is  held,  that  the  depend- 


GERMANY  ig 

ent  himself  will  know  better  than  any  other  person  which  of  his  needs 
should  be  satisfied  first  of  all ;  it  is  furthermore  believed  that  the 
expending  of  money  is  the  best  possible  means  by  which  to  acquire 
frugal,  economic  habits.  The  visitor  oversees  the  expenditure  of  the 
money  in  a  general  way,  to  see  that  it  is  rightly  and  carefully  spent. 
Should  the  dependent  prove  injudicious  and  careless  in  his  use  of  the 
money,  the  allowance  is  of  course  withdrawn,  or  its  revocation  at 
least  threatened.  The  least  anxiety  and  suspicion  are  necessary  in 
the  case  of  widows,  aged  people,  and  children,  whose  physical  condi- 
tion, or  whose  inability  to  earn  a  living  leaves  no  question  as  to  the 
necessity  of  help.  Care  must  nevertheless  be  taken,  in  these  cases,  to 
search  out  relatives,  and  especially  adult  children  who  may  be  able 
to  provide  for  their  aged  parents.  Such  search,  conducted  in  the 
main  by  the  business  management  (Gesclmffsvenvalfung),  besides 
making  a  large  number  of  allowances  superfluous,  has  the  general 
social  effect  of  reminding  the  people  that  the  first  duty  of  a  child  is  to 
care  for  its  parents,  a  duty  of  which  the  people  of  Hamburg,  for 
instance,  previous  to  the  reorganization,  had  become  most  shamefully 
oblivious.  The  rules  pertaining  to  able-bodied  persons  are  very 
strict;  likewise  those  pertaining  to  women  and  children  whose  hus- 
bands and  fathers  are  living,  but  are  reported  as  having  deserted  their 
families.  Even  in  these  cases  help  cannot  be  denied  when  actual 
distress  has  been  proved  ;  but  the  allowance  is  always  for  a  very  brief 
period  only,  and  its  necessity  thoroughly  investigated  upon  each 
renewal  of  the  application.  Under  no  circumstances  must  the  faith- 
less father  be  permitted  to  feel  that  now  he  has  deserted  the  family 
they  are  better  off  than  if  he  himself  cared  for  them.  And  yet  just 
such  cases  are  the  bane  of  nearly  all  relief  organizations ;  for,  w^hile 
women  and  children,  who  are  sometimes  guiltless  in  the  matter,  can- 
not be  left  in  the  depth  of  misery  and  distress,  it  often  turns  out  that 
husband  and  wife  play  into  one  another's  hand,  the  wife  pretending 
to  be  forsaken,  only  to  draw  an  allowance. 

The  amount  of  the  allowance  depends  upon  the  circumstances  of 
the  family ;  the  number  of  children,  the  age  of  the  father,  etc.  The 
fixing  of  the  amount  in  a  particular  case  is  left  to  the  judgment  of 
the  district,  except  where  a  definite  amount  per  head  is  fixed  by  the 
regulations.  Very  serious  objections  might,  however,  be  urged 
against  this  latter  plan,  which  is  in  use  in  certain  cities  :  when,  e.  g.,  the 
limit  set  for  the  head  of  a  family  is  3  M.,  for  the  wife  2.50  M.,  and  for 


20  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

each  child  from  i  to  2  M.,  according  to  age,  a  large  family  will  some- 
times draw  an  allowance  greater  in  amount  than  an  ordinary  laborer 
could  earn.  Besides,  it  is  very  difficult,  with  a  fixed  scale,  to  take 
cognizance  of  a  change  in  economic  conditions,  or  a  change  in  the 
scale  of  wages ;  when,  on  the  other  hand,  the  fixing  of  the  amount 
is  left  to  the  wisdom  of  the  visitor  of  the  district,  the  whole  situation, 
all  the  facts,  can  be  duly  weighed  and  considered,  the  various  other 
sources  of  income,  opportunities  for  temporary  employment,  etc. 
True,  this  system  is  also  not  entirely  free  from  objections ;  it  leaves 
room  for  arbitrariness  in  fixing  the  amount  of  an  allowance ;  and 
where  it  is  in  vogue  it  is  found  that  in  districts  where  a  large  num- 
ber of  wealthy  persons  act  as  visitors  the  allowances  are  too  high, 
in  the  inverse  case  too  low.  In  this  respect  we  feel  very  keenly  the 
lack  of  any  trustworthy  statistical  reports  concerning  the  domestic 
economy  of  the  class  next  above  the  pauper  class,  i.  c,  of  the  lowest 
self-supporting  class,  whose  income  must  of  necessity  be  a  little 
higher  than  that  of  those  who  receive  public  aid. 

Besides  giving  aid  in  the  form  of  money  and  provisions,  the  public 
relief  furnishes  free  medical  attendance  in  all  cases ;  for  the  calling  of 
a  physician,  midwife,  or  nurse,  easier  forms  have  been  introduced,  so 
that  no  one,  even  in  the  most  urgent  cases,  need  suffer  for  want  of 
prompt  and  immediate  help  in  the  hour  of  need.  But  the  importance 
of  this  department  of  the  public  relief  has  fallen  off  considerably  of 
late  years  on  account  of  the  development  of  insurance,  the  majority 
of  workmen  now  having  access  to  some  sick  insurance  fund.  The 
most  valuable  means  of  promoting  health,  viz.,  healthful  dwellings 
and  good  ventilation,  often,  alas !  cannot  be  had,  because  of  the 
wretched  housing  common  to  all  large  cities.  It  is  an  undeniable 
fact,  however,  that  the  various  attempts  at  improvement  in  this  matter 
have  been  due,  in  no  small  degree,  to  the  participation  of  so  large  a 
number  of  citizens  in  the  administration  of  public  relief.  For  the 
visitors  again  and  again  discover  what  hotbeds  of  disease  and  immor- 
ality poor  dwellings  are ;  and  even  the  most  selfish  taxpayer  cannot 
fail  to  see  the  force  of  the  argument  that  the  mere  possession  of  a 
better  dwelling  will  save  a  large  number  of  persons  from  ever  falling 
in  need  of  public  aid,  and  thus  reduce  very  materially  the  expenses 
of  public  charities. 

Under  the  system  of  repayments  known  in  Germany,  as  well  as 
in  Scandinavia  and  Switzerland,  a  large  part  of  the  relief  is  really  a 


GERMANY  21 

loan  to  a  citizen  in  distress.  Thus  in  Hamburg,  in  the  year  1901,  in 
the  receipts  were  counted  206,374  marks,  which  sum  had  been  paid 
back  to  the  pubHc  treasury  by  persons  relieved,  or  by  their  relatives. 
This  is  an  additional  indication  that  in  the  future  some  kind  of  insur- 
ance against  unemployment  may  be  found  which  will  make  such 
appeals  to  c'harity  unnecessary. 

Furnishing  capital  for  business  is  under  certain  circumstances  a 
function  of  public  poor-relief.  A  poor  woman  in  dire  need  received 
aid  to  carry  on  a  small  fruit  business,  because  otherwise  she  would 
have  to  be  supported,  and  the  highest  authorities  pronounced  this 
legal.^ 

Participation  of  Women  in  Public  Charity. — In  1896  the  Ger- 
man national  society  of  charity  passed  this  resolution :  "The  par- 
ticipation of  women  in  public  care  of  the  poor  is  to  be  regarded 
as  a  pressing  necessity.  It  may  be  brought  about  according  to  the 
circumstances  of  particular  situations ;  and  first  of  all  by  inviting 
women  to  become  members  of  the  corps  of  visitors  with  the  same 
rights  and  duties  as  those  of  men  ;  and  along  with  this  supplementary 
activity  in  cooperation  with  public  relief;  and  also  by  friendly  agree- 
ments between  public  officials  and  the  representatives  of  women's 
benevolent  associations."  This  resolution  may  be  taken  to  express 
the  deliberate  conclusions  of  men  who  have  been  schooled  in  the 
practical  experience  of  administration.  Opposition  to  the  introduc- 
tion of  women  into  the  councils  of  city  charities  appeared  in  Hamburg 
and  Berlin,  and  it  was  based  on  the  idea  that  men  could  not  freely 
discuss  some  of  the  brutal  facts  of  pauperism  in  the  presence  of 
women,  and  that  many  vital  subjects  would  be  neglected  on  this 
account ;  and  that  it  would  be  inconsistent  with  the  domestic  duties 
of  women  to  take  a  share  in  these  public  honor  offices.  The  opposi- 
tion came  from  some  of  the  male  visitors,  not  from  the  salaried  city 
officials  of  poor  relief. 

In  answer  to  these  objections  it  is  declared  that,  since  the  causes 
of  misery  are  largely  due  to  household  defects,  women  are  naturally 
the  best  advisers  of  the  needy  families,  since  they  know  far  more  than 
men  about  such  matters.  Women  succeed  best  in  caring  for  the  sick 
and  for  children,  in  housekeeping,  and  they  surpass  men  in  the 
qualities  of  self-sacrifice,  tenderness  and  practical  sagacity.  Yet 
many  young  women,  whose  education  has  been  more  aesthetic  than 

^Decision  of  the  Bundesamt  fur  das  Heimatwesen,  January  23,  1904. 


22 


MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 


scientific,  lack  the  necessary  knowledge  of  physiology,  hygiene,  sani- 
tation and  law  to  fit  them  for  the  task. 

The  poor  relief  board  of  the  city  of  Posen  has  recently  ordered 
that  women  visitors  {Annenpflcgcrinncn) ,  chosen  for  three  years, 
are  entitled  to  vote  in  the  district  commissions  and  are  required  to 
attend  them  regularly.  They  are  to  care  for  cases  which  the  commis- 
sion thinks  most  suitable  for  women  to  deal  with.  Especially  when 
relief  in  kind  is  voted  may  women  be  charged  with  distribution,  and 
they  are  to  give  particular  attention  to  cases  of  sickness  in  families ; 
and  when  private  charity  is  called  to  assist  the  women  visitors  are 
authorized  to  make  the  requests.^ 

C.     Private  Charity,   Benevolent  Associations,   Societies  of 
Women,  Red  Cross  Societies. 

Intermediate  Forms. — In  the  municipal  systems  of  outdoor  relief 
the  city  requires  of  its  citizens  that  personal  service  on  behalf  of  the 
poor  which  mediates  between  public  authority  and  voluntary  benefi- 
cence, for  the  almoner  is  brought  into  relations  with  the  needy  which 
call  out  far  more  devotion  than  could  be  required  by  any  law.  In 
certain  cities  endowments  have  been  left  to  the  care  of  municipal 
administration  whose  income  flows  from  an  originally  voluntary  gift, 
but  which  reaches  its  goal  by  the  channel  of  public  offices. 

Private  charity  frequently  serves  as  a  pioneer  for  public  assist- 
ance. Thus  schools  for  instruction  of  girls  in  household  arts  have 
been  established  by  private  associations,  and  when  once  the  public 
sees  that  the  method  is  useful  to  prevent  pauperism  the  muncipality 
or  the  public  school  system  extends  the  agency  with  public  means. 
In  a  similar  way  the  institutions  for  defective,  blind,  deaf,  feeble- 
minded, insane  and  epileptic,  are  gradually  transferred  from  private 
to  public  care.  During  the  transition  period  the  state  or  commune 
may  subsidize  a  private  agency  which  proves  to  have  general  utility. 
Tlie  fundamental  principle  of  relief,  the  personal  fellowship  in  the 
neighborly  eflFort  to  help  each  other  upward,  is  at  the  basis  of  both 
public  and  private  assistance.  Voluntary  charity  contributes  what  it 
can,  and  public  relief  expends  what  is  necessary  to  meet  the  need. 
Private  philanthropy  makes  its  own  conditions  and  regulations.  In 
this  characteristc  lies  the  danger  and  the  advantage  of  private  charity. 
Officers  of  the  law  must  treat  all  citizens  alike ;  while  the  individual 
purposes  of  benevolent  persons  may  dictate  a  special  distribution  of 

'Zeitschrift  fur  das  Armenwesen,  April,  1903,  p.  115. 


GERMANY 


23 


their  gifts ;  as  when  a  wealthy  family  loses  a  child  by  diphtheria  and 
founds  a  hospital  for  treating  contagious  diseases,  or  a  member  of  a 
craft  leaves  an  endowment  for  indigent  persons  of  the  same  calling. 
Even  such  considerations  as  pride,  desire  to  display  wealth  and  secure 
royal  notice  and  titles  may  influence  the  gifts.  Men  and  women  call 
themselves  together  to  play  cards  and  drink  for  "sweet  charity,"  and 
on  the  same  ground  occasionally  prolong  their  pleasure  longer  than 
is  good  for  them.  Places  of  amusement  advertise  otherwise  unattrac- 
tive entertainments  using  as  bait  the  promise  to  give  a  per  cent,  of 
the  receipts  to  a  hospital  or  a  fund  to  help  crippled  soldiers. 

On  the  other  hand,  when  extraordinary  demands  are  made,  for 
which  there  is  no  fund  ready,  the  appeal  to  benevolent  citizens  is 
natural  and  wise ;  as  when  a  pest  invades  the  land,  or  a  conflagration, 
or  a  flood  destroys  much  property  and  renders  many  homeless  and 
helpless. 

The  custom  of  collecting  cast-off  clothing,  waste  paper,  illustrated 
magazines  for  sale  or  for  use  by  the  poor  is  worthy  of  commendation. 
The  inmates  of  hospitals  and  almshouses  are  cheered  by  the  stories 
and  pictures  furnished  by  these  means. 

Some  of  the  facts  about  private  charity  in  Germany  may  best  be 
mentioned  under  the  heads  of  special  forms  of  beneficence. 

Endowed  Charities. — The  dangers  of  endowed  charities  are  recog- 
nized by  competent  German  writers  :  they  are  liable  to  become  useless 
or  even  injurious,  and  the  original  giver  being  dead  it  is  difficult  to 
secure  a  change  of  direction  of  income.  The  civil  code  permits  a 
charitable  endowment  to  be  abolished  or  changed  only  when  the 
original  purpose  can  no  longer  be  fulfilled  or  when  the  effects  of  its 
continuance  is  socially  harmful.  The  primary  purpose  must  be  re- 
garded as  far  as  possible.  The  ancient  custom  of  leaving  legacies 
for  the  poor  is  still  common  among  the  wealthy,  but  the  conditions 
named  in  wills  are  not  always  reasonable  or  based  on  knowledge  of 
the  needs  of  the  poor  and  the  best  methods  of  helping  them. 

Hamburg  in  1895,  from  incomes  of  endowments,  gave  out  a  total 
of  1,258,830  marks  to  53,799  recipients,  which  indicates  a  capital  of 
30-40  million  marks.  In  Berlin  the  board  of  endowments  controls 
about  200  foundations  with  about  thirteen  million  marks,  besides  real 
estate.  Bavaria,  in  a  recent  report,  showed  18,655  funds  of  the  value 
of  450  million  marks. 

Societies  for  Benevolent  Work. — To  relieve  all  forms  of  misery, 


24  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

free  associations  are  founded,  and  many  citizens  belong-  as  contrib- 
utors to  several  of  these  at  one  time.  Statistics  are  difficult  to  ob- 
tain. In  Bavaria,  464  societies  were  reported,  chiefly  in  cities.  Some 
of  the  German  associations  are  confessional,  some  inter-denomina- 
tional and  others  quite  free  from  church  connections.  There  are 
many  women's  societies,  that  of  Baden,  for  example,  which  has  237 
branches  in  different  parts  of  the  country  devoted  to  all  kinds  of 
philanthropic  effort.  In  small  towns  the  aims  of  a  society  are  less 
specialized  than  in  the  cities.  The  regular  form  of  organization  is 
a  board  of  control  and  a  general  assembly  of  members,  and  in  large 
places  an  administrative  committee  is  frequently  chosen  by  the  board. 
The  members  may  be  contributors  or  active  workers.  Personal  ser- 
vice is  most  difficult  to  secure.  When  the  business  of  the  society  is 
very  large,  it  is  thought  advisable  to  employ  agents  on  salary  so  as  to 
control  the  continuous  service  of  competent  administrators  of  the 
office. 

Private  charity  has  increased  in  Bavaria.  In  1881  there  were  299 
societies;  in  1900,  542.  The  number  of  persons  aided  rose  from 
43,693  to  95,354;  and  the  expenditures  from  749,242  M.  to  1,405,689 
M. ;  the  permanent  funds  from  2,818,567  M.  to  6,756,548  M.  The 
increased  activity  of  private  societies  is  especially  noteworthy  in  the 
care  of  children.  The  institutions  of  this  kind  increased  from  144  to 
221,  and  the  funds  from  500,000  M.  to  1,400,000  M. ;  the  increase 
being  chiefly  in  cities.^ 

D.  Ecclesiastical  Charity. — From  the  earliest  times  since 
Christianity  gained  influence  with  German  peoples  church  charity  has 
had  a  continuous  history.  In  recent  years  there  is  a  very  strong 
effort  on  the  part  of  the  churches  of  different  confessions  to  organize 
relief  in  each  congregation  for  their  own  members.  Those  indigent 
persons  who  are  not  attached  to  a  parish  must  be  helped  by  public 
agencies,  but  the  two  systems  work  side  by  side  in  the  same  city,  and 
there  is  a  field  for  each. 

Catholic  Charity. — The  Catholic  clergy  have  org-anized  their 
system  of  relief  in  a  very  efficient  manner.  The  chief  parish  organi- 
zation is  the  St.  Vincent  of  Paul  Society,  first  established  in  Paris  in 
1833  by  Frederick  Ozanam,  and  rapidly  extended  to  other  countries. 
The  central  direction  still  remains  in  Paris,  but  many  branches  exist 
in  various  parts  of  Germany.     In  the  region  about  Cologne  and 

*  Zeit.  f.  d.  Armen.,  1903,  p.  143. 


GERMANY 


25 


under  the  archbishop  of  that  city  there  were  some  years  since  enu- 
merated 3,330,000  CathoHcs,  162  societies  with  3,000  members.  The 
members  meet  once  a  week.  For  each  needy  family  two  visitors  are 
appointed  and  they  are  required  to  report  in  the  meetings.  Generally 
relief  is  given  in  commodities,  tools  for  work,  and  securing  employ- 
ment. The  visitors  take  great  pains  to  encourage  those  who  have 
fallen  into  distress,  and,  perhaps,  into  evil  habits,  to  rise  and  make  an 
effort  to  sustain  themselves.  There  are  also  societies  for  women,  as 
that  of  St.  Elizabeth ;  but  they  are  not  so  strong  and  they  are  not 
connected  with  each  other  in  a  system. 

Among  the  regular  orders,  chiefly  engaged  in  caring  for  the  poor 
and  the  sick,  the  women  are  more  numerous,  and  the  most  celebrated 
of  these  orders  is  the  Sisters  of  Mercy,  founded  by  Vincent  of  Paul 
in  1633.  Similar  in  spirit  are  the  Sisters  of  St.  Borromeo,  the  Ser- 
vants of  Christ,  the  Franciscan  Sisters,  the  Augustin  Sisters,  the 
Order  of  Elizabeth,  and  others.  Members  of  these  orders  must  pos- 
sess certain  qualifications  of  health  and  character  and  must  serve  a 
very  trying  probation,  before  they  are  permitted  to  take  the  vows. 
After  this  they  give  their  entire  life  to  the  service  and  are  supported 
by  the  mother  house  in  illness  and  old  age.  A  sister  superior  admin- 
isters the  order,  and  an  ecclesiastic  is  appointed  adviser.  Most  of 
the  sisters  are  employed  in  institutions,  but  their  activities  are  in  many 
fields.  In  the  archdiocese  of  Cologne  there  are  about  1,500  sisters  in 
152  hospitals  and  asylums,  while  about  600  in  125  communities  are 
active  in  poor  relief  for  families.  The  total  number  of  sisters  in  Ger- 
many has  been  estimated  at  20,000. 

In  the  parish  work  the  sisters  assist  in  care  of  the  poor  and  sick, 
of  infants  in  day  nurseries,  and  children  in  homes,  protective  institu- 
tions, and  Sunday  schools.  They  carry  on  rescue  work  for  morally 
imperilled  girls.  They  often  cooperate  with  the  municipal  officers  of 
relief. 

In  November,  1897,  the  Roman  Catholics  founded  the  "Charitas- 
Verband  fiir  das  katholische  Deutschland,"  with  central  bureau  at 
Freiburg  in  Breisgau.^  Its  purpose  is  to  further  unity  of  action  in 
the  charitable  works  of  the  Catholics  by  means  of  conferences,  inves- 
tigations and  publications.  The  president  of  this  society  cooperates 
with  other  movements,  as  temperance  societies,  efforts  to  suppress 

'  Zeitschrift  f.  d.  Armenwesen,  February,  1903,  p.  50.  Charitas,  1900,  Nos. 
7  and  8. 


26  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

traffic  in  girls,  the  national  association  to  help  consumptives,  and  the 
international  congress  of  public  and  private  assistance. 

Charities  of  the  "Evangelical"  (State)  Church. — The  state 
churches  have  no  convents  or  orders  with  perpetual  vows,  as  the 
Catholics  have,  but  ever  since  the  Reformation  period  have  kept  in 
close  connection  with  the  civil  commune.  At  first  the  church  as  such 
was  direct  agent  in  raising  the  funds  and  administering  relief  in  the 
communes. 

The  Reformed  churches  differed  from  the  Lutheran  in  that  the 
former  had  a  diaconate  for  poor  relief  as  an  essential  part  of  eccle- 
siastical organization,  while  the  Lutherans  did  not  regard  this  as 
required  by  divine  authority.  The  recent  movement  to  reestablish 
the  diaconate  in  Germany  proceeded  from  the  influence  of  the  Re- 
formed churches. 

The  Inner  Mission  in  Germany. — This  term  covers  the  work  of 
many  independent  voluntary  associations  of  members  of  the  "Evan- 
gelical" state  church  on  behalf  of  the  dependent,  the  feeble  and  the 
anti-social  elements  of  society.  The  movement  called  the  Inner 
Mission  had  many  precursors  but  took  its  present  form  about  1848. 
As  we  approach  historically  the  Revolution  of  1848,  we  discover  the 
signs  of  increasing  social  ferment.  It  was  not  merely  that  suffering, 
poverty  and  crime  were  increasing,  but  that  the  public  was  more 
sensitive  to  pain  and  wrong.  The  consciousness  of  a  right  to  enjoy 
the  fruits  of  culture  and  civilization  was  awakened  in  ever  wider 
circles.  The  Reforms  of  Stein  and  Scharnhorst  were  telling  upon 
the  people.  Common  schools  were  bringing  peasant  and  artisan 
within  the  rank  of  scholars'  thoughts.  Men  called  to  the  duty  of 
defending  their  country  aspired  to  equality  of  opportunity  under  its 
civil  shield.  Proletarians  and  agricultural  laborers  began  to  show 
symptoms  of  that  social  ambition  which  afterwards  produced  social 
democracy. 

In  this  period  the  "Great  Industry"  was  developed.  The  policy 
fostered  by  Frederick  the  Great,  broken  by  the  Napoleonic  oppres- 
sion, was  taken  up  by  Prussian  rulers.  A  system  of  canals  was 
extended ;  postal  service  was  rapidly  improving ;  steamships  plied 
between  Europe  and  America ;  stories  of  the  New  World  came  back  to 
kindle  and  inflame  ambitions  and  hopes.  In  some  regions,  especially 
along  the  Rhine,  the  factory  system  was  producing  a  special  class  of 
wage-laborers,  though  not  so  early  or  so  rapidly  as  in  England. 


GERMANY  27 

The  Revolution  of  1848  which  swept  Europe  did  not  leave  Germany- 
undisturbed.  Berlin  was  for  a  short  time  under  the  control  of  a 
mob.  Riot  and  rebellion  seemed  to  threaten  property  and  govern- 
ment. The  propertied  class  were  frightened.  The  uprising  was 
extinguished  by  military  force,  and  a  period  of  reaction  began.  Men 
wtio  knew  the  life  of  the  laboring  classes  in  cities  like  Hamburg  and 
Berlin  were  well  acquainted  with  the  wretchedness,  vice,  squalor,  and 
despair  of  their  homes.  The  one  man  who,  perhaps,  saw  most  clearly 
the  extent  and  the  sources  of  this  misery  was  one  who  had  been 
quietly  and  earnestly  working  among  the  fallen  and  distressed  since 
his  graduation  from  the  university, — J.  H.  Wichern,  founder  and 
director  of  the  Rauhe  Haus,  a  school  for  neglected  children  near 
Hamburg. 

Biblical  and  historical  criticism  was  making  it  impossible  to 
petrify  the  spirit  in  worship  of  the  letter.  Men  discovered  that  vital 
Christianity  could  be  manifested  in  spite  of  wide  doctrinal  differences. 
Kant  and  Fichte  compelled  theologians  to  become  more  intensely 
ethical.  De  Wette  demonstrated  the  permanent  factors  in  changing 
faiths.  Schleiermacher,  steeped  in  the  devotional  life  of  Herrnhut, 
translator  of  Plato,  scholar,  ethical  philosopher,  and  theologian, 
"served  as  a  bridge  over  which  to  pass  from  a  region  of  barren  nega- 
tions to  belief  more  accordant  with  the  general  faith  of  the  church 
than  he  himself  cherished"  (Fisher).  Neander  taught  how  to  unite 
learning,  piety  and  humanity. 

The  more  earnest  men  of  the  state  church  confessed  that  it  had 
lost  influence  with  multitudes  of  the  people.  Too  many  pastors 
waited  for  the  poor  to  come  to  church  and  did  not  go  out  to  seek 
them.  "Thousands  remain  without  the  word,  without  light  and  life." 
"We  have  no  parishes,  only  church  congregations."  At  the  earnest 
request  of  some  active  men  a  conference  was  held  at  Wittenberg  in 
September,  1848,  while  the  fright  of  the  Revolution  was  fresh  in  all 
minds.  Men  were  appalled  at  the  brutality  and  fierceness  of  the  out- 
break and  the  bitter  hostility  manifested  toward  the  representatives 
of  religion.  J.  H.  Wichern  was  the  man  for  the  hour.  In  an  im- 
passioned address  he  described  the  spiritual  destitution  of  the  home- 
less classes,  of  the  proletarians  of  cities,  and  the  anti-social  purposes 
of  the  communists.  He  sketched  the  individual  efforts  already  made 
here  and  there  to  overtake  the  social  need,  to  care  for  the  children 
and  the  poor,  and  to  secure  a  regeneration  in  the  inner  life  of  the 


28  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

state,  church  and  society.  Perhaps  a  single  sentence  has  been  au- 
thentically reported :  "May  the  Evangelical  Church  set  upon  this 
work  its  seal  and  declare :  the  work  of  the  Inner  Mission  is  mine ! 
love  belongs  to  me  as  well  as  faith."  A  committee  was  appointed  to 
formulate  a  plan.  The  conference  adopted  the  report,  and  in  the 
following  January  the  "Central  Committee  of  the  Inner  Mission  of 
the  German  Evangelical  Church"  began  its  work.  Bismarck  (in 
1847)  h^d  already  said :  "A  state,  if  it  would  have  an  assured 
permanence,  if  it  would  only  justify  its  existence,  when  it  is  disputed, 
must  stand  on  a  religious  foundation."  Thus  a  social  policy  for  both 
state  and  church  was  being  formulated  at  the  same  time. 

The  movement  of  1849  grew  out  of  previous  efforts,  as :  Zeller's 
reform  school  (1820)  ;  Amalie  Sieveking's  pioneer  care  of  the  sick 
and  wounded  by  women  (1831)  ;  the  Sunday  school  and  orphanage 
work  of  Wichern  at  Hamburg;  the  deaconess  mother-house  of 
Fliedner  near  Diisseldorf  (1836)  ;  the  prison  society  of  the  Rhine  and 
Westphalia;  the  Gustavus  Adolphus  Society;  and  many  others. 
Wichern  issued  a  memorial  in  which  he  defined  the  Inner  Mission  to 
be  all  the  works  of  rescue  which  grow  out  of  Christian  faith  and  love 
in  response  to  social  need.  "The  Inner  Mission  does  not  mean  this 
or  that  particular  work,  but  the  sum  of  labor  which  arises  from  loving 
faith  in  Christ,  and  which  seeks  to  renew  within  and  without  the  con- 
dition of  those  multitudes  in  Christendom  upon  whom  has  fallen  the 
power  of  manifold  external  and  internal  evils  which  spring  directly 
or  indirectly  from  sin,  so  far  as  they  are  not  reached  by  the  usual 
Christian  offices  with  the  means  necessary  to  their  renewal."  No 
form  of  evil  or  misery  is  to  be  neglected.  No  class  is  to  be  ignored. 
No  social  agency  is  to  be  left  unused.  While  Wichern  is  chiefly 
occupied  with  the  duty  and  labors  of  his  own  national  church,  his 
survey  covers  both  Catholic  and  Protestant  enterprises  in  Europe  and 
America.  He  expressed  the  hope  that  Christians  divided  upon  creeds 
will  find  in  practical  efforts  of  benevolence  a  ground  on  which  all  can 
agree.     His  appreciation  of  others  is  liberal  and  unstinted. 

The  Central  Committee  was  a  part  of  the  original  plan  of 
Wichern,  and  it  continues  to  carry  out  his  ideas.  It  has  an  office  in 
Berlin.  Its  functions  are  instruction,  inspiration,  council,  and  assist- 
ance, but  not  legislation.  It  seldom  conducts  a  benevolent  enterprise 
directly,  yet  its  influence  is  widely  felt.  Traveling  agents  are  main- 
tained in  various  districts   for  the  work  of  strengthening  existing 


GERMANY 


29 


efforts,  of  leading  to  an  organization  of  new  enterprises,  and  of  se- 
curing means  for  institutions.  These  agents  go  from  church  to 
church,  present  the  needs,  interest  pastors  and  congregations,  and 
take  collections.  Some  of  the  institutions  raise  money  by  direct  ap- 
peals. Charitable  works  are  often  supported  by  a  voluntary  local  so- 
ciety of  persons  who  are  interested  in  a  particular  form  of  philan- 
thropy. They  raise  the  funds,  administer  the  trust,  appoint  the  offi- 
cers, and  are  responsible  for  finances  and  methods.  The  institutions 
are  directly  administered  by  persons  who  have  the  confidence  of  the 
directors  of  the  society. 

German  people  have  great  respect  for  special  training.  They  are 
served  by  officials  in  schools,  on  railroads  and  in  municipal  affairs, 
who  have  passed  probations  and  examinations,  and  who  belong  to  a 
profession.  This  idea  of  expert  service  is  carried  into  the  Inner 
Mission.  The  deaconesses  are  required  to  learn  the  art  they  are  to 
practice,  as  teaching,  or  nursing  the  sick.  The  Central  Committee 
bestows  special  attention  upon  provision  for  training  the  administra- 
tive officers,  and  assistants.  Schafer,  one  of- the  representative  men 
the  Inner  Mission,  speaks  of  the  anticipations  of  the  movement  in 
former  ages,  and  divides  the  history  into  three  periods :  the  begin- 
nings (1780-1830),  creative  works  (1830-1870),  methodical  develop- 
ment (1870  to  the  present  time).^ 

The  works  of  the  Inner  Mission  are  classified  by  Schafer  under 
the  following  heads :  spread  of  the  Gospel,  parish  work,  education 
and  training  of  children,  education  and  protection  of  youth,  protec- 
tion of  those  in  peril,  rescue  of  the  lost,  care  of  the  defective  and 
sick,  contest  with  social  evils  and  means  of  betterment. 

Among  the  works  of  the  Inner  Mission  which  deserve  special 
notice  in  this  place  are  the  following:  Hospices  and  homes  for  rest 
are  provided  those  who  cannot  afford  to  pay  hotel  rates  or  who  wish 
to  escape  from  undesirable  influences  of  cheap  lodging  houses.  In 
the  care  of  little  children  the  day  nursery,  sometimes  conducted  by 
deaconesses,  may  be  found  in  cities  where  working  women  are 
obliged  to  leave  their  homes  to  earn  part  of  the  family  support.  In 
Stuttgart,  Cannstatt,  Linden  near  Hanover,  Altona  and  Schwerin 
are  good  types  of  this  institution.  In  most  of  the  deaconess  homes 
one  finds  training  for  the  work  of  schools  for  little  children  (  Warte- 
schule,  Kinderpftege,  etc.),  which  are  similar  to  the  kindergartens  of 

^  Leitfaden  der  Inneren  Mission,  4te  Auflage,  1903. 


30 


MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 


Froebel.  Schafer's  criticism  of  the  latter  is  significant ;  that  they 
leave  the  children  too  little  chance  for  free  movement ;  that  the  plays 
are  too  artificial ;  the  songs  barbarous  and  the  religious  teaching 
vague.  Orphans  and  neglected  children  are  sometimes  provided  for 
in  asylums,  but  the  general  tendency  is  toward  family  care.  In  par- 
ticular situations  the  institution  is  thought  to  be  a  desirable  factor 
in  a  system  of  relief.  There  are  societies  which  establish  agencies 
for  the  placing  of  children  in  suitable  homes  and  for  watching  over 
their  education  until  they  are  mature.  In  Darmstadt,  Weimar,  Heil- 
bronn,  Altona,  Dresden  and  other  places  are  found  institutions  for 
sheltering  and  training  boys  in  various  industries  out  of  school  hours, 
with  the  object  of  preserving  them  from  the  evils  of  idleness  and 
fitting  them  for  earning  their  living.  They  are  paid  a  little  and 
trained  to  lay  aside  savings. 

Among  the  agencies  of  the  Inner  Mission  for  the  education  and 
protection  of  young  people  may  be  mentioned  the  industrial  schools 
for  girls,  where  they  are  taught  household  arts  of  sewing,  darning, 
mending.  Girls  of  good  reputation  are  trained  for  domestic  service 
in  special  schools  ("Martha  Schools")  or  in  connection  with  institu- 
tions where  such  young  people  are  sheltered.  Lodging  houses  are 
established  in  many  towns  for  girls  seeking  employment  and  in 
danger  of  falling  into  the  hands  of  unscrupulous  agents  of  prosti- 
tution. These  homes  act  as  bureaus  of  employment.  In  the  neigh- 
borhood of  factories  where  young  women  are  employed  there  are 
boarding  homes  under  Christian  influences  for  those  who  are  not 
with  their  parents.  And  in  a  similar  fashion  provision  is  made  for 
home  life  for  apprentices  in  trades. 

Diflferent  from  the  hospices  are  the  lodgings  for  wanderers 
(Herberge  ziir  Heimaf)  of  which  there  are  about  450  in  Germany 
with  18,000  beds.  There  is  a  national  organization  which  publishes 
"Der  Wanderer,"  and  which  seeks  to  regulate  and  improve  the 
service. 

Closely  related  to  charity  work  and  often  connected  with  it  are 
the  efiforts  to  care  for  emigrants,  for  those  who  travel  in  search  of 
employment,  the  seamen,  and  others  who  have  no  settled  home.  Here, 
also,  deserve  to  be  mentioned  the  organized  agencies  for  rescue  of 
the  lost,  morally  imperilled  children  and  youth,  magdalene  asylums, 
inebriate  asylums,  workmen's  colonies  and  stations  of  help   (Ver- 


GERMANY  3 1 

pflegungsstationen).  There  are  in  Germany  about  twenty-nine 
workingmen's  colonies  with  places  for  4,000  persons. 

Philanthropic  effort  for  prisoners  and  their  families  are  fostered 
by  the  Inner  ^Mission. 

The  education,  training-  and  relief  of  deaf  and  blind  persons  is 
not  entirely  in  the  hands  of  state  officials  in  Germany,  and  so  the 
voluntary  associations  of  the  Inner  ^Mission  find  in  this  work  a 
considerable  field  of  service.  For  adult  blind  this  care  takes  the  form 
of  agencies  for  securing  employment,  giving  counsel  and  direction 
and  rendering  material  aid  in  times  of  destitution.  Religious  im- 
pulses were  felt  in  the  establishment  of  agencies  to  help  the  feeble- 
minded and  the  epileptic ;  deacons  and  deaconesses  of  the  Inner  ^lis- 
sion  are  active  in  many  German  institutions  for  this  class  of  needy 
persons.  The  famous  "Colony  of  ]\Iercy"'  at  Bielefeld,  founded  by 
Pastor  Bodelschwingh,  carries  on  this  work  on  a  large  scale. 

Other  societies  provide  vacation  colonies  for  children  in  the 
country  or  at  the  seaside;  establish  schools  for  cripples,  to  restore 
their  health  and  teach  them  occupations. 

Although  German  cities  have  an  admirable  public  system  of 
individual  treatment  of  needy  families,  already  described,  the  church- 
es find  room  and  occasion  for  parish  charity.  It  is  claimed  that  the 
private  agency  will  look  out  the  "poor  who  are  ashamed  to  beg"  and 
not  wait  for  them  to  apply  in  despair;  that  the  encouragements  of 
fellowship  and  religion  can  be  made  a  powerful  factor  in  restoration ; 
and  that  many  special  forms  of  assistance  can  be  made  to  supplement 
the  legal  relief  which  is  necessarily  nearly  the  same  for  all  and  cannot 
discriminate  as  parish  charity  can  do.  The  wisest  leaders  of  public 
and  parish  relief  agree  that  all  beneficent  agencies  should  have  a  good 
understanding  with  each  other  and  proceed  in  their  several  ways 
upon  a  common  plan. 

Parochial  Organisation. — The  conviction  seems  to  be  growing 
that  the  direction  of  all  charitable  work  of  a  regular  congregation 
should  be  under  the  control  of  its  own  officers ;  that  deaconesses,  for 
example,  serving  in  a  parish,  shall  be  responsible  to  the  pastor  and 
his  council.  The  inconvenience  of  divided  authority  is  seriously  felt, 
and  efforts  are  made  to  come  to  an  understanding  with  the  orders 
and  associations  which  have  central  administration  and  send  their 
agents  into  various  states  and  countries. 

City  mission  societies  in  certain  instances  do  much  benevolent 


32  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

work,  and  this  is  especially  true  of  Berlin.  In  its  13th  annual  report, 
1902,  the  Evangelisch-Kirchlicher  Verein  of  Berlin,  gave  an  account 
of  the  work  of  its  fifteen  stations  for  caring  for  sick  persons  and  of 
the  118  sisters  in  their  service.  These  nursed  the  sick  of  3,379  fami- 
lies, at  a  cost  of  10,092  marks.  A  deason's  home,  with  eight  broth- 
ers, gave  2,007  days'  care  to  the  sick  and  aided  1,075  other  cases.^ 

Jezvish  Charities  have  existed  from  ancient  times.  Many  wealthy 
Jews  have  provided  both  by  gifts  and  endowments  for  the  poor,  the 
sick,  the  orphan,  the  neglected  children,  and  for  the  aged.  Further 
particulars  about  Jewish  Charities  in  Europe  are  given  in  a  special 
chapter  of  this  volume. 

E.  Cooperation  of  Public  and  Private  Charity.  On  this 
point  Dr.  Miinsterberg's  discussion  is  closely  followed.^  The  rela- 
tion of  public  relief  to  private  charities  has,  apparently,  been  even  less 
carefully  defined  in  Germany  than  in  America.  Here  again  the 
difference  lies  not  in  the  general  principles  recognized  in  the  two 
countries,  but  in  historic  development  and  actual,  existing  conditions. 
The  very  thing  which,  in  Germany,  renders  the  participation  of  the 
citizens  in  the  public  relief  so  valuable  is,  on  the  other  hand,  a 
hindrance  to  the  development  of  private  charities ;  while  the  very 
circumstances  which  have  impeded  the  growth  of  public  relief  in 
America  have  quickened  private  charities  in  a  most  unusual  degree. 
The  activity  of  the  German  citizen  in  relief  work  is  a  voluntary  contri- 
bution toward  the  burdens  of  the  commune ;  the  American  makes  his 
contribution  in  the  form  of  direct  private  charity.  While  the  German 
demands  that  the  portion  of  the  public  funds  to  be  devoted  to  poor 
relief  be  turned  over  to  him  and  expended  by  him  as  he  shall  judge 
best,  the  well-to-do  American  provides  himself  with  a  somewhat  larger 
income,  and  also  expends  it  according  to  his  own  judgment.  The  only 
difference  is  that  in  Germany  the  burdens  of  the  public  relief  are  borne 
by  all  taxpayers  equally,  while  in  America  the  beneficent  and  philan- 
thropic man  bears  a  greater  share  than  the  egoist,  and  the  latter  is 
relieved  at  the  expense  of  the  former.  And  yet  I  do  not  hesitate  to 
say  that  the  American  custom  in  this  matter  is  worthy  of  imitation. 
The  very  fact  that  the  public  funds  are  at  the  disposal  of  the  visitor 
and  helper,  without  restrictions,  goes  far  toward  discouraging  private 
charity,  and  makes  a  limitation  rather  than  an  extension  of  public 

*  Zeitschrift  fiir  das  Armenwesen,  April,   1903,  p.   118. 

*  Article  in  American  Journal  of  Sociology,  already  cited. 


GERMANY 


33 


relief  seem  desirable  in  Germany.  In  this  connection  it  should  be 
borne  in  mind  that,  as  already  pointed  out  above,  the  work  of  the 
public  relief  does  not  differ  in  the  least  from  that  of  private  charities, 
so  far  as  the  nature  of  the  work  is  concerned ;  the  dollar  of  the  one 
looks  exactly  like  the  dollar  of  the  other.  The  difference  lies  not  in 
the  gift,  but  in  the  motive  of  the  giver  and  in  the  attendant  circum- 
stances. For  the  commune,  poor-relief  is  a  legal  duty,  the  exercise 
of  which  readily  leads  the  pauper  to  think  he  has  a  right  to  claim 
assistance,  although  the  law  expressly  denies  any  such  right.  The 
recipient  of  a  charity  feels  no  debt  of  gratitude  for  the  help  he  re- 
ceives (except  as  he  may  be  grateful  for  the  manner  in  which  the  aid 
is  given)  and  that  because  the  gift  comes  from  the  public  fund. 
Moreover,  the  visitor  is  likely  to  be  more  lavish  in  the  expenditure 
of  public  moneys  than  he  would  be  with  his  own,  or  with  those 
entrusted  to  him  by  a  limited  number  of  friends.  For  this  reason 
assistance  is  more  easily  obtained,  as  a  rule,  from  a  public  than  from 
a  private  charity;  very  often  self-help  is  not  urged  as  strongly  as  it 
should  be,  and  if  the  officers  of  public  relief  are  not  possessed  of  a 
very  strong  sense  of  responsibility,  or  if  the  district  management  is 
not  very  cautious  and  conservative,  too  great  liberality  may  be  the 
direct  means  of  producing  and  multiplying  poverty.  The  experience 
of  every  country  and  every  age  might  be  quoted  to  verify  these  state- 
ments. We  can  now  understand  why  it  is  that  even  in  Germany, 
where  the  system  of  public  poor-relief  has  proved  very  successful, 
there  is  a  growing  sentiment  in  favor  of  restricting  public  relief,  in 
the  main,  to  such  institutions  as  the  workhouse,  all  else  being  left 
to  private  charity.  At  present  this  is  entirely  impracticable.  So 
long  as  we  do  not  insure  widows  and  orphans  against  the  loss 
of  husband  or  father,  upon  whom  they  depend  for  support,  we  can- 
not think  of  abandoning  them  to  the  chance  of  private  charity. 
Then,  too,  the  public  care  for  the  sick  and  infirm  should  not  only  be 
maintained,  but  extended  by  every  possible  means.  These  things 
offer  very  little  opportunity  for  fraud  or  abuse,  for  their  external 
characteristics  are  far  more  easily  recognized  than  a  mere  want  of 
the  means  of  subsistence.  Moreover,  the  misuse  of  accommodations 
and  arrangements  for  the  sick  is  not  so  likely  to  work  harm  as  is 
fraud  in  the  disposition  of  public  moneys. 

One  thing  must  still  be  demanded  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic : 
the  respective  provinces  of  public  poor  relief  and  of  private  charities 

3 


34 


MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 


must  be  defined  as  clearly  and  as  carefully  as  possible ;  furthermore, 
there  must  be  established  between  the  two  a  definite  and  well-ordered 
relation.  This  is  recognized,  in  Germany,  as  the  aim  and  the  goal 
of  relief  work.  To  begin  at  the  two  extremes  one  might  say :  Es- 
sentials, necessaries  of  life,  are  to  be  supplied  by  public  charity,  while 
the  furnishing  of  useful  or  unnecessary  things,  or  even  luxuries,  shall 
remain  the  province  of  private  charities.  How  much  shall  be  in- 
cluded in  the  "essentials"  must,  of  course,  depend  upon  circum- 
stances ;  in  regard  to  the  necessity  of  animal  food  or  of  wearing  shoes, 
for  instance,  a  small  rural  community  will  entertain  opinions  differing 
widely  from  those  held  by  the  inhabitants  of  a  large  city,  where  bare- 
foot children  are  not  allowed  in  school  and  consequently  the  wearing 
of  shoes  becomes  a  necessity.  The  establishing  and  maintaining  of 
institutions  for  the  feeble-minded,  the  infirm,  the  deaf  and  dumb,  the 
blind,  and  orphans  will  also  fall  unquestionably  within  the  province 
of  public  charity,  although  even  in  Germany  the  care  for  the  blind 
and  the  deaf  and  dumb  has  been  left  largely  to  private  philanthropy, 
while  private  institutions  very  often  relieve  the  state  of  the  burden  of 
caring  for  orphans.  At  this  point  we  find  the  connecting  link  be- 
tween public  and  private  charities,  the  public  subsidies,  which  have 
been  developed  to  a  considerable  extent  in  Germany  also,  though  not 
so  much  as  in  America.  Private  institutions  for  the  deaf  and  dumb 
and  the  blind  usually  receive  from  the  bureau  of  public  charities  cer- 
tain appropriations  which  go  far  towards  supporting  the  institutions. 
Asylums  for  the  aged,  the  feeble-minded,  and  children  also  receive 
subsidies  in  the  form  of  free  use  of  public  lands,  etc.  The  demands 
of  Warner, — careful  supervision  of  all  subsidized  institutions,  regu- 
lations in  regard  to  admission  and  dismissal  of  such  people  as  are 
kept  in  any  institution  at  public  expense,  and  finally  specific  payment 
for  specific  work, — are  very  judicious  and  proper. 

To  decide  further  than  this  what  particular  work  shall  be  done 
by  public  relief  and  what  left  to  private  charities,  will  always  remain 
a  very  difficult  matter.  In  most  cases  it  will  be  a  question  of  actual 
conditions  :  the  one  branch  will  have  taken  charge,  to  a  greater  or  less 
degree,  of  this  or  that  department,  from  which  the  other  branch  will 
then  keep  more  or  less  aloof.  In  any  case  the  commune  should  be 
thoroughly  familiar  with  such  institutions  as  already  exist,  and  should 
carry  on  the  extension  of  its  own  efforts  accordingly.  It  is  also  very 
desirable  that  the  two  branches  arrive  at  some  mutual  understanding 


GERMANY  35 

and  agreement  as  to  who  shall  be  entitled  to  aid,  under  what  condi- 
tion, etc.  The  constant  annoyance  occasioned  by  shameless  impos- 
ters,  who  now  manage  to  secure  duplicate  or  excessive  allowances, 
could  be  avoided  by  keeping  a  careful  registration  of  all  those  who 
receive  aid  and  throwing  the  register  open  for  the  free  use  of  all 
interested.  It  is  clear  that  in  the  work  of  establishing  proper  rela- 
tions between  public  and  private  charity,  the  education  of  the  benevo- 
lent public  will  be  one  of  the  most  important  factors.  What  Warner 
says  in  regard  to  the  public  poor-relief  in  America :  "It  is  time  for  us 
to  stop  bragging  and  humbly  to  take  up  the  study  of  the  science  and 
art  of  administration,"  may  be  applied  equally  as  well  to  the  majority 
of  the  institutions  of  private  charity  in  Germany.  It  is  a  plain  fact 
that  a  sort  of  strange  sentimentality  is  exceedingly  predominant;  a 
certain  softness  of  heart  which  impels  those  whom  it  possesses  to  do 
something  for  their  unfortunate  and  suffering  fellow-men,  without, 
however,  trying  to  ascertain  what  is  really  needful  to  be  done.  Above 
all  else  it  is  essential  that  we  break  completely  with  the  notion  that 
poor-relief  and  philanthropy  are  in  themselves  meritorious.  We  must 
teach  and  thoroughly  convince  everyone  of  the  fact,  that  the  first  thing 
necessary  is  to  find  out  the  causes  of  poverty,  that  those  measures 
which  aim  to  set  the  poor  and  needy  dependent  on  his  feet  again  and 
to  make  him  independent  are  of  far  greater  value  than  all  the  benefi- 
cence in  the  world,  however  good  its  intentions.  House  owners  who 
make  regular  contributions  to  charitable  societies  must  understand 
clearly  that  they  will  be  doing  a  great  deal  more  for  suffering  human- 
ity if  they  cease  to  rent  poor  and  unhealthy  dwellings ;  employers 
must  learn  the  necessity  of  protecting  their  employes  against  danger- 
ous and  injurious  occupations  by  suitable  hours  of  work  and  such 
other  measures  of  precaution ;  and  all  others  must  be  made  to  com- 
prehend the  seemingly  very  simple  truth  that  the  possession  of  a 
healthy  body  is  worth  more  than  the  nursing  of  a  sick  one  in  the  most 
magnificent  hospital.  In  other  words :  methods  of  poor-relief  must 
become  a  part  of  social  science;  its  proper  exercise  can  be  understood 
only  by  a  comparative  study  of  economic  and  social  life.  We  know 
that  no  social  effort  can  or  will  succeed  in  making  poor-relief  and 
philanthropy  superfluous,  within  such  a  time  as  lies  open  to  our 
present  vision.  But  relief  work  would  no  doubt  be  performed  far 
more  thoroughly  and  more  intelligently  if  those  engaged  in  it  could 
know  and  realize  that  their  work  is  to  be  for  others,  not  for  them- 


36  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

selves.  The  essence  of  poor-relief  is  not  the  gratification  of  one's 
self-esteem  by  giving  alms,  but  the  complete  resignation,  sacrifice  of 
self  in  the  service  of  others. 

In  Germany  as  in  other  countries  the  evils  of  disconnected  and 
planless  charitable  acts  have  been  keenly  felt  by  private  persons  and 
officers  of  relief.  The  modest  poor,  ashamed  to  beg,  are  overlooked ; 
the  bold  beggar  lives  by  mendicancy  as  his  profession ;  generosity  is 
discouraged  by  abuses  and  failures  ;  funds  are  wasted  by  duplication  ; 
pauperism  runs  out  into  vice  and  crime  at  the  cost  of  individual  and 
public  gifts. 

The  best  writers  are  seeking  to  preserve  the  advantages  of  both 
public  and  private  charity  by  fixing  upon  a  rational  division  of  labor 
between  them  and  by  constructing  an  agency  for  communication. 
Public  relief  is  expected  to  furnish  what  is  indispensable,  while  pri- 
vate charity  may  provide  for  that  which  is  useful  and  desirable  under 
special  conditions. 

No  method  of  centralized  control  of  administration  can  be  devised 
which  will  not  crush  out  private  charity,  which  must  be  free  if  it 
exists  at  all.  But  it  is  possible,  though  difficult,  to  communicate  all 
the  information  required  for  intelligent  action,  to  keep  central  records 
of  all  forms  of  relief,  and  to  promote  constant  and  systematic  ex- 
change of  purpose  and  ideas  among  administrators.  The  basis  of 
enlightened  treatment  is  adequate  knowledge  of  the  character  and 
situation  of  the  destitute  persons  who  are  to  be  relieved.  In  a  rural 
neighborhood  this  is  not  difficult  to  secure,  as  it  is  in  industrial  and 
commercial  towns  where  rich  and  poor  are  separated  geographically 
and  socially. 

In  certain  cities,  as  in  Kiel,  Dortmund,  Hanover  and  Elberfeld, 
the  municipal  relief  office  exchanges  lists  with  the  more  important 
benevolent  societies.  In  Dantsic  the  societies  have  a  bureau  of 
records  and  the  magistrates  furnish  the  names  of  persons  who  receive 
relief  from  the  income  of  endowments.  Since  1870  there  has  been 
in  Hamburg  a  regulation  that  all  administrators  of  endowments  send 
to  the  central  bureau  copies  of  their  records  of  gifts ;  but  for  some 
years  the  record  was  little  used.  Since  1895  a  closer  union  with  the 
municipal  relief  department  has  been  formed  and  information  in 
respect  to  public  relief  and  endowed  charities  is  recorded  at  a  central 
office.  Full  information  from  private  societies  was  not  included  in 
the  plan  because  of  the  difficulty  of  bringing  all  into  line.     It  was 


GERMANY 


37 


soon  found  that  the  records  of  famiHes  and  persons  assisted  by  the 
pubHc  bureau  were  very  useful  to  private  charity  and  they  were  fre- 
quently drawn  upon  by  benevolent  persons.  In  1896,  for  example, 
information  was  given  out  for  nearly  6,500  cases ;  2,276  to  private 
persons,  1,411  to  societies,  1,797  to  endowed  charities,  and  885  to 
authorities.     In  Berlin  in  1896  the  requests  answered  were  2,936. 

The  German  Society  of  Relief  and  Charity  discussed  this  subject 
in  1891,  and  since  that  time  the  movement  has  extended.  Generally 
the  elifort  is  made  to  bring  both  public  and  private  relief  into  coopera- 
tion, as  in  Dresden,  Frankfurt,  Charlottenburg,  Potsdam,  Darmstadt, 
Strassburg,  Posen,  Colmar,  Gorlitz  and  elsewhere. 

In  Berlin  the  workers  in  various  districts  come  together  locally 
for  the  consideration  of  common  interests.  The  representatives  of 
of  each  society  brings  with  him  an  account  of  each  applicant  cared  for 
and  a  record  is  made  by  the  card  system  of  all  such  matters.  The 
Jewish  charities  in  Hamburg  and  Berlin  have  especially  good  arrange- 
ments of  this  character.  The  discussion  and  comparison  of  views 
and  resources  make  it  possible  not  only  to  prevent  duplication  of 
gifts,  but  also  to  secure  adequate  and  suitable  relief  according  to  the 
ability  and  purpose  of  each  agency. 

It  is  very  difficult,  especially  in  the  larger  cities,  to  secure  a  com- 
plete and  reliable  registration  of  all  cases.  One  part  of  this  difficulty 
is  technical  and  financial.  The  keeping  of  such  a  register  involves 
much  trained  labor,  and  the  facts  about  names,  residences,  family 
relations,  and  kind  of  relief  are  not  easy  to  secure.  By  migration, 
sickness  and  death,  the  record  soon  becomes  inaccurate  and  must  be 
corrected.  On  the  other  hand  the  private  societies  are  unwilling  to 
assist  in  furnishing  copies  of  their  records,  either  because  they  dis- 
like to  expose  the  names  of  the  beneficiaries  or  because  they  are 
afraid  of  losing  their  independence.  The  church  parishes  are  partic- 
ularly slow  to  cooperate  with  the  public  relief  offices.  It  has  been 
found  advisable  to  organize  the  bureau  of  information  wherever  a 
few  of  the  more  important  relief  agencies  are  ready  and  not  wait  for 
all  to  enter  upon  the  arrangement.  The  advantages  become  so  ob- 
vious that  all  are  likely  to  come  in. 

Breslau^  has  sought  to  secure  a  central  registration  of  dependents. 
Between  1898  and  1901  the  office  had  records  of  66,771  cases ;  but 
43,000  of  these  were  taken  from  the  municipal  records,  while  only 

^Zeitschrift  fur  das  Armenwesen,  January,   1903,  pp.  30-31. 


i*«»'a. 


38 


MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 


8,149  cases  came  from  endowed  charities,  societies  and  churches. 
This  illustrates  the  difficulty  of  inducing  private  societies  to  register 
their  cases.  In  the  report  of  the  Vereinigung  der  Wohlthatigkeits- 
bestrebungen  of  Charlottenburg  for  1902,  the  records  furnished  by 
persons,  associations  and  city  relief  department  were  10,000  cases; 
4,303  requests  for  information  came  in  from  various  sources. 

Information  in  respect  to  the  agencies  of  relief  is  desirable,  espe- 
cially in  cities.  Benevolent  persons  wish  to  know  where  their  gifts 
may  be  most  wisely  made  and  what  societies  or  officials  will  respond 
to  particular  needs ;  and  destitute  persons  should  not  be  obliged  to 
wander  aimlessly  from  place  to  place  in  order  to  secure  the  help  which 
they  require.  In  many  cities  this  want  is  met  by  the  publication  of 
directories  more  or  less  complete,  containing  lists  of  all  available 
resources  of  relief,  public  and  private.  The  directory  in  Dresden  is 
quite  satisfactory.  In  Berlin,  Hamburg,  Stuttgart,  Liibeck,  the  lists 
of  endowed  charities  are  officially  published ;  but,  without  detailed 
instructions  for  use,  these  lists  are  not  comprehensible.  The  city 
office  of  Posen  has  published  a  carefully  arranged  descriptive  list, 
and  the  Ethical  Culture  Society  of  Berlin  has  printed  an  analytic  and 
explanatory  catalogue  of  over  1,000  agencies  of  charity. 

In  order  to  act  together,  avoid  at  once  duplication  and  neglect, 
and  to  cooperate  in  a  common  plan  after  free  exchange  of  views, 
various  efforts  have  been  made  in  German  cities  to  bring  the  repre- 
sentatives of  municipal  relief  and  unofficial  charity  together. 

Some  of  these  organizations  have  aimed  chiefly  to  break  up  the 
social  custom  of  indiscriminate  almsgiving.  Thus  the  Society  to 
Prevent  Mendicancy  in  Berlin,  in  consideration  of  an  annual  pay- 
ment, permits  each  member  to  affix  a  sign  upon  his  door  and  send 
the  beggar  to  the  office  for  investigation  and  relief.  Similar  arrange- 
ments are  found  in  Dresden,  Dortmund,  Bochum  and  elsewhere.  It 
seems  to  be  difficult  to  maintain  public  interest  in  a  society  whose 
aims  are  so  negative ;  and  the  more  vigorous  societies  connect  this 
merely  corrective  and  repressive  function  with  more  positive  efforts 
to  relieve  distress  and  build  up  the  character  of  discouraged  persons. 
Thus  in  Leipsic  the  church  charities  and  deaconess  service  have  built 
up  a  bureau  of  information  which  will  assist  individual  givers  in 
placing  their  contributions  to  the  best  advantage. 

In  some  localities  there  are  legal  regulations  which  secure  coop- 
eration ;  as  in  some  south  German  states  where  it  is  the  law  that  the 


GERMANY 


3Q 


parish  clergyman  and  the  parish  physician  shall  belong  to  the  relief 
board.  In  certain  communities  the  administrators  of  endowed  char- 
ities are  legally  related  to  the  public  office  of  relief. 

In  Dresden^  and  Posen  the  authorities  have  arranged  for  confer- 
ences with  representatives  of  various  relief  associations ;  views  are 
exchanged  and  policies  are  arranged  by  agreements.  Many  other 
cities  have  made  experiments  in  the  same  direction.  There  are 
instances  where  the  city  gives  a  subsidy  to  private  associations  and 
requires  from  them  in  return  the  observance  of  regulations  and 
permission  of  inspection. 

The  German  Society  of  Relief  and  Charity  {Der  Deutsche  Verein 
fiir  Armenpiiege  und  Wohlthdtigkeit)  is  the  national  conference  of 
charities,  and  it  was  established  in  1880.  The  society  meets  each 
year  in  a  different  city  of  the  Empire.  The  proceedings  are  pub- 
lished annually ;  the  contents  being  the  printed  papers  and  the  steno- 
graphically  reported  speeches  upon  them.  In  1896  Dr.  Miinsterberg 
presented  a  general  report  which  summarized  the  previous  discus- 
sions. While  the  society  does  not  pretend  to  legal  authority  its  dis- 
cussions and  resolutions  have  had  considerable  influence  on  legisla- 
tion and  on  the  administration  of  municipal  relief. 

Related  organizations  are  the  Central  Committee  for  the  Inner 
Mission,  the  Central  Bureau  for  Summer  Care,  the  German  Lodging- 
house  Society,  the  Union  of  German  Stations  for  Help,  the  Central 
Board  of  German  Workmen  Colonies,  and  the  Union  of  Patriotic 
Women's  Societies.  Germany  is  also  represented  in  the  Board  and 
Executive  Committee  of  the  International  Congress  of  Public  and 
Private  Assistance  provided  for  at  Paris  in  1900,  and  which  will 
hold  its  next  meeting  in  Milan  in  1905. 
F.     Indoor  Relief  (in  Institutions), 

Since  the  facts  relating  to  charitable  institutions  will  be  given 
below  under  various  heads, — as  vagrants,  medical  relief,  care  of 
defectives,  etc., — it  is  necessary  here  merely  to  state  the  tendencies  of 
practice  and  opinion  in  Germany. 

In  general,   the   German  urban  charities   depend   far  more  on 

^The  Dresden  Central  Bureau  reported  for  1902  that  it  included  the  public 
office  of  relief,  100  societies  and  institutions,  and  24  churches.  The  royal  family 
sought  for  information  at  this  office.  Not  less  than  1,538,332  marks  in  volun- 
tary gifts  to  the  poor  were  reported,  and  greater  use  is  made  of  the  records  of 
the  office  every  year. 


40 


MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 


personal  acquaintance  and  influence  to  prevent  the  abuse  of  outdoor 
relief  than  is  the  case  in  England  or  America.  This  method  has 
already  been  explained  in  giving  an  account  of  the  "Elberfeld  Sys- 
tem." Instead  of  using  an  almshouse  or  workhouse  as  a  test  of 
paupers,  the  numerous  visitors  depend  on  a  judgment  formed  by 
frequent  and  careful  inspection  and  inquiry.  The  institution  is  not 
employed  for  ordinary  cases  of  destitution,  especially  when  this  would 
result  in  breaking  up  a  family,  in  preventing  the  bread-winners 
from  making  the  most  of  their  earning  power  and  reaching  self- 
support  as  speedily  as  possible.  Rather  will  both  public  and  private 
benevolence  seek  to  give  occasional  assistance  in  the  home  and  labor 
with  the  family  to  make  it  fully  independent. 

Institutional  relief  is  reserved,  as  a  rule,  for  persons  who  shun 
industry,  are  dissolute,  or  drunken,  and  who  require  compulsion 
under  control  to  make  them  labor.  Homes  for  the  aged  and  feeble 
who  have  no  children  or  other  relatives  to  care  for  them  are  regarded 
with  favor.  Many  of  the  sick  are  best  treated  in  hospitals  or  sani- 
taria. Defectives  are  sent  to  schools  for  training,  to  special  hospitals 
for  care,  or  to  custodial  asylums  for  protection.  Whenever  rigid 
control,  oversight,  or  special  medical  treatment  are  required,  then 
indoor  relief  is  preferred.  That  indoor  relief  is  reserved  for  excep- 
tional cases  and  outdoor  relief  preferred  when  it  is  available,  is 
shown  in  the  evidence  of  Dr.  Buehl.  In  the  imperial  statistics  of 
poor-relief  in  1885,  it  was  declared  that  1,078,921  persons  were 
relieved  at  home  and  only  288,426  in  institutions  (80  and  20  per 
cent,  respectively). 

The  institutions  care  for  three  classes  of  dependents:  (i)  Those 
paupers  who  are  found  to  be  drunken,  loiterers,  women  with  evil 
repute,  persons  incapable  of  managing  their  home  affairs;  (2)  the 
feeble,  aged,  invalid,  cripples,  insane,  feeble-minded,  and  others  whose 
infirmities  require  constant  care;  (3)  respectable  old  persons  who 
can  no  longer  work  and  require  homes.  (4)  Related  to  indoor  relief 
is  the  placing  of  dependent  children  in  suitable  families,  with  a 
modest  payment  for  their  board  until  they  can  earn  their  way.  Some- 
times a  separate  workhouse  is  provided  for  the  first  class  and  special 
asylums  for  the  others ;  but  very  frequently  all  classes  are  found 
under  the  same  management,  with  more  or  less  attempt  at  classifica- 
tion.    About  one-half  the  institutions  receive  persons  who  pay  for 


GERMANY  4I 

their  board  and  care  at  least  part  of  the  cost,  the  rate  being  usually 
from  .80  to  1.50  marks  per  day,  but  in  some  cases  much  more. 

It  is  said  that  the  chief  causes  given  for  the  reception  of  paupers 
into  institutions  are  infancy,  invalidism,  weakness  of  old  age,  crippled 
condition,  homelessness,  insanity,  inebriety,  tuberculosis,  epilepsy, 
blindness,  shirking  labor  and  desertion.  The  statistics  indicate  that 
drunkenness  is  a  cause  much  more  frequently  in  North  Germany  than 
in  South  Germany. 

The  inmate  is  received  usually  on  the  advice  of  the  poor-relief 
authority,  the  superintendent  being  authorized  to  receive  paupers  in 
cases  of  emergency.  The  pauper,  if  capable  of  work,  may  generally 
be  discharged  on  his  own  application.  If  he  is  insane  or  drunken, 
the  rule  is  that  he  can  be  held  forcibly  only  by  appointing  a  guardian 
or  by  appeal  to  the  police  on  the  ground  that  his  liberty  would  en- 
danger public  order. 

The  general  direction  of  the  institution  is  usually  in  the  hands  of 
a  board  in  which  the  unpaid  service  of  "honor  officers"  is  an  element. 
This  board  makes  regulations  and  decides  questions  of  principle. 
The  immediate  administration  rests  with  a  superintendent  who  re- 
ceives a  salary  and  is  responsible  to  the  board.  This  superintendent 
is  trained  for  his  work  and  secure  of  his  position  while  he  is  faithful 
and  efficient, — his  "political"  opinions  having  nothing  to  do  with 
appointment  or  discharge.  Where  there  are  many  insane  and  men- 
tally defective  inmates,  a  physician  is  sometimes  chosen  as  director 
of  the  larger  establishments ;  and  in  all  cases  medical  treatment  is 
provided. 

In  about  one-half  the  institutions  trained  nurses  and  attendants 
are  employed,  often  only  for  care  of  the  sick,  epileptics,  idiots,  etc., 
while  in  the  others,  chiefly  workhouses  and  asylums  for  the  aged, 
the  service  is  performed  by  the  stronger  inmates,  under  the  direction 
of  officers.  In  many  institutions  the  inmates  are  made  nurses.  It 
is  said  that  inebriates,  who  could  not  control  their  appetites  without 
the  restraints  of  the  house  order,  often  make  good  nurses. 

Naturally,  the  regulations  of  a  poorhouse  require  a  certain 
restriction  of  individual  liberty  and  a  uniformity  of  life.  The  sexes 
are  separated,  although  in  about  one-third  of  the  institutions  aged 
couples  are  permitted  to  live  together.  Yet,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  there 
are  few  couples  who  desire  to  live  together.  For  a  limited  number 
of  respectable  old  people,  separation  is  a  great  hardship,  and  for 


42 


MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 


these  special  arrangements  are  recommended  and  in  some  cities  sup- 
plied. 

The  regulations  usually  require  labor  of  all  who  can  perform  it ; 
and  in  the  workhouses  proper  the  day's  work  is  nine  to  twelve  hours. 
Visitors  are  admitted  under  careful  restrictions,  and  in  the  work- 
houses only  at  fixed  times  and  by  permission  of  the  superintendent. 
Ordinarily  the  inmates  are  expected  or  even  required  to  attend  the 
religious  services,  and  the  opportunity  of  celebrating  the  sacraments 
is  frequently  given.  Occasionally  the  rules  require  an  inspection  of 
the  correspondence  of  inmates.  Complaints  of  inmates  may  be  laid 
before  the  director  or  the  board. 

The  disciplinary  measures  vary  with  the  character  of  the  popu- 
lation. In  case  of  invalids  the  infractions  of  house  rules  are  cor- 
rected by  reproofs,  withdrawal  of  permission  to  go  out,  or  to  receive 
visits,  or  to  smoke,  etc.  A  threat  of  discharge  is  sometimes  used. 
In  the  poorhouses  more  severe  penalties  are  employed,  removal  of 
privileges,  isolation,  harder  bed,  discharge,  etc.  In  workhouses 
the  discipline  is  very  similar  to  that  of  a  prison.  Dr.  Buehl  thinks 
that  the  penalty  of  discharge  is  inconsistent  with  the  poor  law,  since 
this  law  makes  relief  a  duty,  and  permits  disciplinary  measures,  but 
does  not  provide  outdoor  relief  for  persons  who  need  rigid  control. 
The  indoor  pauper,  therefore,  should  be  kept  under  discipline  but  not 
sent  out  to  beg  or  steal. 

Modern  chemistry  and  physiology  have  discovered  the  minimum 
quantity  of  protein,  fat  and  carbohydrates  necessary  to  health,  and 
most  of  the  poorhouses  of  Germany  have  dietaries  established  by 
the  boards.  This  important  matter  is  not  left  to  the  caprice  or 
ignorance  of  the  cook  or  the  director.  The  diet  must  also  be  adapted 
to  the  needs  of  the  stronger  inmates  and  of  the  aged,  sick  and  insane, 
and  in  special  cases  the  advice  of  the  physician  must  decide. 

The  custom  is"  to  permit  paupers  to  wear  their  own  clothing,  so 
long  as  it  lasts ;  but  those  confined  in  workhouses  are  frequently 
required  to  wear  a  uniform,  which  serves  to  remind  them  that  they  are 
under  punishment.  So  far  as  possible,  the  paupers  are  required  to 
work,  and  agricultural  occupations  are  preferred.  Out  of  150  insti- 
tutions where  other  than  house  work  was  carried  on,  there  were  78 
which  employed  their  inmates  with  some  kind  of  agricultural  labor. 
Owing  to  the  long  winter?  it  has  been  found  necessary  to  introduce 
other  industries. 


GERMANY 


43 


The  poor  authorities  sometimes  make  contracts  with  private 
institutions  for  the  care  of  the  paupers.  Many  of  the  inmates  of  the 
thirty  Workmen's  Colonies  are  thus  sent  by  the  rehef  agencies,  and 
their  cost  met  by  the  public  funds.^ 

G.  Vagrancy. — The  highest  authorities  recognize  the  necessity 
for  systematic  rehef  of  the  wandering  citizen.  Wherever  a  German 
may  travel  he  is  still  possessed  of  the  right  to  relief  when  he  requires 
help  to  maintain  existence.  This  class  has  many  different  elements. 
Some  are  able  to  work  but  unwilling,  others  are  unable  to  work  even 
if  they  are  willing,  and  it  is  not  always  easy  to  distinguish  them  in 
a  throng  of  applicants.  Statistics  of  the  unemployed  are  kept  by 
bureaus  of  employment,  by  trades  unions,  by  the  cheap  inns  and 
stations  for  help,  the  workmen's  colonies,  the  emigrant  offices,  the 
correctional  houses  for  tramps,  and  from  these  sources  we  learn  that 
the  number  of  wanderers  who  require  assistance  regularly  rises  and 
falls  with  the  demands  of  the  labor  market,  foreign  emigration  and 
convictions  for  vagabondage  and  mendicancy.  In  the  times  of  crisis 
and  depression  (1873-1879,  1892-3,  1900-1)  the  number  of  vagrants 
increased.  "Objective"  causes  account  in  great  part  for  the  annual 
rise  of  the  demand  for  help,  as  seasonal  employments,  changes  of 
weather,  gluts  in  certain  industries,  neglect  of  training,  sudden  in- 
crease of  population.  Even  those  causes  which  are  rooted  in  per- 
sonal defects  are  connected  with  external  conditions,  as  indolence 
with  vicious  education,  premature  labor  of  children,  drinking  cus- 
toms, etc.^     It  is,  therefore,  unfair  to  say  that  any  man  who  really 

*  The  National  Society  in  1903  arrived  at  these  conclusions:  (i)  Indoor 
relief  is  in  general  to  be  preferred  only  when  there  is  a  special  need  of  com- 
pulsory labor  or  supervision,  or  when  the  physical  or  mental  condition  of  the 
poor  requires  an  intensive  oversight  or  care,  such  as  can  be  secured  only  in 
an  institution.  (2)  Since  the  necessary  institutions  can  be  erected  and  main- 
tained only  by  bodies  financially  able  to  meet  the  cost,  therefore,  when  there 
is  not  already  adequate  provision,  it  is  advisable  to  unite  several  poor  law 
unions  for  the  purpose,  as  is  done  in  Saxony.  (3) Individualization  should  be 
sought  in  indoor  relief.  Aged  couples  of  good  repute  should  not  be  separated. 
(4)  Suitable  employment  for  all  inmates  capable  of  labor  is  to  be  recommended 
on  personal,  moral  and  financial  grounds ;  for  those  who  are  strong  enough  agri- 
cultural and  garden  work  is  recommended." ' 

^  Zeitschrift  fiir  das  Armenwesen,  October,  1903,  p.  299,  from  Schriften  des 
D.  V.  f.  A.  u.  W.,  1903.  Cf.  Heft  65,  S.  d.  D.  V.  etc.,  "Die  geschlossene  Armen- 
pflege,"  by  Dr.  Buehl  and  Dr.  Eschle. 

^  See  remarks  of  Pastor  Morchen  in  Heft  57,  Schriften  d.  D.  V.  f.  A.  u.  W.,  p.  97. 


44 


MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 


desires  to  labor  can  find  it  at  any  time  or  place.  There  must,  indeed, 
be  a  systematic  and  rational  method  of  detecting  and  correcting  true 
vagabonds,  but  nothing  is  gained  by  treating  all  wandering  men  as 
criminals,  at  least  presumably,  without  first  putting  forth  all  possible 
efforts  to  distinguish  those  who  are  really  willing  to  work.  The 
German  system  of  stations  of  help,  cheap  inns  and  workmen's  colo- 
nies is  a  contribution  to  the  world's  best  experience  in  this  field  of 
philanthropy.  Their  own  administrators  reveal  defects  and  criticism 
is  open  and  distinct ;  but  such  criticism  is  itself  an  evidence  of  inter- 
est and  earnest  purpose. 

Lodging  Houses  (Hcrberge  znr  Heimath). — These  establish- 
ments are  largely  supported  by  branches  of  the  Inner  Mission  and 
are  conducted  in  a  religious  spirit.  They  are  inns  where  the  wan- 
derer may  have  lodging  and  meals  at  a  low  rate  without  temptation 
to  use  strong  drink  and  where  he  will  not  be  exposed  to  the  arts  of 
unscrupulous  landlords.  They  are  frequently  utilized  by  the  poor 
authorities  and  benevolent  societies  as  shelters  for  destitute  strangers. 
There  is  a  central  organization  of  these  inns.  In  all  there  were  in 
1895,  439  inns,  which  furnished  3,7cx),ooo  lodgings,  2,470,000  paying 
guests,  700,000  guests  from  the  stations,  and  500,000  persons  who 
took  meals. ^ 

Workmen's  Colonies  (Arbeiterkolonien) . — The  life  of  wanderers 
often  brings  them  to  sickness  and  unfitness  for  labor,  and  the  colo- 
nies were  established  to  furnish  a  shelter  and  means  of  recuperation 
to  fit  the  guests  for  regular  industry.  While  the  stations  for  help 
receive  the  wanderers  only  for  a  brief  stay,  the  colonies  permit  them 
to  remain  weeks  or  months.  In  1896-7  there  were  twenty-seven 
colonies  in  Germany,  with  a  capacity  for  3,000  persons.  In  winter 
all  the  places  are  occupied,  while  in  summer  about  half  are  vacant. 

^  As  an  illustration  of  care  for  homeless  men  in  Berlin  we  cite  the  report 
of  the  "Warming  Halls"  for  1902.  Various  large  halls  were  kept  open  and 
warmed ;  food  without  stimulants  was  sold  at  low  prices  from  December  6, 
1 90 1,  to  March  6,  1902,  daily  from  7  a.  m.  to  6  p.  m.  Tailors  and  cobblers 
mended  clothes  and  shoes.  16,231  cups  of  coffee  were  sold  at  4  pf.  a  cup;  6,242 
cups  of  milk  at  4  pf. ;  30,039  fragments  of  food  at  2-4  pf. ;  22,695  pieces  of  toast 
at  2-4  pf. ;  62,225  portions  of  soup  at  5  pf.  The  total  outlay  was  5,700  marks. 
The   number   present  varied   from    152   in   mild   weather   to    1,009  o"   cold   days. 

The  Society  for  the  Aid  of  the  Unemployed  sustained  (1901-2)  three  "Frag- 
ment Kitchens"  (Schrippenkiichen),  which  collected  and  fed  32,184  shelterless 
men  en  32   Sundays.     See  Zeit.  f.  d.  Armenwescn,  January,  1903,  p.  31. 


GERMANY  45 

The  Colony  for  Workmen  in  Berlin  has  a  peculiar  problem  owing 
to  its  situation  in  the  largest  city.  Various  experiments  have  been 
made  here  in  selecting  suitable  employment  for  the  kind  of  men  who 
resort  to  the  house.  At  one  time  they  tried  to  cultivate  silk  worms, 
but  without  success.  It  has  been  found  that  work  must  be  such  as 
any  sound  man  can  do  without  special  training;  it  must  be  work 
which  cannot  be  done  better  and  at  lower  price  by  machinery ;  the 
product  must  be  easily  marketed  at  low  price  with  a  slight  profit ;  the 
raw  materials  must  not  be  expensive  because  the  capital  is  small  and 
the  men  waste  a  good  deal.  The  "colonists"  change  often,  are  fre- 
quently defective  in  body  and  mind,  and  are  not  as  a  class,  reliable. 
Hitherto,  the  industries  which  come  nearest  to  meeting  the  conditions 
are  making  straw  wrappers  for  packing  bottles,  broom  and  brush 
making,  cabinet  work,  preparing  kindling  (in  winter).  Outside 
labor, — as  forest  work,  removal  of  snow  and  sand, — is  regarded  as  a 
"necessary  evil,"  because  the  colonist  is  thereby  removed  from  the 
control  and  influence  of  the  institution.  Zeit.  f.  d.  Armenwesen, 
July,  1903,  p.  213. 

Employment  Bureaus  and  Agencies. — While  the  agencies  of 
relief  have  daily  occasion  to  direct  their  poor  to  the  places  where  they 
may  find  employment,  this  method  of  promoting  dependence  is  not 
and  should  not  be  made  a  part  of  poor-relief  administration. 

Workhouses  and  Correctional  Institutions. — Indoor  relief  in  Ger- 
many is  chiefly  confined  to  able-bodied  persons.  In  this  country 
various  methods  have  been  tried  and  poorhouses  have  been  used  both 
for  the  care  of  the  helpless  and  the  test  and  control  of  the  sturdy 
beggar.  Wherever  these  classes  are  mingled  the  result  has  been 
deplorable ;  the  innocent  child,  the  helpless  old  people,  the  dangerous 
insane,  the  disgusting  idiot,  the  depraved  criminal,  have  been  heaped 
together  in  one  mass.  Of  late  the  tendency  in  the  well  organized 
districts  has  been  to  confine  the  work  test  to  establishments  for 
persons  capable  of  self-supporting  labor,  and  others  are  assisted 
either  by  outdoor  relief  or  in  special  institutions  adapted  to  their 
particular  needs.  The  principle  now  most  generally  accepted  is  that 
those  shall  be  placed  in  correctional  establishments  who  have  im- 
properly sought  to  live  by  charity,  or,  if  destitute,  have  gone  about 
begging  and  tramping  without  making  their  appeal  to  the  regular 
offices  of  relief. 

The  German  penal  code  (Sees.  361  and  362)  provides  that  vaga- 


46  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

bonds,  beggars,  persons  who  require  those  dependent  on  them  to  beg, 
persons  who  so  indulge  in  indolence,  gambling  or  drinking  that  they 
or  their  families  must  resort  to  charity,  persons  who  receive  relief  and 
refuse  offered  labor  which  they  could  perform,  and  those  who  wil- 
fully neglect  to  provide  shelter  for  themselves,  may  be  incarcerated 
or  fined,  and,  in  addition,  required  to  work  either  in  or  outside  a 
workhouse ;  always  separated  from  free  laborers.  The  institutions 
in  which  this  compulsory  labor  is  performed  are  distinguished  from 
prisons  and  penitentiaries  and  are  called  workhouses  or  correctional 
institutions.  There  are,  therefore,  three  kinds  of  institutions  for 
persons  able  to  work  and  presumably  in  need :  poorhouses  in  the 
proper  sense,  workhouses  administered  by  the  poor-relief  authorities, 
and  the  correctional  institutions  managed  by  prison  authorities. 
One  hears  the  complaint  from  representatives  of  a  humane  policy 
that  too  frequently  poor  persons  are  placed  in  correctional  establish- 
ments along  with  depraved  criminals  who  should  have  been  assisted 
at  home  or  have  been  sent  to  an  asylum  for  defectives  or  the  helpless 
aged.  In  many  localities  the  poor  will  endure  extreme  suffering 
before  they  will  consent  to  enter  a  shelter  which  is  closely  connected 
with  a  prison.  On  the  other  hand,  able-bodied  mendicants  are  some- 
times placed  in  institutions  designed  for  the  feeble,  and  share  the 
treatment  of  invalids,  although  they  should  be  placed  under  the  con- 
trol of  officers  who  require  steady  and  hard  labor. 

It  has  been  found  difficult  to  provide  occupation  for  those  capable 
of  work  without  competing  with  free  workmen.  The  household 
affords  much  occupation  for  the  women,  but  it  is  more  difficult  to 
keep  the  men  busy. 

Stations  for  Help  {NaturalverpUegungsstationen)  are  places 
where  destitute  travellers  secure  the  immediate  necessities  of  exist- 
ence, as  food  and  lodging,  on  condition  that  they  perform  a  desig- 
nated task  of  work.  The  guest  is  required  to  move  on  in  search  of 
employment  as  soon  as  possible.  Therefore,  it  is  necessary  that  the 
stations  be  connected  in  a  system  and  that  the  network  covers  a  wide 
region,  with  the  stations  not  further  than  a  day's  walk  distant  from 
each  other.  The  route  is  prescribed  and  the  certificates  are  sent 
forward  from  one  place  to  the  next.  In  1895  there  were  in  Prussia 
744  stations  in  342  districts.  The  numbers  fluctuate  greatly,  with  a 
tendency  to  diminish.  There  are  local  unions  all  federated  in  a 
national  society.     There  were  in  Bavaria,  in  1900,  559  Verpflegungs- 


GERMANY 


47 


stationen,  of  which  only  lOO  required  work  in  return  for  rehef ;  yet 
the  desirability  of  a  work  test  is  generally  conceded  in  that  state. 

Societies  to  Prevent  Mendicancy  (die  Antibettelvercine) . — In 
Berlin,  Dresden,  Dortmund,  Hanover,  Breslau  and  other  cities  exist 
societies  of  various  names  whose  aim  is  to  repress  begging.  In 
Elberfeld  the  woman's  society  acts  as  a  society  to  prevent  begging  at 
the  door.  Not  merely  do  these  associations  seek  to  furnish  the 
means  of  investigation  and  testing,  but  they  agree  to  supply  what  is 
really  needed,  so  that  there  shall  be  no  excuse  for  begging  or  for 
thoughtless  almsgiving.  A  small  shield  on  the  door  notifies  the 
mendicant  to  go  to  the  office  and  not  disturb  the  family.  Part  of  the 
equipment  is,  sometimes,  as  in  Dresden,  a  workplace  where  tramps 
may  be  tested. 

Urban  Shelters  (Asyle  fiir  Obdachlose). — In  some  of  the  cities 
there  are  shelters  for  the  homeless,  some  of  them  connected  with  the 
municipal  workhouses  or  stations  of  help,  and  others  which  do  not 
require  any  work  test.  The  decided  tendency  of  expert  opinion  is 
to  condemn  those  shelters  which  receive  all  who  come,  give  them 
lodging,  bath,  disinfection  and  food,  and  require  no  registration  and 
no  labor  in  return  for  aid.  It  is  believed  by  the  representatives  of 
the  national  society  of  charity  that  this  policy  makes  any  thorough 
and  individual  treatment  impossible  and  tends  to  deprave  the  tramp 
still  further.  The  wanderer  is  apt  to  take  the  money  which  he 
should  use  to  pay  for  his  bed  to  buy  drink.  He  is  induced  to 
think  that  it  is  easy  to  procure  the  necessities  of  existence  without 
personal  effort  and  without  responsibility.  Unless  careful  investi- 
gation is  made  at  the  first  application  for  assistance  one  can  easily 
predict  a  life  career  of  vagabondage  and  crime.  It  is  believed  to  be 
highly  desirable  to  have  a  good  understanding  between  all  the 
agencies  of  sheltering  charity,  so  that  each  man  shall  be  sent  to  the 
place  where  there  is  the  highest  probability  of  his  being  rescued  from 
his  course  of  mendicancy,  corrected  of  his  fault,  and  set  upon  his  own 
feet  as  a  self-respecting  man. 

Emergency  Relief  for  the  Unemployed. — This  subject  was  dis- 
cussed very  fully  by  the  German  National  Conference^  in  1902.  Two 
resolutions  were  unanimously  accepted:  (i)  A  distinction  should  be 
made  between  emergency  work  (Notstandsarbeiten)  in  the  proper 
sense,  and  the  reservation  of  needed  public  work  for  a  season  when 

*  Schrif ten  d.  D.  Vereins  fur  Armenpflege,  etc.,  1902,  Heft  58  and  62. 


48 


MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 


much  ordinary  industry  is  suspended.  The  latter  measure  should 
be  v:sed  only  to  prevent  unemployment ;  the  former  to  give  relief  to 
those  actually  unemployed.  (2)  Neither  of  these  measures  belongs 
to  poor-relief.  Both  require  a  more  methodical  preparation  and 
management  than  they  have  heretofore  had,  and  in  particular  dis- 
tricts they  should  be  administered  according  to  common  principles, 
so  far  as  possible.  A  third  resolution  received  a  majority  vote,  but 
it  was  strongly  opposed  in  the  conference  and  cannot  be  said  as  yet 
to  express  the  settled  conviction  of  the  representatives  of  German 
charity,  chiefly  because  they  do  not  yet  see  a  way  to  carry  it  out.  The 
vote  stood  50  in  the  affirmative  and  47  in  the  negative  on  the  proposi- 
tion :  "For  satisfactory  dealing  with  unemployment,  along  with  the 
measures  already  cited,  others  are  desirable,  and  in  the  first  place 
insurance  against  unemployment." 
H.     Medical  Relief. 

In  no  department  of  charitable  effort  has  there  been  more  progress 
than  in  this  field.  Kindness  to  the  helpless  sick  was  never  so  well 
equipped  with  the  resources  of  science  as  during  the  late  century. 
The  insane  are  no  longer  treated  as  possessed  with  evil  spirits.  The 
war  upon  tuberculosis  is  carried  on  with  a  wisdom  and  energy  for 
which  past  ages  present  no  parallel.  Sanitaria  for  convalescents  are 
recent  inventions. 

Influence  of  Workingmen's  Insurance. — Dr.  E.  Munsterberg^ 
calls  attention  to  the  effects  of  insurance  against  accident,  sickness 
and  invalidism  in  preventing  illness,  as  well  as  in  securing  medical 
attendance  and  care  without  a  degrading  appeal  for  charitable  help. 
Of  the  system  itself  we  shall  speak  later,  but  of  the  tendency  to  induce 
and  require  employers  and  local  governments  to  introduce  sanitary 
reforms  it  is  proper  to  make  mention  here.  In  order  to  reduce  the 
cost  of  insurance  of  wage  workers  and  to  increase  the  efficiency  of 
the  workmen  many  improvements  have  been  promoted ;  and  charity 
itself  has  been  spurred  to  increased  use  of  methods  to  prevent  dis- 
ease. Employers  guard  machinery ;  cities  forbid  the  occupation  of 
unwholesome  dwellings ;  boards  of  health  are  more  active  in  sup- 
pressing the  causes  of  sickness.  Everywhere  the  rate  of  morbidity 
and  mortality  is  diminishing,  and  thus  one  of  the  greatest  causes  of 
pauperism  is  reduced.  Thus  both  the  direct  and  the  indirect  influ- 
ence is  wholesome. 

^  Die  Armenpflege,  p.   149  ff. 


GERMANY 


49 


Hospitals. — Of  recent  years,  914,175  patients  on  the  average  are 
cared  for  annually  in  the  general  hospitals  of  Germany,  and  scarcely 
20  per  cent,  of  these  are  provided  for  by  private  charity.  Convales- 
cents are  more  generally  cared  for  by  private  means.  The  best  pro- 
visions seem  to  be  made  in  Hamburg,  Bremen  and  Westphalia. 

It  was  decided  by  the  Federal  Council  of  Home  Affairs  in  1902 
that  medical  relief  in  a  sanatorium  or  hospital  is  obligatory  on  the 
local  authorities  when  such  relief  is  not  only  desirable,  but  also  useful 
or  necessary ;  so  that  recovery  or  at  least  improvement  of  condition 
may  be  furthered  or  dangerous  increase  of  the  complaint  prevented. 
Medical  men  may  advise  that  a  patient  be  sent  to  the  country  in  case 
of  lung  trouble  or  other  weakness.  When  the  local  authorities  grant 
such  relief  to  a  non-resident,  they  may  recover  costs  from  the  place  of 
legal  settlement,  if  the  person  cannot  pay.  When  there  is  income 
from  sick  insurance  benefits  the  poor  authorities  at  Charlottenberg 
made  it  a  rule  to  pay  one-third  of  the  costs  and  receive  two-thirds 
from  the  insurance  funds.^ 

Outdoor  Medical  Relief. — In  connection  with  outdoor  relief  spe- 
cial physicians  are  ordinarily  appointed  to  administer  to  the  needs  of 
the  destitute.  In  the  larger  cities  these  officers  are  placed  under 
legal  regulations.  They  must  have  office  hours  to  receive  the  pauper 
sick,  must  visit  in  homes  when  necessary,  and  in  urgent  cases  are 
required  to  render  immediate  help.  Their  pay  for  these  services 
ranges,  according  to  the  size  of  the  town,  from  300  to  1,000  marks. 
In  some  places  the  poor  can  choose  the  physician  who  is  called  to  at- 
tend them,  and  he  is  paid  by  the  officer  of  relief  according  to  a  contract 
rate.  One  advantage  of  this  method  is  that  the  physician  thus  freely 
selected  by  the  poor  family  enjoys  their  confidence,  and  this  plan  is 
frequently  preferred.  But  on  the  administrative  side  there  are 
serious  difficulties ;  the  fixing  of  the  rate  of  compensation  is  not  an 
easy  matter,  and  the  supervision  of  the  work  of  so  many  physicians 
is  full  of  snarls.  The  situation  for  the  physicians  is  complicated  by 
the  severe  competition  for  positions  as  medical  advisers  for  the 
various  sickness  insurance  associations.  In  many  places  the  fees  are 
miserably  small.  Were  it  not  for  the  generous  spirit  which  marks 
the  medical  profession,  the  poor  would  suffer  far  more  than  they  do. 

Expert  opinion  favors  a  reasonable  compensation  for  the  service 
of  the  poor  in  order  to  remove  temptation  to  slight  them  for  private 

^Zeitschrift  fiir  das  Armenwesen,   April,   1903,  p.    113. 


go  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

practice.  In  the  country  districts  medical  service  is  very  inferior, 
owing  to  the  scarcity  of  physicians  and  of  hospitals.  The  Patriotic 
Women's  Society  has  earned  deserved  praise  for  promoting  medical 
relief  in  rural  neighborhoods. 

Physicians  for  the  Poor} — The  conditions  in  Germany  have  com- 
pelled attention  to  the  question  whether  physicians  serving  poor-relief 
authorities  should  be  treated  as  public  officials,  with  the  consequent 
rights  of  permanency  in  office,  pensions,  etc.  Generally  young  phy- 
sicians, with  small  practice,  are  appointed  for  short  terms  of  few 
years,  to  give  them  a  chance  to  gain  skill  and  earn  a  living  while 
their  private  practice  is  small.  Usually  there  is  not  enough  business 
to  keep  a  physician  busy  his  whole  time  and  so  yield  him  support. 
The  salaries  and  fees  of  physicians  to  the  poor  vary  greatly,  between 
200  marks  and  1600  marks  annually,  according  to  the  service  required 
and  the  locality.  Specialists,  as  for  the  eye  or  ear,  are  employed  by 
contracts.  The  consultations  are  held  either  in  public  offices  or  in 
the  office  or  home  of  the  physician. 

Should  the  poor  have  a  choice  among  physicians?  It  is  granted 
that  they  would  receive  more  benefit  from  one  in  whom  they  have  con- 
fidence. But  there  are  grave  practical  difficulties.  The  physician  to 
the  poor  is  a  confidential  agent  and  adviser  of  the  authorities  and 
visitors,  and  it  is  difficult  to  bring  the  actions  of  a  large  number  of 
physicians  within  legal  requirements.  It  is  also  difficult  to  agree 
upon  uniform  rates  of  compensation.  For  these  reasons  the  right 
to  select  a  physician  is  rarely  accorded  the  family.  Private  charity 
has  provided  many  dispensaries  for  the  examination  and  treatment  of 
persons  who  can  leave  their  houses,  and  with  good  results. 

First  Aid  to  the  Sick  and  Injured,  and  Emergency  Relief. — Any 
citizen,  whether  rich  or  poor,  is  liable  at  any  moment  to  need  the  help 
of  nurse,  guard  or  physician  in  case  of  fall,  sunstroke,  rupture  of 
artery  or  other  unforeseen  occasion  of  illness  or  helplessness.  To 
meet  these  needs  many  societies  have  been  formed  similar  to  those  in 
other  countries ;  and  stations  are  established  where  a  surgeon  may  be 
found  or  summoned  quickly,  and  where  bandages  and  other  appli- 
ances are  kept  in  readiness.     The  city  administration,  in  connection 

*Munsterberg  und  Stern,  48,  Heft,  der  Schriften  des  Deutschen  Vereins  fur 
Armenpflege  u.  Wohlthatigkeit. — Zeit.  f.  d.  Armenwesens,  May,  1903,  p.  129  flf. 

Moritz  Fijrst,  Stellung  und  Aufgaben  des  Arztes  in  der  offentlichen  Armen- 
pflege, S.  278,  Jena,  G.  Fischer,  1903. 


GERMANY  5 1 

with  the  fire  or  poHce  department,  sometimes  provides  for  emergen- 
cies. Naturally  these  arrangements  are  specially  helpful  to  the  poor 
and  the  stranger  in  sudden  misfortune,  and  the  name  of  charity  is  not 
misapplied  in  this  connection.  In  1896  there  were  28  "Samaritan 
Societies"  in  German  cities ;  and  in  253  cities  there  was  some  kind  of 
preparation  for  help  in  case  of  accidents. 

Medicines  and  Appliances. — It  is  customary  for  poor  authorities 
to  furnish  milk,  wine,  beef  extract,  etc.,  for  the  sick  poor  on  prescrip- 
tion of  a  physician ;  and  contracts  are  made  with  druggists  for  fur- 
nishing such  articles.  Sometimes  mechanical  appliances,  as  spec- 
tacles, bandages  for  hernia,  and  artificial  limbs,  are  supplied  on  the 
advice  of  the  physician ;  when  the  appliances  are  expensive  the  poor 
officials  must  know  and  give  orders  in  advance  of  purchase.  Baths 
have  also  been  provided  by  the  relief  officers, — a  measure  which  is 
due  in  great  part  to  the  insurance  laws.  Here  and  there  are  en- 
dowed charities  which  supply  money  to  send  invalids  to  healing 
springs,  as  to  Ems,  Gastein,  Carlsbad,  Teplitz,  Elster,  etc.  The 
Israelites  furnish  a  sanitarium  for  their  needy  coreligionists  at  Soden. 
But  the  number  of  such  endowments  is  too  small  to  meet  the  need, 
although  they  are  very  proper  forms  of  private  benevolence.  In 
Prussia  the  government  railroads,  on  the  recommendation  of  the 
administration  for  the  poor,  grant  transportation  to  healing  baths  at 
reduced  rates. 

Disinfection  of  bedding,  clothing,  and  furniture  is  performed  by 
the  city  administration  usually  without  charge  to  the  poor.  If  prop- 
erty must  be  destroyed  as  a  sanitary  measure  the  city  pays  an  equiva- 
lent. Great  care  is  taken  to  disinfect  lodging  houses,  shelters,  sta- 
tions, hospitals,  and  to  insure  cleanliness  of  bodies  and  clothing  in 
such  places. 

Appliances  for  Use  in  Nursing  the  Sick. — From  Zurich,  in  Switz- 
erland, has  extended  into  Baden  a  movement  to  supply  such  articles 
as  are  required  in  the  sick  room  of  poor  families,  as  ice  bags,  ther- 
mometers, rolling  chairs,  bath  tubs,  etc.  Usually  the  poor  suflfer 
from  the  lack  of  such  apparatus  and  very  few  organized  agencies 
have  been  established  to  provide  them.  The  women's  societies  were 
the  first  to  take  hold  of  this  branch  of  service. 

Nurses,  Their  Work  and  Training. — Care  of  the  sick  in  homes 
and  hospitals  has  been  the  business  of  the  religious  orders  during 
many  centuries ;  but  with  the  progress  of  medical  science  and  art  this 


52  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

work  has  been  greatly  improved.  The  Roman  CathoUc  sisters  were 
naturally  first  in  this  field,  and  their  orders  labor  with  the  inspiration 
of  traditions  of  mercy.  The  deaconesses  of  the  Inner  Mission  have 
also  entered  this  great  department  of  human  service,  so  appropriate 
for  women  who  have  skill,  training,  and  the  gentle  spirit  of  cheer  and 
consolation.  The  sick  need  more  than  medicine  and  physical  man- 
ipulation ;  their  weariness  and  weakness  of  heart  and  mind  call  for 
the  help  of  hopeful  and  tactful  companions.  To  meet  this  need  the 
leaders  of  the  religious  societies  have  sought  to  train  nurses  who  shall 
have  both  technical  skill  and  the  qualities  of  mind  and  heart  which 
are  so  heavily  taxed  in  the  sick  room. 

Some  of  the  state  institutions  have  followed  the  example  of  the 
orders  and  made  arrangements  to  train  nurses  for  great  municipal 
hospitals,  as  in  Saxony  at  Hubertusburg  and  in  Hamburg.  The 
patriotic  society  of  women  supported  the  Sisters  of  the  Red  Cross 
who  are  active  in  assisting  the  sick  poor  in  their  homes.  The 
primary  occasion  for  the  service  of  the  Sisters  of  the  Red  Cross  was 
the  call  for  nurses  in  times  of  war ;  but  the  same  organization  is  held 
together  to  help  as  need  arises  in  periods  of  peace.  In  the  report  for 
1896  it  was  said  that  589  sisters  were  in  the  society,  an  increase  of 
135  over  the  previous  year.  The  Woman's  Society  also  employs 
deaconesses.  The  nurses  attend  lectures,  have  practical  experience 
under  direction,  and  are  taught  by  the  chaplains  of  hospitals  the 
moral  and  spiritual  side  of  their  duties.  After  passing  a  careful 
theoretical  and  practical  examination  the  nurse  is  given  a  certificate. 
In  some  places  short  courses  of  lectures  with  clinical  work  are 
given  for  women  who  wish  to  be  useful  in  cases  of  emergency  or 
war,  and  yet  do  not  propose  to  follow  nursing  as  a  calling. 

The  Jewish  societies  have  also  made  arrangements  to  train  their 
nurses. 

There  is  high  authority  for  saying  that  experience  in  Germany  has 
taught  the  superiority  of  the  system  of  associations  of  nurses,  either 
on  a  religious  or  other  basis.  The  common  dress  is  a  protection ;  the 
discipline  is  more  effective  ;  the  danger  from  imposture  and  incapacity 
is  reduced ;  the  nurse  herself  has  an  asylum  in  the  mother-house  or 
elsewhere  in  times  of  sickness  and  old  age.  The  largest  service  thus 
far  has  come  from  the  church  orders,  although  the  private  societies  of 
philanthropy  have  recently  increased.  The  work  is  more  backward 
in  the  public  relief.     The  best  results  are  secured  in  parishes  where 


GERMANY 


S3 


the  relief  societies  and  nurses  cooperate  in  affording  the  destitute 
families  the  means  of  help  which  are  needed. 

One  of  the  matters  discussed  in  connection  with  nurses  is  the 
propriety  of  employing  women  for  general  practice.  A  few  writers 
have  asserted  that  women  should  not  be  sent  to  nurse  men  because  of 
the  tendency  to  immorality.  But  this  criticism  seems  to  rest  upon 
exceptional  instances,  and  to  have  little  weight  in  deciding  the  ques- 
tion. Women  are  natural  nurses,  but  in  hospitals  there  are  kinds  of 
service  for  which  male  attendants  should  be  employed  and  which 
female  nurses  should  not  be  asked  to  do. 

In  this  connection,  as  helping  to  account  for  the  popularity  of 
female  nurses,  the  fact  is  cited  that  their  wages  are  lower  than  those 
of  men.  While  male  nurses  secure  20-30  marks  per  month  in  cities, 
and  10-15  marks  in  rural  parishes,  women  receive  only  about  one-half 
as  much. 

It  seems  decidedly  advantageous  to  female  nurses  to  belong  to 
some  kind  of  an  organization ;  and  of  associations  there  are  two 
forms,  religious  orders  or  societies  of  deaconesses  and  sisters,  and 
free,  secular  societies.  The  nurse  without  such  connections  loses 
time  in  making  engagements  and  has  no  resources  in  sickness  and 
old  age.  It  is  now  proposed  by  some  writers  to  meet  the  needs  of 
nurses  by  old  age  insurance,  homes  for  retreat,  etc.^ 

Care  of  Households  {HauspHege). — In  1892  a  society  was  formed 
in  Frankfort  to  provide  for  the  care  of  families  in  which  the  wife  and 
mother  is  disabled  through  illness.  If  the  woman  need  to  be  sent  to  a 
hospital  she  is  often  unwilling  to  go  for  fear  her  home  will  fall  into 
the  hand  of  some  person  unworthy  of  confidence.  This  society  em- 
ploys women  for  a  small  consideration  to  cook  and  clean  and  keep 
the  house  in  order  until  the  housekeeper  can  return  to  her  task  after 
convalescence.  The  poor  family  may  pay  something  for  the  service 
if  they  are  able,  but  the  society  assumes  all  responsibility,  selects  the 
caretakers,  and  supervises  their  work  through  committees  and  agents. 
Other  cities  have  taken  up  this  form  of  assistance  and  it  gives  promise 
of  wide  usefulness.  It  is  evident  that  a  training  as  nurse  is  not 
required  of  the  assistant  in  the  home,  but  only  moderate  intelligence 
along  with  unquestioned  character.  The  persons  selected  are  usually 
women  of  somewhat  advanced  age. 

In   Frankfort   an   interesting  experiment   is   on   trial.     In   poor 

^Zeitschrift   f.   d.  Armenwesen,   April,    1903. 


54 


MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 


families  a  nurse  or  servant  is  an  extravagance,  yet  when  the  wife  is 
sick  it  is  a  necessity  to  orderly  family  life.  In  connection  with  a 
building  society  arrangements  were  made  in  1902  to  provide  a  nurse 
and  housekeeper  where  the  family  pay  monthly  in  the  rent  20  pf. 
premium.  To  this  premium  is  added  a  subsidy  from  an  endowed 
fund.  The  society  is  not  legally  bound  to  provide  a  nurse,  but  it  is 
hoped  that  experience  will  reveal  a  way  by  which  a  strictly  legal  con- 
tract may  safely  be  made.^ 

Care  of  Women  in  Confinement. — Among  the  poor  in  German 
cities  the  need  of  better  care  is  keenly  felt.  Those  who  are  ignorant 
are  only  too  apt  to  hasten  back  to  work  too  early,  with  serious  con- 
sequences to  their  health  in  after  years  and  to  the  detriment  of  their 
family.  In  some  circles  it  is  thought  a  mark  of  weakness  not  to  go 
about  daily  tasks  immediately  after  the  birth  of  a  child.  One  of  the 
most  serious  tasks  of  charity  is  to  educate  the  poor  to  think  of  the 
consequences  and  to  use  proper  precautions.  But  very  often  poverty 
itself  leads  to  neglect ;  the  mother  must  as  quickly  as  possible  be  about 
her  household  labors,  since  no  other  is  at  hand  to  do  the  cooking  and 
washing.  At  this  point  charitable  relief  is  sorely  needed,  and  various 
private  associations  have  come  to  the  aid  of  the  poor  mothers, 
although  by  no  means  adequate  provisions  have  been  made,  and  here 
is  a  wide  and  neglected  field  for  further  benevolent  effort. 

Women  sometimes  need  to  be  taken  to  a  hospital  for  the  confine- 
ment, owing  to  the  nature  of  the  case  or  the  household  surroundings. 
In  this  situation  care  of  the  household  is  required  as  in  any  case  of 
illness.  Even  if  the  mother  is  strong  there  will  be  need  of  help  in 
household  work  for  two  or  three  weeks.  Factory  labor  is  forbidden 
for  some  days  after  confinement,  but  such  laws  cannot  reach  home 
occupations. 

The  training  of  midwives  is  undertaken  in  connection  with  hos- 
pitals, benevolent  associations,  asylums  and  public  poor-relief.  In 
some  cases  the  asylum  is  made  the  center  for  training  of  assistants, 
as  of  other  nurses,  and  in  others  the  nurses  do  all  their  work  in  the 
institution. 

Care  of  Convalescents. — The  evil  of  requiring  a  poor  man  to 
return  too  early  after  a  serious  illness  in  home  or  hospital  has  long 
been  recognized,  but  even  to  this  time  the  provision  for  helping  such 
persons  is  insufficient.     The  workingmen's  insurance  laws  have  had 

*  Zeit.  f.  d.  Armenwesen,  July,  1903,  pp.  215-217. 


GERMANY  55 

an  admirable  influence  in  this  respect ;  and  the  various  institutions 
which  care  for  the  insured  are  prompted  by  their  exact  knowledge 
and  by  their  interest  to  prevent  the  premature  return  to  severe  toil 
after  exhausting  sickness.  It  is  found  cheaper  to  help  a  laborer  to 
get  thoroughly  well  than  to  support  him  as  an  invalid  through  many 
years.  Hence  the  insurance  authorities  continue  the  payment  of 
indemnities  so  long  as  it  is  necessary  to  enable  a  man  to  become 
strong.  Mountain,  country  plains  and  seashore  are  as  helpful  re- 
sorts for  the  poor  as  for  the  rich,  and  many  cities  and  associations 
have  sought  to  make  them  accessible  to  destitute  persons  during  con- 
valescence ;  for  example,  Berlin,  Bremen,  Breslau,  Munich. 

Tuberculosis.'^ — The  agencies  of  relief  join  forces  with  the  physi- 
cians in  the  contest  with  the  "white  plague."  The  number  of  suf- 
ferers from  lung  diseases  in  Germany  is  estimated  to  be  about  1,300,- 
000  annually,  of  whom  170,000  to  180,000  die. 

Three  forms  of  charitable  aid  are  required :  preventive  methods, 
curing  the  sick,  caring  for  the  family  whose  breadwinner  is  unable  to 
work. 

Preventive  Measures. — To  stay  the  inroads  of  consumption  the 
people  must  be  armed  with  knowledge;  they  must  be  taught  what 
tuberculosis  is,  what  causes  it,  how  to  guard  against  it,  and  how  to 
treat  it.^ 

Women  visitors  examine  houses  where  there  are  cases  of  tubercu- 
losis, and  have  them  cleansed,  disinfected,  and  the  patients  sent  to 
other  places.  Children  at  school  are  examined  by  physicians,  and 
if  it  is  found  that  they  are  liable  to  exposure  they  are  carefully 
watched  over  or  sent  to  the  country.  The  agents  of  the  insurance 
funds  and  the  poor-relief  authorities  report  cases  to  the  sanitary 
police. 

In  1902  the  government  gave  90,000  marks  for  scientific  investi- 
gations of  tuberculosis. 

Decrease  of  Mortality  from  Tuberculosis  in  Germany. — The  mor- 
tality from  this  cause  in  the  cities  of  15,000  and  more  inhabitants  was, 

*  Verhandlungen  der  Deutschen  Zentral-Komitees  zur  Errichtung  von  Heil- 
statten  fiir  Lungenkranke.  7  Generalensammlung,  16  Mai,  1903. — Zeit.  f.  d. 
Armenwesen,  August,  1903,  p.  225,  and  October,  p.  313. 

*An  illustration  of  the  vigor  of  this  campaign  is  the  fact  that  1,300,000  copies 
of  "Merkblatt"  were  distributed.  A  publication  of  Dr.  S.  A.  Knopf,  of  New  York, 
on  tuberculosis,  was  scattered  in  400,000  copies. 


56  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

for  every  10,000  inhabitants:  in  1877-1881,  357.7,  and  then  a  steady- 
reduction  until  in  1897-1901,  when  it  was  only  218.7.^ 

The  Care  of  the  Sick  in  Homes  and  in  Sanatoria. — A  general 
report  showed  that  in  1903  there  were  in  Germany  60  sanatoria 
already  occupied,  22  buildings  projected,  22  private  establishments, 
18  places  for  a  day's  retreat,  and  6  places  for  tuberculous  children, 

Many  sanatoria  are  built  by  private  societies.  The  German  Cen- 
tral Committee  for  the  Erection  of  Sanatoria  for  Consumptives  and 
the  Society  of  the  Red  Cross  for  People's  Sanatoria  are  conspicuous 
in  this  work.  The  Empire  granted  to  the  former  a  subsidy  of 
60,000  marks. 

The  Invalid  Insurance  Boards  have  provided  means  of  healing 
consumptives,  partly  from  financial  considerations.  It  is  cheaper  to 
cure  a  man  and  send  him  back  to  work  than  to  support  him  in  his 
weakness  out  of  the  national  funds.  In  1901  the  number  treated 
was  14,757,  at  a  cost  of  over  5,000,000  marks,  and  with  an  average  of 
74  days'  treatment.  Sometimes  the  insurance  board  erects  houses, 
sometimes  furnishes  beds  in  existing  establishments.  In  1901  they 
spent  49,000,000  marks  for  the  erection  of  hospitals,  sanatoria,  etc. 

The  sanatoria  have  enjoyed  a  measure  of  success  in  restoring 
consumptives  to  health.  The  insurance  authorities  affirm  that  72 
per  cent,  are  restored  to  capacity  for  work ;  but  that  if  men  return  to 
former  conditions  the  rate  falls  in  3-4  years  to  29  or  28  per  cent. 
Therefore,  effort  is  made  to  place  the  patients  after  treatment  in 
open-air  occupations  and  not  let  them  return  to  shops. 

The  insurance  laws  permit  the  family  to  have  one-half  or  one- 
fourth  of  the  sick  indemnity ;  this  permits  the  breadwinner  to  stay 
away  from  work  until  he  is  thoroughly  cured,  without  fear  that  his 
family  will  suffer  by  reason  of  his  unemployment. 

Relief  of  the  Family. — In  1902  the  poor-relief  authorities  at  Ham- 
burg decided  to  act  upon  the  principle  that  the  cost  of  caring  for  a 
consumptive  in  a  sanatorium  should  be  borne  by  poor-relief  when 
this  measure  is  necessary  to  restoration  of  health.  A  special  physi- 
cian is  to  watch  over  these  patients  on  their  return  home ;  and  he 
cooperates  with  the  churches  and  benevolent  societies  of  women  to 
secure  suitable  diet. 

Care  of  Convalescents. — Berlin  has  four  (4)  places  for  recupera- 

*  Monthly  Consular  Reports,  1904,  p.  839;  quoted  from  Professor  Mayet's 
monograph,  Twenty-five  Years  of  Statistics  of  Mortality. 


GERMANY  57 

tion  (Erhohingsstdtten),  which  in  1902  cared  for  1,973  adults;  360 
women  with  sick  children  were  entertained.  Other  cities  have  similar 
establishments :  Frankfort,  Frankfort  a.  O.,  Leipsic.  Others  have 
projected  arrangements  for  the  same  object :  Spandau,  Posen,  Stettin, 
Breslau,  Dresden,  Halle,  Harburg,  Hanover. 

Sanatoria  for  Chronic  Invalids. — In  1894  a  sanatorium  of  70  beds 
was  built  near  Berlin  for  workingmen  suffering  from  chronic  dis- 
eases. In  1898  land  was  bought  at  Beelitz,  and  in  May,  1902,  the 
department  for  men  was  opened.  The  entire  cost  has  been  about 
9,000,000  marks,  or  about  15,000  marks  per  bed;  the  yearly  expendi- 
tures about  1,200,000  marks,  or  5.50  marks  per  head  per  day.^ 

Chronic  Nervous  Disease. — Workmen  injured  in  such  a  way  as 
to  seriously  impair  their  nervous  health  and  to  endanger  society  need 
a  treatment  different  from  that  possible  either  in  accident  wards  of 
hospitals  or  in  hospitals  for  the  insane.  At  Stotteritz  near  Leipsic 
is  the  Herrmann-Haus,  founded  in  1900,  which  is  based  on  these 
principles :  Persons  suffering  from  nervous  shock,  but  not  insane, 
are  received  for  rest  and  treatment.  The  house  is  furnished  and 
provided,  in  respect  to  rooms,  clothing,  and  food,  according  to  the 
customary  mode  of  life  with  laboring  men.  Patients  are  kept  under 
observation,  without  annoyance  to  themselves.  All  who  are  able  are 
given  proper  opportunity  to  work.  The  number  is  kept  small, — 
about  40.  All  modern  appliances  for  treatment  are  provided.  The 
leading  physician  has  no  financial  interest  in  the  profits  of  the  insti- 
tution.    Abstinence  from  alcohol  and  tobacco  is  the  rule  of  the  house. 

Diet  for  the  Sick. — In  his  careful  report  to  the  National  Society 
of  Charity  in  1903,  Dr.  Blum  gave  the  results  of  inquiries  in  190 
cities,  about  two-thirds  of  which  sent  replies  to  his  questions.  Peo- 
ple's Kitchens  {Volkskilchcn)  are  benevolent  establishments  which 
serve  wholesome  food  at  low  prices  to  families  and  persons  whose 
households  are  not  able  to  supply  good  food.  The  families  of  labor- 
ers where  there  are  many  children  and  meagre  income,  unmarried 
working  people,  and  employes  in  shops  who  have  no  home  table,  are 
among  the  customers  of  these  establishments.  The  kitchens  aid  the 
cause  of  temperance  by  furnishing  nutritious  food  without  the  ac- 
companying temptations  to  drink.  While  it  is  expected  that  these 
kitchens  will  be  self-supporting,  yet  their  highest  usefulness  depends 

^  Die  Arbeiterheilstatten  der  Landes-Versicherungsanstalt  Berlin  bei  Beelitz. 
Berlin,  Lowenthal,  1902,  pp.  95. 


58  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

upon  the  supervision  of  intelligent  persons  who  are  wilHng  to  render 
voluntary  service. 

The  purpose  of  the  diet  kitchens  is  to  furnish  poor  people  kinds  of 
food  which  are  required  by  invalids  and  which  cannot  be  prepared  in 
their  houses.  Only  in  a  few  cities  are  these  arrangements  found; 
diet  kitchens  for  all  classes  being  known  only  in  Berlin  and  Stuttgart. 

The  German  National  Society  of  Charity  passed  two  resolutions, 
in  1903,  approving  these  agencies,  and  asking  the  workingmen's  in- 
surance authorities  to  promote  them,  in  cooperation  with  poor  relief 
officers.^ 

Care  of  Drunkards.' — Experience  seems  to  require  in  the  institu- 
tional treatment  of  inebriates  that  there  should  be  a  reception  depart- 
ment where  the  patient  shall  be  kept  under  careful  medical  observation 
for  4-6  weeks ;  then  a  convalescent  home,  under  separate  direction 
should  follow ;  afterwards  the  patient,  if  proved  reliable,  may  be 
placed  in  the  care  of  families  where  abstinence  is  practised,  where  the 
patient  may  be  paid  a  little  for  his  labor,  and  where  he  may  remain  3-4 
months.  In  more  difficult  and  obstinate  cases  a  colony  is  advisable, 
and  here  the  cost  is  about  2  marks  a  day  and  that  of  installation  is 
2,000-2,500  marks  per  bed.  But  most  frequently  the  case  comes  too 
late ;  habits  are  fixed,  and  disease  is  deep-seated.  The  greatest  hope 
is  in  the  progress  of  the  temperance  societies. 

The  Blind. — It  is  estimated  that  there  are  in  Germany  about 
40,000  blind  persons.  Children  are  frequently  cared  for  at  home 
and  in  ordinary  schools  up  to  the  tenth  year,  and  after  that  they  are 
trained  in  special  schools.  The  raised  Roman  and  the  Braille  point 
systems  are  both  used  in  their  books,  and  of  late  much  has  been  done 
by  societies  to  multiply  copies  of  good  works  and  lend  or  give  them 
to  the  blind.  The  children  are  instructed  in  the  ordinary  school 
branches,  so  far  as  possible,  and  the  effort  is  made  to  train  them  in 
simple  hand  industries  by  which  they  make  themselves  independent. 

Care  of  Deaf  Mutes.^ — The  first  institution  in  Germany  for  the 

^  Schriften  des  Deutschen  Verein  f.  A.  u.  W.,  1903  ;  and  Zeit.  f.  d.  Armen- 
wesen,  October,   1903,  p.  299. 

*Zeit.  f.  d.  Armenwesen,  July,  1903,  p.  219  ff. — Articles  of  Samter,  Wald- 
schmidt,  Die  Aufgaben  der  Armenpflege  gegeniiber  Trunksiichtigen  Personen  in 
Schriften  d.  D.  V.  f.  A.  u.  W. 

*  See  Review  of  J.  Kurth,  Das  Taubstummenbildungswesen  in  XIX.  Jahr- 
hundert  in  den  wichtigsten  Staaten  Europes,  in  Zeit.  f.  d.  Armenwesen,  June, 
1903,  p.  162. 


GERMANY  gg 

training  of  deaf  mutes  was  founded  at  Leipsic,  by  Samuel  Heinicke, 
April  14,  1778.  In  1788,  his  son-in-law,  Dr.  Eschke,  established  a 
second  school  in  Berlin,  the  first  in  Prussia.  The  Prussian  institu- 
tion prepared  teachers.  The  first  Bavarian  school  was  established 
at  Freising  in  1804 ;  and  others  followed.  In  order  to  supply  funds 
various  devices  were  employed.  At  first  an  attempt  was  made  to 
mingle  deaf  children  with  those  in  ordinary  schools,  and  train  teach- 
ers to  give  instruction  to  all ;  but  this  was  found  to  be  impracticable. 
The  movement  received  an  impetus  in  Prussia  after  1828  from  a  min- 
isterial circular,  and  the  number  of  teachers  and  schools  increased. 
After  1873  the  provinces  were  charged  with  the  duty  of  educating 
deaf  mutes  and  special  schools  were  built  for  them.  In  1900  there 
were  in  Germany  91  institutions  with  673  classes,  732  teachers,  and 
6,458  pupils.     The  average  school  period  was  71-3  years. 

During  the  development  of  the  movement  there  has  been  much 
controversy  over  the  question  whether  the  pupils  should  all  be 
boarders ;  of  late  the  tendency  is  to  employ  both  methods,  boarding 
within  the  establishment  and  living  at  home. 

Prussia  made  instruction  compulsory  and  very  stringent  laws 
have  been  made  in  several  states  to  require  indifferent  parents  to  send 
their  children  to  school.  The  ordinary  studies  are  pursued,  natur- 
ally with  the  exception  of  singing.  Especial  emphasis  is  laid  on 
drawing  and  feminine  handwork.  Trades  are  not  taught  in  these 
schools,  but  are  learned  in  later  years.  The  school  assumes  no  re- 
sponsibility for  the  mature  life  of  the  youth,  although  directors  advise 
with  parents  about  the  choice  of  a  calling.  The  trades  which  they 
can  most  easily  and  profitably  learn  seem  to  be  tailoring,  shoemaking, 
saddlery,  bookbinding,  gardening.  Girls  learn  dressmaking,  ironing, 
and  ornamental  work.  Trade  schools  especially  designed  for  the 
deaf  exist.  There  are  12  asylums  for  helpless  women  and  various 
homes  for  the  aged  deaf. 

Cripples. — In  1902  in  the  Rhine  provinces  were  found  in  a  pop- 
ulation of  5,759,798  not  fewer  than  49,508  cripples ;  of  whom  32,242 
were  males  and  17,266  females;  40,928  were  over  and  8,580  were 
under  16  years  of  age.  Of  the  49,508  over  16  it  was  found  that 
2,101  were  mentally  unsound ;  5,865  mentally  sound  persons,  children 
and  adults,  were  without  education.  For  all  these  there  was  only 
one  institution  with  46  places,  2,753  adult  cripples  were  entirely  and 
2,682  partly  supported  by  public  relief.^ 

^Zeit.  f.  d.  Armen.,  1903,  p.  315. 


6o  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

Insane. — It  is  estimated  that  i  in  300-400  inhabitants  are  insane, 
and  that  in  Germany  2  out  of  1,000  of  population  need  institutional 
treatment.  In  1890  only  56,234  insane  persons  were  in  hospitals  and 
asylums  (43,251  in  122  public  establishments,  and  12,983  in  114 
private  establishments)  ;  7,537  epileptics  and  idiots  were  included  in 
these  figures,  distributed  among  47  special  institutions. 

The  legal  regulation  of  insanity  is  chiefly  referred  to  the  legisla- 
tures of  the  several  states ;  imperial  laws  touch  the  matter  only  at  a 
few  points.  Most,  but  not  all,  the  states  have  their  own  institutions 
for  treatment  of  the  insane,  frequently  in  connection  with  the  univer- 
sity clinics  and  scientific  study  of  insanity.  The  provinces  generally 
erect  the  buildings  and  provide  for  administration.  In  some  states 
the  ministry  has  a  limited  right  of  control  over  the  institutions,  in 
relation  to  plans  of  buildings,  competence  of  superintendents  and 
granting  corporate  rights  to  private  associations.  The  reception  of 
a  patient  into  an  institution  and  his  discharge  are  regulated  by  laws 
of  the  states,  and  ordinarily  a  medical  man's  certificate  is  necessary. 
The  police  authorities  can  act  when  that  person  is  dangerous,  even 
without  the  consent  of  relatives. 

The  insane  person  can  be  declared  incapable  of  managing  his  own 
affairs  {Burgerlichcs  Gesetsbuch,  Sec.  6  and  refs.). 

There  are  numerous  private  institutions  for  the  treatment  and  cus- 
tody of  the  insane,  which  generally  owe  their  origin  to  the  desire  of 
rich  and  well-to-do  families  to  give  their  relatives  more  comfort  than 
they  would  have  in  public  institutions,  and  also  to  spare  themselves  the 
humiliation  of  dependence  on  public  support,  and  the  pain  of  know- 
ing that  their  friends  are  in  close  contact  with  patients  of  an  inferior 
social  class.     The  state  recognizes  and  regulates  these  establishments.^ 

Family  care  of  the  insane  has  not  been  carried  so  far  in  Germany 
as  in  Scotland  and  Belgium,  and  still  it  has  met  with  favor  and  suc- 
cess. Before  1880,  Dr.  Wahrendorff  in  Ilten  was  one  of  the  first  to 
employ  this  method  with  selected  cases  of  the  insane.  Dr.  Alt  in 
Uchtspringe  has  developed  a  colony  and  gradually  trained  families 
to  care  for  the  patients.  Very  interesting  is  the  experiment  made 
with  a  hospital  serving  the  great  city  of  Berlin.     At  the  Dalldorf 

^  Loning,  Lehrbuch  des  Deutschen  Verwaltungsrecht  (1884),  lyy,  Das  Irren- 
wesen. 

Hans  Laehr,  Heil  und  Pfleganstaltan  fiir  Psychisch-Kranke  des  Deutschen 
Sprachgebietes,  Berlin,  1891,  and  his  article  in  Handworterbuch  des  Staatswissen- 
schaften. — Schonberg's  Handbuch  der  Pol.  Oek.,  Art.  Irrenwesen,  by  Jolly. 


GERMANY  6l 

asylum  the  cost  in  the  institution  for  each  patient,  between  1893  and 
1897,  was  2.12  marks  per  day,  while  the  cost  in  families  was  only  1.28 
marks,  a  saving  of  about  40  per  cent.  During  the  years  1893-1897 
the  Dalldorf  institution  sent  out  into  families  822  male  and  517  female 
patients,  or  about  13  per  cent,  of  all ;  and  it  was  found  practicable  to 
find  boarding  places  in  the  city  itself,  without  sending  to  the  country.^ 

Feeble  minded  and  epileptics  are  treated,  says  Laehr,  in  a  rather 
stepmotherly  fashion.  Only  exceptionally  are  they  received  into 
hospitals  for  the  insane,  and  most  of  the  institutions  for  their  care 
are  private  and  receive  only  those  who  are  capable  of  improvement. 

One  of  the  most  famous  institutions  in  the  world  for  epileptics  is 
that  founded  by  Pastor  von  Bodelschwingh,  near  Bielefeld,  West- 
phalia. It  is  a  colony  with  many  houses  and  arrangements  for 
classifying  the  patients  according  to  sex,  occupation  and  stage  of  the 
malady.  It  is  supported  partly  by  charitable  gifts,  by  subsidies  and 
by  payments  for  care.  The  population  is  under  the  treatment  of 
earnestly  religious  people  and  the  church  edifice  is  the  center  of  all  the 
life  of  the  place.  Not  on  this  account  is  medical  advice  neglected, 
and  the  nurses,  both  men  and  women,  are  carefully  trained  for  this 
peculiarly  difficult  branch  of  service, 
K.     Children. 

As  in  America,  so  also  in  Germany,  relief  organizations  have 
given  special  attention  to  caring  for  children.  Whenever  it  becomes 
necessary  to  interfere,  or  to  take  charge  of  a  child,  they  aim  to 
secure  for  it  good,  healthy  surroundings,  careful  training  and  thor- 
ough instruction;  such  children  enjoy  the  protection  and  care  of  the 
respective  charities  even  after  entering  the  business  world,  while  they 
are  already  earning  their  own  livelihood.  But  here  again  we  meet 
with  the  very  same  mischief  already  mentioned  above  in  connection 
with  the  support  of  forsaken  women.  In  an  extraordinarily  large 
number  of  cases  the  care  of  children  by  public  relief  is  welcomed  by 
faithless  parents  as  a  very  convenient  way  in  which  to  receive  aid 
themselves.  This  is  especially  true  in  the  cases  of  the  illegitimate 
offspring  of  workwomen  and  servant  girls,  who  are  hindered  by  their 
child  in  returning  to  work.  One  favorite  trick  is  to  place  a  child  in 
another  and  strange  family  on  promise  of  payment  for  its  keeping; 
the  promise  is  not  kept,  and  the  foster  parents  are  forced  to  ap- 
peal to  charity.     It  is,  of  course,  impossible  completely  to  abolish 

^Zeitschrift  f.  d.  Armenwesen,  March,  1904,  Dr.  E.  Nawratzki, 


62  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

the  nuisance ;  it  may  be  checked  to  some  degree  by  dealing  severely 
with  the  parents  and,  under  circumstances,  by  legally  prosecuting 
them.  Here  (in  Germany),  as  well  as  in  other  highly  civilized  coun- 
tries, the  principle  of  anonymity  has  been  entirely  abrogated ;  found- 
lings, i.  e.,  children  who  are  found  entirely  helpless,  and  whose  par- 
entage is  really  unknown,  are  comparatively  very  rare.  Whenever  a 
child  is  received  into  a  charitable  institution,  its  personal  relations  are 
fully  established.  It  is  attempted,  wherever  possible,  to  leave  the 
child  in  its  natural  surroundings, — to  return  it  to  its  parents,  or  to  its 
mother.  Only  when  domestic  relations  and  domestic  environment 
prove  such  as  would  expose  the  child  to  too  great  danger,  the  child  is 
cared  for  by  public  charity,  which,  in  the  matter  of  care  for  helpless 
children,  is  now  usually  exercised  by  placing  them  in  good  healthy 
homes  (Familicnpflege).  As  a  rule  a  child  is  first  placed  in  an 
institution  which  serves  the  purpose  of  a  temporary  home.  Here  the 
children  are  carefully  observed,  and  every  effort  made,  particularly 
in  case  of  the  older  ones,  to  determine  whether  they  are  better  adapted 
for  care  in  an  orphanage  or  in  a  private  family  {Anstalts,  oder 
Familienpflege).  The  orphan  board  (Waisenverivalttmg)  has  con- 
nections with  a  large  number  of  respectable  families,  mostly  in  the 
country ;  to  these  the  children  are  entrusted,  certain  fixed  rates  being 
paid  for  their  keeping.  When  so  placed  a  child  is  under  the  guard- 
ianship of  an  inspector,  usually  a  local  clergyman  or  teacher,  who 
may,  in  case  of  necessity,  return  it  to  the  orphanage.  Here,  as  else- 
where, experience  has  taught  that  cases  of  total  depravity  are  rare. 
Most  of  these  children  improve  immediately  when  placed  in  new  and 
healthy  surroundings.  Thus  nearly  all  of  the  orphanage  work  has 
taken  the  form  of  family  care,  which  has  given  by  far  the  most  satis- 
factory results  in  the  matter  of  development  of  character.  The  sick, 
the  frail,  and  the  feeble-minded,  are  placed  in  separate  institutions, 
which  afford  such  care  and  instruction  as  the  nature  of  the  malady 
may  permit  or  demand.  Institutions  for  the  care  and  keeping  of 
children  while  the  mother  is  away  at  work  are  not  maintained  by  the 
public  relief.  This  department  is  left  entirely  to  private  charities, 
which  are  sometimes  assisted  by  public  appropriations. 
Unification  of  Methods^. 

Where  the  mother,  even  with  the  aid  of  poor-relief,  cannot  care  for 

^  Das   Ziehkinderwesen,  by  City  Councillor   E.   Putter,    Schriften   d.   D.   V.   f. 
A.  u.  W.,  Heft  59.     Cf.  Heft  62,  p.  94,  for  the  vote  on  Putter's  recommendations. 


GERMANY 


63 


her  child,  or  when  an  unmarried  mother  deserts  her  babe,  modern 
charity  turns  to  family  care  as  the  best  substitute.  Foundling  asy- 
lums have  fortunately  not  been  accepted  in  Germany.  But  the  super- 
vision of  infants  is  vital  to  the  success  of  the  modern  methods.  In 
former  days  in  great  cities  the  helpless  babes  were  often  entrusted  to 
incompetent  or  immoral  persons,  and  in  their  hands  the  mortality  was 
so  frightful  that  these  "baby  farmers"  acquired  the  grim  title  of 
"angel  makers"  {Engelmacherin) .  Associations  of  good  women, 
shocked  by  disclosures  of  charity  visitors  and  police,  began  to  organ- 
ize methods  of  inspection  of  the  homes  of  the  nurses  and  brought 
them  under  such  a  measure  of  control  that  actual  murder  became 
rare ;  but  the  mortality  from  other  causes  continued.  It  is  now  clear- 
ly seen  that  constant  medical  inspection  of  the  infants  placed  out  is 
necessary,  and  that  along  with  voluntary  visitors,  a  few  trained 
women,  paid  a  modest  salary,  under  the  direction  of  the  poor-relief 
and  medical  officers,  are  most  efficient  agents.  The  infants  are  exam- 
ined and  weighed  by  these  city  visitors  and  at  intervals  are  brought 
to  the  city  physician  for  inspection.  If  they  need  treatment  by  a 
specialist,  or  in  a  hospital,  or  a  change  of  diet,  or  if  the  foster  mother 
is  ignorant  or  negligent,  the  proper  order  is  given  by  the  physician 
and  the  visitor  sees  that  it  is  executed. 

There  is  no  imperial  law  on  the  subject,  and  the  legislation  in  the 
several  states  is  by  no  means  uniform.  In  some  cases  the  infants  are 
under  police  control  and  in  others  under  the  care  of  the  poor-relief 
board.  This  matter  was  fully  discussed  at  the  22d  annual  meeting 
of  the  national  conference  (in  1902).  It  was  agreed  that  all  infants 
who  are  placed  out  should  be  under  the  supervision  of  a  board ;  that 
medical  advice  and  supervision  by  women  are  necessary;  that  for 
infants  under  two  years  trained  and  paid  nurses  were  the  best  inspec- 
tors ;  but  the  conference  was  not  ready  to  recommend  any  general  law 
on  the  subject. 

An  example  of  the  care  of  infants  is  the  maternity  hospital  of 
Breslau,  which  in  its  21st  annual  report  (1902)  showed  that  it  had 
cared  in  that  year  for  112  infants  and  11 1  mothers,  the  average  time 
of  care  being  26  days.  In  21  years  the  hospital  had  sheltered  and 
treated  1,597  infants  and  1,533  rnothers ;  1,452  of  the  infants  having 
enjoyed  their  mothers'  milk  and  130  were  artificially  fed.  The  chil- 
dren which  had  natural  food  showed  a  mortality  of  only  i.i  per  cent.^ 

^Zeit.  f.  d.  Armenwesen,  July,  1903,  p.  222. 


64 


MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 


The  children's  cHnic  {Kindcr-P oUkUnik)  at  Hamburg  treats  chil- 
dren which  suffer  from  defective  nutrition.  It  weighs  the  infants, 
teaches  mothers  how  to  feed  them,  and  furnishes  artificial  food  when 
necessary.     In  1902  it  treated  1,611  infants,  with  excellent  results.^ 

Medical  Examination  of  School  Children. — Physicians  are  ap- 
pointed by  the  authorities  of  Berlin,  one  person  to  four  schools ;  and 
it  is  their  duty  to  examine  twice  a  year  all  the  pupils  who  enter  the 
school  with  reference  to  the  senses,  the  spinal  column,  the  develop- 
ment of  the  limbs,  etc. ;  to  make  examination  of  those  pupils  who 
should  receive  a  special  form  of  instruction  on  account  of  stuttering 
or  other  defect ;  to  make  a  quarterly  inspection  of  the  school  rooms 
with  reference  to  their  sanitary  condition ;  also  of  the  health  of  the 
pupils  and  the  presence  of  contagious  diseases.  The  school  physician 
does  not  prescribe  for  the  children,  but  sends  information  to  the 
parents,  so  that  the  family  physician,  who  knows  them  best,  may  give 
them  treatment.     When  necessary  a  specialist  is  called  in.^ 

Child  Labor. — On  January  i,  1904,  a  new  law  (of  March  30, 
1903)  went  into  effect.  There  had  already  been  laws  regulating 
child  labor,  as  that  of  June  i,  1891,  which  prohibited  the  employment 
of  children  of  school  age  in  factories  and  certain  other  places.  It 
was  forbidden  to  employ  children  in  wandering  occupations,  as  exhi- 
bitions, and  in  local  plays,  except  under  certain  restrictions.  In  1897 
it  was  ordered  that  children  under  14  years  should  not  peddle  wares 
and  engage  in  street  traffic.  The  most  recent  law  goes  further  and 
prohibits  child  labor  in  all  manufactures,  except  under  strict  limita- 
tions named  in  the  law  ;  but  this  law  does  not  yet  fully  regulate 
domestic  service  and  agricultural  labor  of  children.  It  does,  how- 
ever, go  further  than  ever  before  in  the  control  of  working  children 
in  their  homes ;  for  hitherto  the  state  has  permitted  parents  to  exploit 
their  own  children  with  hard  labor  while  outside  employers  were 
prohibited  to  do  so.  The  execution  of  the  law,  so  far  as  it  does  not 
belong  to  the  factory  inspectors,  is  in  the  hands  of  police  authorities. 
It  is  required  of  teachers  and  visitors  of  the  poor  and  physicians  to 
cooperate  with  the  police  in  discovering  cases  of  violation  of  the  law, 
but  they  must  first  inform  the  parents  of  the  requirements  and  report 
them  only  when  they  refuse  counsel  and  persist  in  violating  the  law. 

^  Zeit.  f.  d.  Armenvvesen,  July,  IQ03,  p.  222. 
*  Consular  Report,  April,  1904,  p.  173. 


GERMANY 


6S 


The  protected  age  is  up  to  13  years  or  the  end  of  the  obligatory  school 
period.^ 

Summer  Outings. — The  central  bureau  of  the  union  for  summer 
outings  in  Germany,  in  its  report  for  1903,  shows  that  its  branches 
had  given  outings  to  35,596  children  at  a  cost  of  1,040,381  M. ;  15,465 
in  colonies,  2,669  ^^  rural  families,  6,423  in  sanatoria,  and  10,857  i^i 
city  colonies.  Of  the  societies  27  give  treatment  in  winter.  The 
reports  include  the  work  of  185  societies  in  116  cities.^ 

Educational  Guardianship  of  Neglected  Children  and  Youth. — 
Closely  related  to  both  the  relief  and  preventive  action  is  the  recent 
legislation  in  Prussia  and  other  states  called  the  law  for  educational 
guardianship  {Fiirsorgeerziehungsgesetz) .  Before  the  enactment  of 
the  civil  code  (1900)  there  was  a  general  law  which  enabled  the  judge 
in  cases  of  guardianship  to  protect  children  whose  parents  treated 
them  with  cruelty,  led  them  into  immorality,  or  refused  to  maintain 
them.  The  child  might  be  taken  away  from  such  parents  and  en- 
trusted to  suitable  guardians  for  education  and  support.  In  common 
law  also  the  parental  authority  was  restricted  on  account  of  gross 
neglect  or  abuse.  But  use  was  rarely  made  of  these  legal  provisions, 
especially  when  parents  were  too  poor  to  pay  the  cost  of  such  transfer 
of  responsibility.^ 

The  enactment  of  the  penal  code  brought  the  subject  of  state 
control  of  neglected  children  into  clearer  light  and  forced  direct 
action  of  authorities.  In  Sec.  56  of  the  penal  code  of  the  Empire,  it 
was  enacted  that  any  minor  between  the  years  12-15  who  is  released 
from  condemnation  on  account  of  a  punishable  act  by  reason  of  lack 
of  discernment,  might  be  sent  to  an  educational  or  correctional  insti- 
tution. But  the  judges  seldom  availed  themselves  of  this  permission 
of  the  law.  It  was  Sec.  55  of  the  penal  code  which  gave  the  impulse 
to  important  advance  in  the  employment  of  compulsory  training. 
This  article  said  that  a  child  which  had  committed  a  punishable  act 
before  its  twelfth  year  might  be  brought  under  control  by  a  court,  and 
the  judges  began  to  make  frequent  use  of  this  permission. 

Prussia  (March  13,  1878)  enacted  a  law  which  included  the  care 

*  Blatter  fiir  das  Hamburgische  Armenwesen,  March,  1904. 

'Zeit.  f.  d.  Armenwesen,  1903,  p.  224,  from  Bericht  der  Zentralstelle  der  Ver- 
inigung  fiir  Sommerpflege  in  Deutschland,  1903. 

2  F.  Schiller,  H.  Schmidt,  and  P.  Kohne,  in  Schrift.  d.  D.  V.  f.  A.  u.  W.,  Heft  64, 
1903. 


66  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

of  children  between  the  ages  of  6-12,  who  had  committed  a  punish- 
able act ;  but  those  children  who  were  in  danger  of  physical  and  moral 
ruin  through  the  fault  of  their  parents  or  guardians  were  not  aided 
by  this  law.  The  child  must  commit  a  crime  in  order  to  secure  the 
attention  of  the  court.  Prussia  modified  this  law  of  1878  in  1881  and 
1884.  But  the  principle  of  state  intervention  was  so  novel  that  the 
law  was  resisted  or  set  aside  in  action.  Poor-relief  officers  did  indeed 
give  aid  to  neglected  children,  very  often  without  express  legal  au- 
thority. As  late  as  1880  only  612  children  in  all  Prussia  were  brought 
under  compulsory  training  {Zwangserziehimg)  }  But  gradually  the 
good  effects  of  the  law  made  it  more  acceptable  to  the  courts  and  in 
1882  the  number  rose  to  1,887.  On  April  i,  1901,  the  number  was 
10,759,  ^"d  the  expenditures  in  1900  were  1,677,977  marks.  It  be- 
came more  and  more  apparent  that  compulsory  training  should  be  ex- 
tended not  only  to  all  morally  imperilled  children  but  even  to  all  who 
were  in  danger  of  moral  contamination  and  demoralization.  Eminent 
experts  in  the  national  conference  of  charities,  in  the  conferences  of 
teachers,  prison  societies,  criminalistic  associations  and  the  central 
committee  of  the  Inner  Mission  advocated  the  new  idea,  until  the 
governments  were  convinced  that  the  whole  matter  should  be  re- 
formed, no  longer  on  the  basis  of  penal  law  but  of  social  policy.  The 
Prussian  law  of  1878  was  related  to  the  penal  code,  but  it  did  not  in 
fact  diminish  juvenile  offenses.  The  new  idea  was  to  make  the  effort 
on  the  basis  of  education.  The  child  under  12,  however  imperilled, 
was  left  to  himself;  and  the  child  over  12  received  no  notice  until  he 
had  committed  a  crime,  although  he  might  be  in  a  situation  which 
would  certainly  make  him  a  criminal  in  time.  True  the  church  and 
the  school  were  everywhere  ready  to  influence  the  child,  but  all  was 
in  vain,  so  long  as  the  child  was  held  in  the  grasp  of  a  vicious  domes- 
tic environment. 

The  enactment  of  the  imperial  civil  code  (1900)  did  not  embody 
the  new  principle,  but  made  room  for  it  and  left  the  several  states 
free  to  make  laws  on  the  subject  for  themselves,  and  very  rapidly 
have  they  made  use  of  this  liberty.  The  most  noteworthy  legislation 
of  this  type  was  the  law  of  educational  guardianship  of  Prussia 
(passed  July  2,  1900;  went  into  effect  April  i,  1901).  The  very  title 
of  the  new  act  is  significant ;  it  is  no  longer  " Zwangserziehung"  but 

'  The  phrase   "compulsory  training"   is  used   only   for  neglected  children.     In 
Germany  all  children  of  school  age  attend  school. 


GERMANY  67 

"Filrsorgecrziehung;"  no  longer  a  penal  but  an  educational  statute,  in 
which  the  parental  function  of  the  state  is  distinctly  expressed.  The 
novel  element  in  this  action  was  this :  there  is  no  lower  limit  of  age 
for  this  providential  care,  and  any  child  who  is  neglected  or  in  danger 
through  the  guilty  conduct  of  parents  is  brought  under  the  shield  of 
the  courts.  If  the  spiritual  or  physical  welfare  of  a  child  is  im- 
perilled by  the  neglect  or  vice  of  the  father  or  mother,  or  if  the  court 
of  guardianship  decides  that  the  child  shall  be  sent  to  a  correctional 
institution  or  to  the  care  of  a  suitable  family,  or  if  precaution  is  neces- 
sary to  prevent  injury,  the  provisions  of  the  law  apply. 

In  most  of  the  states  besides  Prussia  the  statute  of  the  Civil  Code 
of  1900  has  been  applied  by  the  enactment  of  administrative  laws 
which  secure  the  educational  guardianship  whenever  the  minor  under 
12  years  has  committed  a  punishable  act,  and  when  such  protection  is 
necessary  to  prevent  the  moral  ruin  of  the  child.  The  statutes  vary 
in  details  but  agree  in  principles. 

In  respect  to  the  cost  of  care  the  laws  of  the  states  diflfer  widely. 
Most  of  the  laws  lay  the  burden  in  greater  part  on  the  state,  but  in 
some  cases  the  commune  and  poor-union  may  be  required  to  share  it. 
As  a  rule  the  state  or  union  may  recover  the  cost  from  the  parents  or 
relatives,  if  they  are  able  to  pay,  and  this  by  administrative  process. 
But  it  has  been  made  quite  evident  by  experience  that  such  laws  fall 
far  short  of  their  purpose  unless  the  state  guarantee  the  means  of 
administration.  It  is  precisely  where  parents  are  poorest  that  the 
need  of  guardianship  is  greatest. 

The  tendency  of  recent  legislation  is  to  give  the  communal  au- 
thorities the  right  to  lay  complaint  and  bring  morally  imperilled 
children  to  the  notice  of  the  court ;  and  thus  the  officers  of  poor-relief, 
who  have  the  most  intimate  knowledge  of  neglected  children,  have 
a  very  direct  part  in  the  administration  of  the  law.  But,  even  when 
there  is  no  direct  law  for  it,  teachers,  pastors,  and  other  responsible 
citizens,  as  well  as  the  police,  may  initiate  proceedings.  Since  the 
question  of  cost  must  generally  be  considered,  it  is  thought  that  the 
poor-relief  officers  should  always  be  heard.  The  poor-relief  agents 
usually  deal  with  children  under  14  years,  and  the  police  most  fre- 
quently with  the  older  minors  who  are  arrested  for  punishable  of- 
fenses. School  physicians  discover  physical  signs  of  parental  neglect, 
abuse  or  cruelty,  and  it  is  their  duty  to  institute  proceedings.  Parents 
will,  though  rarely,  appeal  to  the  court  for  help,  and  when  they  are 


68  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

too  poor  or  too  weak  to  perform  the  duty  of  oversight,  their  appeal 
is  heard.  But  when  they  simply  wish  to  be  rid  of  the  cost  and  bur- 
den of  support  the  case  is  critically  investigated. 

There  are  many  societies  which  charge  themselves  with  the  edu- 
cation of  neglected  children,  and  which  offer  their  assistance  to  the 
authorities.  It  does  not  yet  seem  possible  by  any  public  or  private 
agency  to  enter  homes  merely  on  suspicion,  with  the  purpose  to 
inspect  and  discover  possible  cases  of  neglect  or  temptation.  The 
discoveries  must  be  made  in  the  indirect  and  occasional  ways  already 
mentioned,  and  it  is  not  likely  that  many  will  escape  notice. 

It  seems  to  have  been  the  intention  of  the  legislature  to  protect 
not  only  children  already  morally  injured  and  depraved,  but  also  those 
exposed  to  physical  and  moral  neglect  through  the  extreme  poverty 
or  the  vice  of  parents.  It  has  been  claimed  that  judicial  decisions 
have  very  much  restricted  the  usefulness  of  the  law.  No  doubt 
amendments  will  be  found  desirable  and  improved  administrative 
regulations.  Very  curious  examples  of  the  methods  of  the  bureau- 
cratic "circumlocution  office"  are  given  in  the  discussions.^  In  the 
year  1901  Prussia  spent  on  7,787  wards,  2,296,474.98  marks  in 
in  educational  guardianship,  of  which  the  state  paid  1,530,983.29  M. 
and  the  provinces  765,491.69.  Experience  under  the  law  seems  to 
indicate  that  state  funds  should  assure  the  support  for  the  law  and 
state  control  should  direct  its  administration.  Local  poor  law  officers 
have  not  the  proper  facilities  nor  training  for  a  social  task  which  is 
essentially  educational.  The  local  poorhouse  is  not  a  fit  place  for 
wayward  or  neglected  children. 

Schools  for  household  arts  for  girls  of  13  years  of  age  have  been 
opened  in  Berlin  since  1893.  In  the  first  year  there  was  one  school 
with  20  pupils,  taught  at  an  expense  of  415  marks.  In  1903  there 
were  5  school  kitchens,  with  19  courses  of  instruction,  500  children 
from  22  ward  schools,  carried  on  at  an  expense  of  6,400.  School 
gardens  are  also  used  for  training  the  children.  The  methods  of 
instruction  have  gradually  improved  and  for  two  years  the  teachers 
have  been  required  to  pass  an  examination.  The  city  and  royal 
authorities  promote  the  enterprise  which  is  carried  on  by  the  society 
for  instructing  youth  in  household  arts. 

^  Heft  64,  Schriften  des  Deutschen  Vereins  f.  A.  u.  W.  1903,  L.  Schiller, 
H.  Schmidt,  and  P.  Kohne. 


GERMANY 


69 


M.     Preventive  and  Constructive. 

Legal  Advice. — The  trade  unions  have  found  it  difficult  to  secure 
the  legal  assistance  which  the  law  provides  and  so  have  established 
an  advisory  office.  In  1901  there  were  35  such  societies,  the  most 
important  being  in  Nuremberg  and  Frankfort.  In  1900  information 
was  given  to  94,581  persons  in  respect  to  poor-relief,  pensions,  funds, 
police  rules,  civil  rights,  adoption,  etc.^ 

Workingmen's  Insurance. — In  all  countries  with  advanced  meth- 
ods of  production,  steam-driven  machinery,  specialized  division  of 
labor,  and  world  markets,  an  industrial  group  of  wage  earners  has 
grown  up  and  presents  difficult  problems.  Separated  from  the  land, 
the  primary  source  of  food,  and  without  ownership  or  control  of  the 
materials  and  instruments  of  production,  the  members  of  this  group 
are  compelled  to  face  the  ever  imminent  danger  of  beggary  or  starva- 
tion in  times  when  the  income  of  the  family  is  cut  off  by  reason  of 
injury,  sickness,  unemployment,  invalidism,  old  age,  or  death  of  the 
breadwinner.  To  provide  for  these  emergencies  is  one  of  the  chief 
problems  of  modern  society.  Taking  an  average  of  years,  classes 
and  trades,  the  probability  of  occurrence  can  be  calculated  near  enough 
for  the  introduction  of  the  principle  of  insurance  and  of  associated 
action  for  mutual  help.  The  subject  of  insurance  is  one  of  highest 
interest  to  students  of  charity  because  it  is  the  alternative  of  poor 
relief  in  the  case  of  vast  numbers  of  the  wage  earners  who  are  always 
living  close  up  to  the  margin  of  subsistence  and  who  depend  on  the 
daily  wages  for  the  daily  bread. 

In  all  modern  countries  and  for  a  long  time  various  systems  of 
insurance  have  been  tried  and  with  encouraging  results.  It  is  a 
principle  almost  universally  accepted  that  public  and  private  charity 
should  be  held  in  reserve  as  a  last  resort,  after  all  other  measures  have 
failed.  In  many  ways  the  working  people  have  themselves  organized 
associations  for  mutual  benefit  and  help.  In  other  instances  employ- 
ers have  established  funds  or  subsidized  those  founded  by  the  em- 
ployes. Especially  have  great  corporations,  relying  upon  the  perma- 
nence of  their  organization,  called  into  existence  funds  for  the  assist- 
ance of  their  workingmen. 

But  in  no  nation  has  it  been  found  possible  to  organize  the  ma- 

I  Die  deutschen  Arbeitersekretariate,  von  Richard  Soudek  C1902),  Schott, 
Das  Armenrecht  der  Deutschen  Z.  P.  O. — Goldschmidt,  Zur  Reform  der  Armen- 
pflegerecht  (1899). 


70  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

jority  of  the  wage-earning  group,  and  especially  those  who  are  un- 
skilled, by  any  device  of  voluntary  association.  Immense  as  has 
been  the  advance  in  this  direction  the  merely  optional  schemes  fall  far 
short  of  their  aim. 

The  German  Empire  has  embarked  upon  a  system  of  compulsory 
insurance  against  accident,  sickness,  invalidism  and  old  age,  which  is 
far  in  advance  of  the  methods  of  any  other  people ;  and  the  motive 
of  that  system  was  set  forth  in  the  famous  message  of  Emperor 
William  I.,  November  17,  1881.  In  that  instrument  the  founder  of 
the  Empire  acknowledged  the  moral  obligation  of  the  nation  to  give 
greater  security  and  help  to  its  least  prosperous  citizens.  He  would 
begin  with  the  voluntary  associations  already  existing  and  develop 
them  into  a  comprehensive  system  by  means  of  state  protection  and 
assistance.  In  this  place  we  can  do  no  more  than  indicate  the  essen- 
tial features  of  the  German  plan  and  its  relations  to  public  and  private 
charity.^ 

Sickness  Insurance. — This  was  made  compulsory  by  imperial  laws 
of  1883  and  1892,  for  all  workingmen  and  employes  in  trades  and 
industry,  with  an  annual  income  of  less  than  2,000  marks.  It  may 
be  extended  to  persons  with  a  higher  income  at  their  option.  Accord- 
ing to  the  statistics  of  1898,  out  of  a  population  of  54,300.000  inhab- 
itants, 14,000,000  wage  workers  were  under  this  law.  The  form  of 
organization  is  that  of  a  local  fund,  with  a  measure  of  administrative 
power  in  the  local  association.  Voluntary  auxiliary  funds  are  also 
established  and  recognized.  In  1898  there  were  22,997  funds,  and 
9,200,000  members.  The  premiums  are  paid,  two-thirds  by  the 
workingmen  and  one-third  by  employers.  In  the  voluntary  associa- 
tions the  employers  are  not  obliged  to  pay. 

The  benefits  given  are :  free  medical  treatment  and  payments  in 
money  (50  per  cent,  of  the  average  wages),  or  free  treatment  in  a 
hospital  and  one-half  the  sickness  money  to  the  family.  Payments 
continue  13  weeks.  Women  at  the  time  of  confinement  receive  the 
same  rate  for  four  weeks.  In  case  of  death  the  payment  is  20  times 
the  amount  of  a  day's  wages  of  the  person.     The  benefits  may  be 

*  The  limits  of  space  forbid  a  complete  analysis  and  explanation  of  the 
German  system  of  workingmen's  insurance.  See  4th  Special  Report  of  the 
Commissioner  of  Labor,  Compulsory  Insurance  in  Germany,  prepared  by  John 
Graham  Brooks,  1895  (revised  edition). — Workingmen's  Insurance,  by  W.  F, 
Willoughby,  1898. — Leitfaden  zur  Arbeiter-Versicherung  des  Deutschen  Reichs, 
1900. — N.  Pinkus  in  Yale   Review,  Feb.   1904.     (Many  references). 


GERMANY 


71 


made  higher  by  the  regulations  of  the  fund.  The  sum  expended  in 
1898  was  137,000,000  marks,  or  on  the  average  of  2.5  marks  per  day. 
In  case  of  disputed  claims  the  matter  is  decided  by  a  supervisory 
board  without  cost  of  litigation. 

Accident  Insurance. — The  laws  on  this  subject  were  enacted  in 
1884  to  1887.  The  scheme  is  available  and  obligatory  for  wage 
earners  and  foremen  in  agriculture  and  manufactures,  with  annual 
income  of  less  than  2,000  marks.  The  benefits  may  be  extended  by 
regulations  to  foremen  with  a  higher  income  and  to  small  capitalists 
in  building  trades  and  farming.  The  form  of  organization  is  a  trade 
society,  with  special  organizations  for  state  industries.  In  1898  there 
were  113  trade  associations,  with  5,100,000  industrial  plants  and 
16,700,000  persons  interested.  The  premiums  are  paid  entirely  by 
the  employers  on  the  basis  of  the  yearly  cost  divided  according  to  the 
number  of  employes  and  the  estimated  rate  of  liability  to  accident  in 
each  calling.  The  benefits  given  to  the  injured  are:  free  treatment 
and  accident  payments  up  to  66  2-3  per  cent,  of  the  annual  wages  ;  or, 
free  treatment  in  a  hospital  and  payment  to  the  family  of  a  sum  not 
more  than  60  per  cent,  of  the  wages  rate.  Payments  begin  with  the 
end  of  the  thirteenth  week.  In  case  of  death  a  payment  equal  to  20 
times  a  day's  wages  is  made,  and  further  payments  not  more  than  60 
per  cent  of  wages.  Disputes  are  settled  without  cost  by  a  court  and 
by  the  imperial  insurance  office.  The  employers  and  workmen  are 
equally  represented  in  the  hearing. 

Invalidism  and  Old  Age. — The  compulsory  law  was  enacted  in 
1889  and  1899.  All  wage  workers  and  employes  with  an  annual  in- 
come under  2,000  marks  are  included.  Small  capitalists  and  house 
workers  are  also  included ;  and  voluntary  use  may  be  made  of  the  of- 
fice by  those  workmen  who  are  not  under  the  compulsory  law.  The 
form  of  organization  is  a  territorial  insurance  institution,  with  special 
kinds  of  funds  for  employes  of  state  railroads  and  mines.  The  pre- 
miums are  paid  one-half  by  the  employers  and  one-half  by  the  em- 
ployes ;  while  the  imperial  government  adds  an  arbitrary  lump  sum  of 
50  marks  annually  to  each  account.  The  benefits  are  :  (a)  payments 
for  those  unable  to  work, — after  they  have  contributed  premiums  for 
200  weeks  ;  (b)  old  age  pensions  for  those  who  have  passed  70  years, 
— if  they  have  been  contributors  for  1,200  weeks  ;  (c)  free  treatment, 
together  with  aid  to  the  family,  in  order  to  prevent  permanent  invalid- 
ism ;  (d)  repayment  of  premiums  in  case  of  death  or  of  marriage  be- 


72'  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

fore  the  right  to  receive  pensions  is  secured.  The  sum  expended  in 
1898  was  130,000,000  marks  for  invalidism  and  140,000,000  marks 
for  old  age  pensions, — an  average  of  200  marks  for  each  person. 
The  disputes  are  decided  by  a  court  and  by  the  imperial  insurance 
office,  the  workmen  and  employers  being  equtilly  represented. 

There  is  a  disposition  in  America  and  Great  Britain  to  look  upon 
the  German  insurance  system  as  merely  poor-relief  disguised  in  a 
form  more  agreeable  to  the  wage  earners.  But,  even  if  there  be  a 
humanitarian  motive  in  the  scheme,  it  differs  in  certain  vital  and 
essential  points  from  poor-relief  and  private  charity.  A  character- 
istic difference  lies  in  the  fact  that  the  insurance  system  compels  all 
wage  workers  to  save  a  part  of  their  wages  for  the  future,  and  this 
is  not  done  by  any  legal  system  of  poor-relief.  In  the  case  of  acci- 
dent insurance  the  payment  of  risk  by  the  employers  is  merely  an  act 
of  social  justice,  a  method  of  distributing  the  burden  among  con- 
sumers who  reap  all  the  enjoyments  of  the  sufferings  and  losses  of 
the  disabled  workingmen.  In  the  case  of  sickness  insurance,  it  is 
also  just  that  the  burden  be  in  part  distributed,  since  the  causes  of 
disease  are,  in  great  part,  social  neglect  and  ignorance,  and  the  fault 
does  not  lie  wholly  with  the  laborers.  The  nearest  approach  to 
charity  is  in  the  moderate  subsidy  given  to  the  old  age  pension  by 
the  state;  but  here  again  social  obligations  and  interests  justify  the 
burden  upon  taxpayers.  The  cost  is  not  great  considered  even  as  a 
military  pension,  since  every  able-bodied  German  citizen  is  obliged  to 
serve  a  term  in  the  army  almost  without  pay  and  be  ready  at  any 
moment  to  lay  down  his  life  for  his  country.  Property,  which  would 
have  little  value  in  a  land  surrounded  by  armed  nations,  some  of  them 
not  excessively  friendly,  can  easily  afford  to  carry  this  slight  cost. 

Influence  of  Insurance  on  Public  and  Private  Relief. — The  time 
has  not  arrived  for  a  final  judgment  on  this  point.  Longer  experi- 
ence and  fuller  knowledge  of  all  pertinent  facts  are  necessary.  That 
the  experiment,  on  the  whole,  has  been  successful  in  this  respect 
seems  to  be  made  fairly  certain  by  the  following  considerations.^ 

^  The  influence  of  insurance  on  charity  has  been  carefully  watched  and  con- 
stantly discussed  by  German  experts  in  poor  relief.  Among  other  important 
contributions  to  this  subject  are: 

L.  Zeitlin :  Fiirst  Bismarcks  social-,  wirth-  und  steuerpolitische  Anschauungen, 
p.  Ill  ff. — H.  von  Poschinger:  Fiirst  Bismarck  als  Volkswirth,  3  Bd.,  and 
Aktenstiicke  zur  Wirthschaftspolitik  des  Fiirsten  Bismarck  (2  Bd.). — John 
Graham  Brooks,  Fourth   Special  Report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Labor  on  Com- 


GERMANY 


73 


It  was  hoped  by  the  friends  of  the  measure  that  it  would  tend 
to  diminish  dependence  upon  charity  by  providing  a  fund  in  advance 
for  the  emergencies  of  Hfe,  for  those  moments  of  special  stress  when 
the  individual  is  powerless  in  presence  of  a  combination  of  unfavor- 
able forces.  The  promotion  of  thrift  was  the  fundamental  reason 
for  establishing  the  system.  It  was  hoped  that  the  spirit  of  associa- 
tion in  mutual  benefit  societies  would  be  promoted.  It  seemed 
natural  to  expect  that  dislike  to  be  regarded  as  an  object  of  charity 
would  be  made  more  intense  and  that  it  would  become  less  customary 
and  reputable  to  live  at  the  expense  of  the  community.  It  was  ex- 
pected that  the  increased  security  of  life  would  tend  to  bind  the 
industrial  persons  to  their  country,  would  increase  their  efficiency 
as  producers,  and  would  give  a  more  sure  guaranty  of  order  and 
peace  which  are  so  necessary  to  the  continuous  and  most  successful 
operations  of  manufacture  and  commerce.  It  was  believed  that  both 
governments  and  employers,  under  this  system,  would  be  more  care- 
ful to  protect  the  health  of  workmen  and  so  extend  their  years  of 
industrial  productivity.  It  was  never  expected  that  the  system  of 
insurance  of  workers  could  be  made  to  protect  the  non-workers  and 
defectives;  and  these  must  ever  remain  the  proper  subjects  of  public 
or  private  relief.  Where  the  family  is  excessively  large  no  system 
of  insurance  devised  for  normal  situations  will  be  adequate.  Con- 
flagrations, floods,  epidemics  and  financial  catastrophes  may  disturb 
the  working  of  the  best  instrumentalities.  The  entire  abolition  of 
pauperism  and  of  charity  is  a  dream  of  visionaries.  In  view  of  the 
history  of  this  imperial  experiment  what  is  the  verdict  of  experience? 
Have  the  hopes  of  the  prophetic  founders  been  fulfilled  ? 

The  Insurance  System  Tends  to  Improve  Health,  Strength  and 
Productivity. — Prior  to  the  introduction  of  the  new  laws  a  wage 
earner  would  naturally  defer  consulting  a  physician  as  long  as  pos- 
sible, for  he  must  individually  bear  the  expense;  and  when  he  was 
barely  able  to  walk  he  would  return  to  the  factory  or  mill,  because 
his  family  were  wholly  dependent  on  his  earnings  for  their  existence. 
But  now  the  worker  goes  to  the  physician,  as  his  right  and  duty,  at 
the  first  indications  of  disease,  and  this  promptness  in  seeking  relief 
multiplies  the  chances  of  speedy  cure  and  diminishes  liability  to  in- 
curable  sickness.     The   hospital   benefit   and   the  indemnity   to   the 

pulsory  Insurance  in  Germany. — Die  Schriften  des  Deutschen  Vereins  fiir  Armen- 
pflege  und  Wohlthatigkeit,  1895. — Zeit.  f.  d.  Armenwesen,  May,   1903,  p.  143. 


74  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

family  roll  the  burden  from  the  heart  of  the  breadwinner  in  his  days 
of  weakness  and  enable  him  to  remain  under  treatment  until  wasted 
tissues  are  rebuilt  and  energy  returns.  There  are  fewer  widows  with 
fatherless  children  dependent  on  the  poor  fund,  and  fewer  poor  sick 
persons  to  relieve. 

It  is  a  fact  of  common  observation  and  record  that  the  means  of 
preventing  accident  and  disease  have  been  greatly  improved,  because 
the  employers  now  have  a  direct  interest  in  diminishing  payments 
for  accident  and  sickness  insurance  premiums.  It  has  been  found 
more  economical  to  build  up  enfeebled  men  in  sanatoria  and  restore 
them  to  useful  labor  than  to  support  them  in  helpless  idleness.  The 
consequence  is  that  a  new  and  more  robust  type  of  workingman  is 
coming  into  existence,  a  finer  soldier  and  a  more  effective  agent  of 
production  of  w'ealth. 

One  of  the  most  encouraging  signs  of  success  is  the  reduction 
of  the  cost  of  pauper  burials  in  consequence  of  insurance ;  first,  be- 
cause the  family  is  not  so  wretchedly  impoverished  by  long  illness 
which  precedes  the  death,  and  largely  also  because  the  spirit  of  asso- 
ciation which  has  become  universal  provides  burial  funds  through 
voluntary  societies.  There  is  a  growing  sentiment  which  favors 
avoidance  of  poor  law  burials,  a  fine  proof  that  the  tendency  of  the 
system  is  to  build  up  a  manly  spirit  of  independence  and  of  social 
cooperation. 

In  spite  of  the  increased  cost  of  food  and  rent,  industrial  depres- 
sions, bad  harvests,  severe  winters,  strikes,  floods  and  epidemics  in 
the  years  following  the  introduction  of  the  new  system  it  was  strong 
enough  to  weather  the  storm  and  yield  its  happy  results. 

The  rapid  growth  of  urban  manufacture  has  thronged  the  cities 
where  pauperism  and  crime  tend  most  to  increase.  Under  ordinary 
conditions  a  positive  increase  of  dependency  should  be  expected. 
But, — and  it  is  believed  largely  in  consequence  of  the  insurance 
laws, — this  increase  has  not  occurred ;  and  many  experts  claim  a  posi- 
tive reduction,  both  absolute  and  relative,  in  the  amount  of  pauperism. 

In  Berlin,  between  1883  and  1890,  the  number  of  dependents  de- 
creased from  1.29  per  cent,  to  1.21  per  cent,  of  population.  Figures 
for  Barmen,  Dortmund,  Elberfeld,  and  Erfurt  showed  similar  de- 
crease of  the  burden  of  poor-relief.  While  a  temporary  rise  occurred 
in  consequence  of  the  crisis  of  1893  and  the  great  increase  of  popula- 
tion in  cities,  this  seemed  to  be  a  transient  phenomenon. 


GERMANY 


75 


The  amount  paid  for  poor-relief  has  not  decreased,  since  the  rates 
per  person  are  higher  on  account  of  higher  prices  for  commodities ; 
but  that  there  has  not  been  an  increase  in  numbers  in  spite  of  the  rapid 
growth  of  industrial  centers  is  enough  to  indicate  that  insurance  has 
arrested  the  tendency  to  increase  of  pauperism. 

While  the  system  has  not  yet  been  extended  to  insurance  in  favor 
of  widows  and  orphans,  one  direct  result  of  accident  insurance  has 
been  to  reduce  the  number  of  those  who  appeal  for  public  relief.  In 
Berlin,  between  1883  and  1890,  the  decline  was  from  0.34  per  cent, 
of  population  to  0.29  per  cent. 

There  is  close  cooperation  between  the  administration  of  insur- 
ance and  that  of  relief.  In  giving  relief  the  subsidies  from  the  in- 
surance funds  are  counted  as  part  of  the  resources  of  the  applicant 
for  charitable  aid.  Whenever  an  annuity  is  granted  by  the  invalidism 
or  pension  fund  a  notice  is  sent  at  once  to  the  office  of  the  poor 
authorities. 


CHAPTER  II 
AUSTRIA-HUNGARY 

BY    PROFESSOR    E.   C.    HAYES,    PH.    D.,    AND   THE    EDITOR 

The  charities  of  Austria-Hungary  present  a  remarkable  juxta- 
position of  mediaeval  survivals  and  modern  innovations  in  the  midst 
of  customs  that  are  German,  Magyar,  Sclavic,  Italian  and  Greek. 
Very  few  statements  could  be  made  that  would  be  true  of  the  charities 
of  the  Empire  as  a  whole.  Not  only  do  Austria  and  Hungary  differ 
from  each  other  but  within  Austria  itself  several  districts  are  distinct. 
First,  western  and  northwestern  Austria  have  a  legal  and  social  de- 
velopment like  that  of  Germany,  but  with  features  that  are  charac- 
teristically Austrian.  Turning  to  the  southwest  we  come  to  prov- 
inces including  Dalmatia,  Kuestenland  and  southern  Tyrol,  the  chari- 
ties of  which  have  shared  the  historic  development  of  Italy.  Here 
the  religious  brotherhoods  have  continued  to  be  the  significant 
agency.  A  third  set  of  conditions  is  presented  by  the  northeastern 
provinces  of  Galicia  and  Bukowina.  This  region  is  divided  between 
nobles  and  poor  peasants.  Cities  and  the  commercial  and  industrial 
development  that  bridges  the  gulf  between  the  ancient  social  extremes 
are  for  the  most  part  wanting.  Regular  poor-relief  is  absent  save 
in  a  few  cities,  and  a  very  little  which  is  in  the  hands  of  religious  so- 
cieties. The  lines  between  Catholics  and  Protestants  are  sharply 
drawn.  Finally,  in  the  Grecian  provinces  of  the  south  care  of  the 
poor  is  in  a  backward  state. 

In  the  middle  ages  such  established  care  of  the  poor  as  existed 
was  in  the  name  of  "Christian  charity,"  issued  from  the  cloister  and 
the  church,  and  was  administered  by  ecclesiastical  brotherhoods. 
The  first  governmental  efforts  in  this  field  aimed  to  direct  and  organ- 
ize this  voluntary  activity.  In  the  western  provinces  the  brother- 
hoods were  suspended,  but  parish  priests  were  recognized  as  being, 
for  the  purposes  of  poor-relief,  civil  officers.     This  new  form  of 

76 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  77 

clerical  poor-relief  (Pharrarmen-institute)  became  one  of  the  char- 
acteristic features  of  German  Austria.  The  practice  which  origi- 
nated in  1782  still  survives,  and  influences  existing  methods  even  in 
places  where  it  has  been  superseded.  The  original  intention  was 
that  the  necessary  means  should  be  for  the  most  part  provided  by 
voluntary  subscriptions  and  by  collections  at  church  and  from  house 
to  house.  Joseph  II.  prescribed  certain  supplements  to  these  re- 
sources, including  especially  one-half  of  the  property  of  the  brother- 
hoods and  gilds  which  had  been  suspended.  The  aid,  under  this 
system  of  Pharrarmen-institute,  was  originally  given  in  cash  and 
without  regard  to  legal  residence,  except  in  cases  requiring  perma- 
nent support  This  encouraged  an  army  of  traveling  beggars,  which 
by  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century  had  become  such  a  nuisance 
as  to  evoke  strenuous  protests.  And  in  1789  a  royal  order  was  issued 
to  the  effect  that  a  poor  person  might  claim  a  share  in  the  aid  pro- 
vided in  a  given  place  only  if  he  had  lived  in  that  place  for  ten  years 
consecutively,  and  that  other  applicants  were  to  be  referred  to  their 
places  of  birth. 

A.  The  law  of  1863,  which  was  valid  until  recently,  did  not  relax 
the  severity  due  to  this  old  revulsion  of  feeling.  It  enacted  that  legal 
residence  could  be  acquired  only  by  birth  or  by  marriage,  widows  and 
divorced  women  to  retain  the  settlement  right  of  their  quondam 
husbands ;  by  holding  public  office,  including  the  offices  of  pastor  and 
public  teacher ;  or  by  formal  admission  into  citizenship  on  terms  en- 
tirely at  the  discretion  of  the  municipality.  It  provided  further  that 
only  legal  residents  of  a  given  state  could  be  legal  residents  of  any 
municipality  within  that  state,  and  that  every  legal  resident  of  a  state 
should  have  settlement  in  some  municipality  within  it.  But  it  was 
often  a  matter  of  uncertainty  and  delay  to  determine  to  what  mu- 
nicipality a  person  should  be  assigned.  The  legal  residence  of  a  child 
was  not  the  place  of  its  birth,  but  the  legal  residence  of  its  father. 
Therefore,  to  establish  the  place  of  residence  it  was  necessary  to 
ascertain  the  settlement  of  the  father  and  of  the  grandfather. 
All  this  involved  a  probatio  diaholica,  a  delay  which  might  involve 
the  starvation  of  the  subject,  and  a  heavy  expenditure  of  money  with- 
out affording  relief.  In  the  end  the  person  might  be  assigned  to  a 
residence  totally  foreign  to  him  in  language.  Persons  were  "sent 
home"  in  a  way  that  violated  recognized  principles  of  freedom  of 
travel  and  settlement,  that  impaired  the  remaining  power  of  self- 


78  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

support  of  those  only  partially  dependent,  and  that  increased  inter- 
national friction  within  the  empire.  Legal  residence  became  a  privi- 
lege of  the  well-to-do.  In  1869,  25.5  per  cent,  of  the  inhabitants  of 
Austrian  municipalities  had  not  legal  residence  where  they  lived ;  in 
1880,  41.2  per  cent,  lacked  it,  and  in  1890,  53.60  per  cent.  In  rural 
districts  the  proportion  of  those  without  legal  residence  was  smaller. 
Thus  in  Galicia  in  the  years  mentioned  the  proportions  of  those  lack- 
ing legal  residence  where  they  lived  were  7.3,  10.5,  and  16.2  per  cent., 
and  in  Dalmatia  4.2,  5.8,  and  6.8  per  cent.  On  the  other  hand  in 
1890  in  all  the  cities  and  in  three  of  the  provinces  the  number  of  those 
lacking  legal  residence  where  they  lived  exceeded  those  having  it. 
In  Vienna  65.2  of  the  population  lacked  it;  in  Prague  74.7  per  cent.; 
in  Marburg  a.  D.  85.7  per  cent.,  that  is,  6  to  i.  One  of  the  smaller 
municipalities  had  583  legal  residents  and  33,948  non-residents,  an- 
other 387  legal  residents  and  40,849  non-residents.  People  flocking 
to  the  cities  filled  them  with  inhabitants  who  under  the  existing  law 
could  not  acquire  legal  residence. 

The  whole  question  of  legal  residence  is  an  affair  of  imperial 
legislation.  But  the  individual  provinces  had  power  to  suspend  the 
ecclesiastical  administration  of  public  relief  and  to  transfer  it  to 
political  officers,  and  this  many  of  them  have  done ;  Lower  Austria 
in  1870,  Upper  Austria  in  1869,  Carinthia  in  1870,  Carniola  in  1883, 
Silesia  in  1869.  Not  until  1896  was  provision  made  for  any  easier 
change  of  legal  residence,  and  the  cities  seeing  themselves  threatened 
with  sudden  responsibility  for  the  mass  of  their  non-resident  paupers 
exerted  themselves  to  see  to  it  that  the  terms  of  the  new  law  should 
be  none  too  easy.  The  law  of  1896  provides  that  a  citizen  of  any 
province  of  the  empire  has  the  right  to  claim  legal  residence  in  a  given 
municipality  without  the  necessity  of  paying  any  fee  or  complying 
with  any  conditions  locally  imposed,  provided  that  subsequent  to 
attaining  majority  he  has  lived  in  that  municipality  voluntarily  and 
uninterruptedly,  and  without  becoming  a  public  charge  upon  the 
charity  of  his  original  home,  for  a  period  of  ten  years.  The  law  set 
January  i,  1891,  as  the  earliest  date  from  which  the  required  ten 
years  could  be  computed,  so  that  claims  under  the  new  law  first  be- 
came valid  in  1901.  A  wife  or  child  can  make  good  the  claim  as 
well  as  the  new  resident  himself,  so  also  can  his  former  home  mu- 
nicipality if  it  wishes  to  be  rid  of  responsibility  for  its  absentees. 
The  right  is  forfeited  if  after  the  required  ten  years'  residence  a 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  7g 

period  of  residence  elsewhere  intervenes  before  application  is  made. 
Children  born  before  legal  residence  is  acquired  do  not  acquire  it 
when  the  father  does. 

Legal  provisions  more  or  less  characteristic  of  Austria  generally 
are  the  following:  No  person  can  claim  a  share  in  public  poor- 
relief  for  whose  support  any  third  party  is  legally  responsible.  Such 
legal  responsibility  for  a  wife  rests  upon  her  husband ;  for  children, 
both  legitimate  and  illegitimate,  upon  their  parents  ;  for  grandchildren 
upon  the  grandparents ;  for  parents  upon  their  children,  and  one  who 
has  received  valuable  gifts  is  responsible  for  aid  to  the  giver  if  the 
latter  becomes  impoverished.  One  who  has  received  public  aid  and 
later  secures  means  is  bound  to  restore  that  which  he  has  received  in 
charity,  so  far  as  this  does  not  impair  his  power  to  support  himself 
and  family. 

No  poor  person  has  any  claim  upon  the  public  in  excess  of  the 
means  provided  for  poor-relief  by  the  existing  institutions,  agencies 
and  funds.  And  as  to  the  form  and  method  of  aid  the  applicant 
has  no  legal  voice.  The  aid  given  is  not  to  exceed  (a)  that  which 
is  necessary  for  subsistence,  or  (b)  for  the  care  of  the  sick,  or  (c) 
for  bringing  up  children.  These  necessities  are  defined  as  includ- 
ing under  and  outer  clothing,  lodging,  bed  and  bedding,  medical  care 
in  sickness,  with  medicine  and  nursing.  Mention  is  also  made  of 
transportation  as  necessary  aid  in  some  cases.  Some  provinces  in- 
clude the  cost  of  simple  ritualistic  burial,  while  others  devolve  this 
upon  the  police  account  of  the  temporary  abode.  Among  the  legally 
recognized  necessities  of  children  which  municipalities  are  required  to 
provide,  are  religious  and  moral  instruction,  schooling  when  the 
proper  age  is  reached,  setting  the  child  to  an  occupation  adapted  to 
make  it  self-supporting,  and  when  necessary  the  securing  of  guard- 
ians. A  municipality  has  the  legal  right  to  set  to  work  any  person 
found  within  its  borders  who  is  able  to  work  and  is  without  means 
of  support. 

Among  the  wholly  disabled  and  dependent  who  must  be  entirely 
supported  a  distinction  is  made  in  some  places  between  the  poor  of 
the  burgher  class  and  others  who  are  expected  to  get  along  with 
cheaper  fare  and  accommodations.  The  common  poor  receive,  ac- 
cording to  circumstances  and  local  practice,  the  value  of  from  5  to 
20  kr.  a  day,  the  poor  of  the  burgher  class  6  to  10  florins  per  month. 
Permanent  aid  is  usually  given  in  cash ;  attempts  made  in  Vienna  to 


So  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

change  this  practice  will  be  described  below.  Temporary  aid  is  often 
given  in  commodities,  and  oftener  without  than  with  adequate  inves- 
tigation.    Lodging  houses  are  few  and  without  system. 

Oveerseers  or  visitors  {Armenv'dter,  Armenpftcger)  are  not  found 
in  all  regions  of  Austria.  Where  such  officers  do  not  exist  applica- 
tions are  made  directly  to  the  municipal  executive.  A  conspicuous 
role  is  played  by  "certificates  of  poverty,"  filled  out  by  the  parish 
priest  and  attested  by  the  political  authority  of  the  locality  or  ward. 
These  are  superfluous  in  small  neighborhoods  and  worthless  in  large 
ones.  City  priests  can  not  know  all  who  apply  to  them.  And  when 
no  investigations  go  behind  these  testimonials  all  sorts  of  abuses  fol- 
low, securing  and  filing  certified  applications  for  aid  becomes  a  regu- 
lar method  of  securing  a  living. 

The  provinces  of  Austria  now  legislate  independently  with  ref- 
erence to  the  detailed  regulation  and  administration  of  poor-relief. 
This  has  proved  to  be  a  distinct  advance  over  the  earlier  condition 
when,  according  to  the  law  of  1863,  the  provinces  were  hampered 
by  the  control  of  the  home  department.  We  cannot  here  give  details 
for  all  provinces,  and  among  the  12  provinces  of  Austria  proper, 
Lower  and  Upper  Austria  and  Styria  deserve  special  treatment. 

In  Lower  Austria,  the  province  in  which  Vienna  is  situated,  a 
law  was  passed  in  1893  and  went  into  efifect  in  1895  which  relieved 
all  municipalities  except  Vienna  of  direct  responsibility  for  poor- 
relief,  and  laid  the  responsibility  upon  districts  into  which  the  towns 
were  grouped.  All  available  sources  of  income  are  made  to  contrib- 
ute to  maintain  a  single  district  treasury.  In  each  district  there  is 
a  council  for  the  poor  made  up  of  fifteen  or  twenty  members  who 
are  required  to  meet  at  least  once  each  month.  Each  municipality 
in  a  district  has  one  or  more  overseers  of  the  poor  {ArmcnpHcgcr). 
These  local  overseers  are  organized  into  commissions  of  from  three 
to  fifteen  persons.  The  overseers  are,  first  of  all,  investigators. 
They  report  the  results  of  their  investigations  in  commission,  and  the 
reports  having  been  approved  by  the  local  commission  are  referred 
to  the  district  council  and  this  body  takes  action  to  meet  the  need. 
Exception  to  this  procedure  is  made  in  urgent  cases,  the  overseers 
having  power  to  make  immediate  requisition  for  means  to  relieve  dis- 
tress. The  duty  of  the  overseer  does  not  end  with  investigation  and 
reporting.  But  after  aid  has  been  given  he  continues  to  have  over- 
sight of  the  beneficiaries,  to  maintain  personal  relations  with  them 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY 


8i 


and  to  endeavor  to  awaken  them  to  morality,  industry  and  thrift. 
A  single  overseer  can  not  be  required  to  have  charge  of  more  than 
six  cases,  individuals  or  families. 

Visitors  to  the  Poor,  their  Occupations,  as  Compared  with  those  in 

German  Cities.' 


Population 

Total  visitors  {Artnenpfleger) 

of  whom  were: 

Teachers 

Clergymen 

Physicians  and  druggists 

Innkeepers 

Private  officials 

City  and  other  officials 

Mercantile  occupations 

Handworkers  and  industrials. 

Landlords  and  capitalists 

Women 


Vienna 


1,680,000 

1,872 

180 

13 

6 
182 
103 

154 
258 
677 
198 
90 


Hamburg 


705,738 

1,561 
III 

17 
20 

3 

56 
58 

213 

632 

60 

307 


Breslau 


422,738 

1,442 

175 

19 

47 
86 

41 
63 

263 

575 

134 

200-300 


Leipsic 


455,089 

975 

133 

16 

39 
6 

21 

58 
312 
227 

47 


Frankfort 


288,489 
631 

39 

39 

14 

4 

17 

5 

248 

247 

43 
60 


In  1897  the  68  district  councils  had  in  Lower  Austria  1,131 
members ;  there  were  994  local  commissions  and  7,238  overseers.  In 
the  same  year  the  number  of  cases  of  aid  given  (not  always  to  dif- 
ferent persons)  was  as  follows  :  To  men,  13,716;  to  women,  18,206; 
to  children  under  14  years,  4,944;  total,  36,866.  That  about  8,000 
persons,  nearly  all  serving  without  pay,  were  active  in  poor-relief, 
when  previous  to  the  adoption  of  the  district  system  there  had  been 
little  or  no  popular  interest  in  the  subject,  is  the  most  gratifying  re- 
sult of  the  new  system.  The  chief  objects  of  the  law  were  to  in- 
crease the  personal  element  in  the  care  of  the  poor  and  especially  to 
equalize  the  burden  of  poor-relief  among  the  towns  by  grouping 
together  districts  with  heavier  and  lighter  burdens.  The  district 
system  has,  however,  shown  itself  open  to  serious  objection.  With 
reference  to  the  first  object  sought  there  has  been  difficulty  in  secur- 
ing competent  and  even  honest  overseers.  With  reference  to  the  sec- 
ond object  it  is  found  that  needy  persons  feel  free  to  apply  for  aid 
to  a  patron  so  rich  and  impersonal  as  the  district,  and  that  they 


^Blatter    fiir    das    Armenwesen    der    Stadt    Wien,    March,    1903, 
Zeitschrift  fiir  das  Armenwesen,  April,  1903,  p.  115. 

6 


quoted    in 


82  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

secure  it.  The  expenditures  in  1896  were  greater  than  those  of  1895 
164,645.77  flor.,  the  total  for  1896  being  1,856,595.67  flor.  More- 
over, the  administration  is  too  bureaucratic,  aid  comes  too  tardily, 
and  in  too  large  a  proportion  of  cases  is  given  in  cash.  Thus  'j}^ 
per  cent,  of  the  aid  granted  in  1895  was  in  cash.  The  existing  sys- 
tem has  been  a  subject  of  great  difference  of  opinion,  of  emphatic 
commendation  and  quite  as  emphatic  condemnation.  Some  hold  that 
it  requires  only  modification  to  remedy  its  admitted  defects,  others 
that  it  should  be  entirely  abolished,  while  experts  agree  that  frequent 
and  radical  changes  in  the  poor  laws  are  sources  of  mischief.  A  law 
has  been  proposed  to  supersede  the  district  system  and  to  restore  the 
care  of  the  poor  to  the  separate  municipalities,  while  retaining  the  ex- 
tensive contact  between  overseers  and  beneficiaries.^  The  proposed 
law,  while  dropping  out  the  district  authorities,  would  introduce 
more  effective  provincial  supervision  and  give  to  municipal  commis- 
sions legislative  and  executive  authority  in  local  affairs.  The  care 
of  defectives  in  institutions  is  not  affected  by  the  district  system,  but 
is  an  affair  of  the  province,  as  in  the  case  of  neglected  children. 

The  total  number  relieved  by  public  charity  in  Lower  Austria  in 
1899  was  39,000  persons.  Indoor  relief  has  increased  since  the  dis- 
trict institutions  were  erected.  The  expenditures  for  outdoor  relief 
in  1900  were  3,166,356  kr.,  for  indoor  relief  868,332  kr.,  total  4,034,- 
668  kr.  The  administrators  of  poor- relief  are  now  1,153  members  of 
the  district  poor  councils,  and  7,429  visitors.^ 

In  Upper  Austria,  by  a  law  of  1849,  ^^e  parish  ceased  to  be  a 
political  unit  and  the  old  system  of  Pharrarmen-institute  became  less 
adapted  to  the  situation  than  before.  By  a  law  of  1864  a  double 
system  was  recognized,  appeals  could  be  made  either  to  the  clerical 
or  to  the  political  authority.  The  municipality  was  required  to  pro- 
vide funds  but  had  only  partial  control  of  their  expenditure.  A  law 
of  1869  finally  suspended  the  parochial  system  and  turned  over  all 
the  sources  of  income  for  poor-relief  to  the  municipality.     An  addi- 

^  This  proposed  bill  has  not  yet  become  law,  and  there  does  not  seem  to  be 
much  prospect  of  its  adoption. 

'^  Zeitschrift  f.  d.  Armenwesen,  April,  1904;  review  of  F.  Gerenyi,  Der  gegen- 
wartige  Stand  der  n.-6.  Armengesetzgebung,  in  Der  barmherzige  Samaritan, 
1903,  Heft  3-5  ;  Berichte  des  n.-6.  Landesausschusses  uber  den  Zustand  der  offent- 
lichen  Armenpflege ;  J.  Bunzel,  Zur  neueren  Armen  und  Heimatgesetzgebung  in 
Oesterreich,  1901. 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY 


83 


tional  law  was  passed  in  1880,  which  had  these  provisions.     In  case 
of  non-resident  poor  the  home  municipahty  is  to  be  notified,  when- 
ever it  can  be  determined  readily,  and  expenditure  in  which  the  tem- 
porary abode  is  involved  because  of  delay  on  the  part  of  the  home 
municipality  to  the  call  is  legally  collectible  from  the  latter.     If  the 
legal  residence  cannot  be  legally  determined  investigation  is  to  be 
referred  to  the  political  authorities.     Eight  kinds  of  poor-relief  are 
mentioned:     (i)  Placing  in  a  poorhouse,  (2)  doles  of  money  and 
supplies,   (3)  boarding  with  private  persons,   (4)   care  of  the  sick, 
(6)  transportation,  (7)  burial,  (8)  bringing  up  children.     Munici- 
pal poorhouses  are  at  the  foundation  of  the  system  and  the  law  with 
regard  to  them  requires  separation  of  the  sexes,  avoidance  of  crowd- 
ing, separation  of  the  sick  and  those  suffering  from  disgusting  dis- 
eases, and  light  occupation  for  those  still  capable  of  it.     Begging  is 
forbidden  both  to  resident  and  non-resident  poor  on  pain  of  imprison- 
ment not  over  eight  days.     But  the  municipal  council  has  the  right 
in  exceptional  cases  on  recommendation  of  the  poor  commissioners, 
to  grant  individual  residents  the  privilege  of  gathering  gifts  upon 
specified  days  and  within  the  limits  of  the  municipality.     These  per- 
sons must  provide  themselves  with  a  permit  from  the  poor  commis- 
sion.    This  is  a  concession  to  rural  neighborhoods. 

The  poor  commission  is  made  up  of  the  chief  executive  of  the 
borough,  a  priest  and  the  overseers  {Armenvdter) .  Of  the  last  there 
must  be  three  and  may  be  as  many  more  as  the  municipal  council 
thinks  necessary.  The  poor  commissioners  are  unpaid  officials. 
They  administer  all  endowments  and  incomes  available  for  the  poor, 
oversee  the  charitable  institutions,  prescribe  the  methods  of  relief, 
and  are  expected,  as  far  as  possible,  to  guard  against  pauperization 
of  persons  hitherto  self-supporting,  and  to  indicate  to  the  courts 
persons  who  by  extravagance  give  reason  to  fear  that  they  will  be- 
come impoverished,  in  order  that  appointment  of  guardians  or 
trustees  may  be  considered  (Oesterreichs  W ohlfdhrts-Einrichtungen, 
I  45).  The  commission  must  report  to  the  municipal  council  its  pre- 
liminary budget  and  its  annual  accounts,  and  secure  approval  of  the 
same  for  extraordinary  expenditures.  The  duties  of  the  overseers 
(Armenvater)  correspond  to  those  of  the  armenpfleger  in  Lower 
Austria.  They  have  the  immediate  personal  care  of  the  poor,  re- 
ceive applications,  make  visits  and  investigations.  They  are  not 
paid  and  the  office  is  obligatory  upon  those  appointed,  except  for  cer- 


84  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

tain  grounds  of  excuse  legally  specified.  As  in  Lower  Austria 
women  may  be  appointed  to  care  for  women  among  the  poor ;  but 
women  are  not  required  to  accept  office.  The  proposal  to  introduce 
the  district  system  prevailing  in  Lower  Austria  did  not  meet  with 
favor,  but  the  law  of  Upper  Austria  allows  municipalities  of  the  same 
political  district  to  unite  for  certain  purposes  of  poor-relief,  particu- 
larly the  erection  and  maintenance  of  poorhouses  and  hospitals. 
Exercise  of  this  privilege  is  subject  to  the  approval  of  provincial 
authorities,  and  in  1898  had  been  exercised  only  in  one  instance. 

The  province  of  Styria,  like  Upper  Austria,  has  not  followed  the 
example  of  Lower  Austria  in  the  policy  of  transferring  the  burdens 
of  poor-relief  from  municipalities  to  larger  districts.  The  law  in 
force  dates  from  1896.  It  devolves  the  chief  activities  upon  local 
overseers.  Here  also  the  poorhouse  occupies  a  prominent  place  in 
public  relief.  The  reason  for  giving  special  mention  to  the  adminis- 
tration of  the  province  of  Styria  is  its  extensive  application  of  the 
"Einlage"  system,  mentioned  above  as  one  of  the  forms  of  poor-relief 
in  vogue  in  Upper  Austria.  This  system  is  not  relief  of  paupers  in 
their  own  homes,  but  a  substitute  for  institutional  care.  The  indigent 
person  is  assigned  to  a  house  to  which  during  a  certain  period  he 
goes  for  food,  or  to  several  houses,  among  which  he  circulates,  a  day 
at  each  house.  Sometimes  lodging  as  well  as  food  is  received  at 
these  houses,  and  sometimes  lodging  is  otherwise  provided  by  the 
borough.  About  one-fifth  of  all  cases  are  thus  provided  for  in  Styria 
and  formerly  the  proportion  was  still  larger.  In  1892  the  number  of 
those  thus  fed  was  4,271.  It  is  chiefly  in  the  country  that  this  custom 
obtains.  The  recipients  of  this  form  of  entertainment  do  for  their 
hosts  such  work  as  they  are  able  to  perform,  and  a  very  friendly 
relation  often  exists.  Aged  and  partly  broken-down  persons  are  by 
this  means  maintained  in  comfort.  According  to  the  new  law  the 
"Einlage"  system  is  not  applicable  to  children,  to  the  criminal  poor, 
the  intemperate,  nor  to  persons  over  70  years  old  unless  they  declare 
their  willingness.  Well  as  it  works  in  the  case  of  poor  persons  who 
have  grown  old  in  the  community,  it  works  very  badly  when  paupers 
accustomed  to  the  city  are  sent  to  a  country  place  which  is  their 
legal  residence,  to  meet  among  strange  surroundings  a  grudging 
reception.  The  system  is  far  more  popular  with  the  taxpayers  than 
any  would  be  which  required  a  poor  fund  raised  in  money,  because 
in  the  customs  of  the  rural  population  of  Styria  the  use  of  money  has 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  8S 

as  yet  but  partially  replaced  the  ancient  traffic  in  kind.  The  law  pro- 
vides, however,  that  any  citizen  who  can  and  wishes  may  discharge 
his  "Einlage"  obligation  in  money  not  given  to  the  poor,  but  paid  to 
the  municipal  treasury. 

The  great  importance  of  poor-relief  in  Vienna,  metropolis  and 
capital  of  the  Empire,  entitles  its  administration  to  special  description. 
(Municipal  Government  in  Continental  Europe,  by  Albert  Shaw,  p. 
410  ff.)  The  municipal  legislative  council  (Gemeinderath)  of  138 
members,  elects  from  its  own  membership  an  executive  council  {Stadt- 
rath)  of  25,  who  appoint  the  men  who  fill  all  the  offices  created  by 
the  larger  body.  The  heads  of  departments  thus  appointed  are  sal- 
aried experts  who  hold  office  permanently  or  during  good  behavior, 
and  together  form  the  mayor's  cabinet,  spoken  of  as  the  magistracy. 
The  head  of  the  poor  department  may  make  suggestions  for  general 
legislation  to  the  Gemeinderath  through  their  standing  committee 
on  his  department.  Administrative  policies  he  may  introduce  for 
discussion  and  action  by  the  magistracy.  Vienna  is  divided  into 
19  permanent  districts  or  wards,  each  of  which  elects  a  district  com- 
mittee through  which  local  needs  find  expression.  Each  district  com- 
mittee elects  a  board  of  commissioners  for  the  poor  (Armenrdthe) 
within  its  district,  subject  to  the  approval  of  the  Stadtrath.  The  men- 
bers  of  the  Gemeinderath,  among  whom  are  professors,  economists 
and  publicists  of  national  and  international  reputation,  and  business 
men  of  the  first  rank,  serve  without  pay,  as  do  also  the  district  com- 
mittees and  commissioners  for  the  poor. 

There  is  a  second  separate  municipal  department  for  orphans, 
under  which  foster  parents  ( Waisenvdter  und  M Utter)  who  have 
charge  of  the  education  of  dependent  children.  These  officials  are 
unpaid  and  appointed  by  the  magistracy  on  nomination  of  the  poor 
commissioner  for  the  respective  districts  in  which  they  serve.  The 
various  officials  in  this  complicated  system  are  governed  by  printed 
instructions.  Each  of  the  district  poor  commissioners  has  assigned 
to  him  a  subdivision  of  his  district  and  within  that  subdivision  all 
applications  come  to  him  and  he  must  convince  himself  personally  of 
the  truth  of  the  representations  made.  As  a  rule  each  commissioner 
refers  each  case  within  his  subdivision  requiring  temporary  relief 
and  minor  expenditures,  to  the  district  board  of  commissioners,  while 
cases  that  require  expenditure  above  a  certain  sum  or  more  perma- 
nent relief  from  a  fund  or  admission  to  an  institution  go  up  to  the 


86  AlODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

magistracy  for  action.  Moreover,  each  commissioner  is  required 
periodically,  at  least  twice  a  year,  to  visit  all  the  poor  within  his  sub- 
division to  learn  their  condition  with  reference  to  earning  self-support. 
In  1894  a  rule  was  made  that  an  overseer  should  have  charge  of  not 
over  10  "regulars."  The  number  of  overseers  in  1898  was  1,799, 
varying  from  16  to  190  in  a  district.  In  addition  to  these  were  the 
foster  parents  for  orphans,  4  to  60  in  a  district.  The  chairman  of 
the  district  poor  commissioners  calls  a  meeting  at  least  once  a  month 
to  consider  cases  which  because  of  their  urgency  have  been  treated 
since  the  preceding  meeting  by  individual  commissioners  consulting 
only  with  the  chairman,  to  consider  also  the  cases  to  be  sent  up  to 
the  magistracy  and  to  learn  the  action  of  the  magistracy  upon 
cases  previously  sent  up.  The  district  chairman  thereupon  puts 
into  execution  the  prescriptions  which  have  been  sent  down  by 
the  magistracy.  Each  district  chairman  is  also  responsible  for 
having  a  house  to  house  canvass  for  poor  funds  within  the  one 
of  the  19  districts  which  he  represents.  At  least  once  a  year  there 
is  a  conference  of  all  the  district  chairmen,  presided  over  by  the  di- 
rector of  the  magistracy  and  attended  by  the  heads  of  the  departments 
for  the  poor  and  for  orphans.  Appeals  on  behalf  of  absent  citizens 
go,  not  to  district  commissioners,  but  direct  to  the  city  executive  de- 
partment for  the  poor,  and  the  sums  allowed  are  paid  at  the  mayor's 
office.  In  other  cases  they  are  paid  at  the  offices  of  district  treasurers, 
as  each  of  the  19  district  committees  has  a  treasurer,  or  to  convales- 
cents about  to  be  discharged  they  are  paid  at  the  hospital.  When 
complete  permanent  support  is  granted  to  persons  60  years  old  or 
more  the  amount  is  regularly  5  flor.  a  month.  But  to  persons  over 
80  years  old,  the  blind,  or  crippled,  and  others  totally  unable  to 
add  anything  to  that  amount  by  their  own  exertions  and  who  might 
otherwise  be  in  a  public  institution  8  flor.  a  month  may  be  allowed, 
and  in  some  cases  10  or  12  flor.,  usually  to  persons  who  after  a  year 
in  such  an  institution  express  willingness  to  give  up  their  places  in 
the  institutions.  Ordinarily  any  pension  or  other  regular  income 
which  the  person  receives  is  deducted  from  the  amount  of  aid  allowed, 
but  sometimes  to  persons  who  have  surrendered  indoor  support 
enough  has  been  allowed  to  make  a  total  of  15  flor.  when  added  to 
the  pension  or  other  income.  If  it  is  discovered  that  a  beneficiary, 
at  the  time  of  receiving  his  allowance,  had  property  that  yielded 
24  flor.  or  more  a  year,  and  concealed  the  fact,  he  then  has  to  pay  back 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  87 

all  that  he  has  received  in  public  aid.  District  overseers  have  a  cer- 
tain amount  of  care  of  the  lodging  of  the  poor  and  allowances  for 
rent  are  often  considerable  in  amount. 

Of  other  Austrian  cities  it  is  to  be  remarked  that  a  number,  in- 
cluding Trantenau,  Reichenberg,  Karlsbad,  Tetschen,  Liebenau, 
Warnsdorf,  Troppau  and  Salsburg,  have  adopted  the  "Elberfeld 
system,"  at  least  with  respect  to  the  districting,  the  assignment  of 
cases  to  unpaid  visitors,  the  attempt  to  introduce  a  personal  element 
into  public  relief,  and  to  adapt  it  to  individual  conditions.  The  result 
is  that  in  spite  of  larger  permanent  aid  to  certain  cases  expenditures 
have  not  increased  but  diminished,  that  there  are  fewer  cases  and 
that  street  begging  in  these  cities  has  been  very  nearly  abolished. 
Among  the  maxims  current  in  connection  with  this  system  of  poor- 
relief,  though  not  peculiar  to  it,  are  these :  Every  excess  of  charity 
to  one  means  shorter  allowance  to  another;  the  duty  of  responsible 
relations  should  be  insisted  on ;  as  much  as  possible  should  be  left 
to  private  charity ;  the  sum  of  that  which  one  receives  from  public 
and  private  charity  should  not  exceed  that  which  those  receive  who 
depend  on  public  charity  alone ;  individual  earning  power  should  be 
conserved  and  made  to  go  as  far  as  it  can ;  to  promote  morality,  in- 
dustry, cleanliness  and  economy  is  the  best  aid  to  the  poor.  The  ad- 
ministration is  in  some  cities  complicated.  As  a  rule  district  poor 
commissioners  are  formally  inducted  into  their  office  by  a  ceremonial 
hand  grasp  of  the  mayor  at  a  special  session  of  the  Gemeinderath. 
The  "Elberfeld  system"  aims  to  substitute  for  impersonal  bureaucratic 
administration  of  public  relief  the  agency  of  citizens  working  unpaid 
in  their  respective  neighborhoods,  to  educate  the  citizens  themselves 
to  lay  aside  the  immorality  of  thoughtless  almsgiving,  which  is  in- 
duced only  by  actual  contact  of  many  with  the  work  of  relief,  and  to 
secure  a  knowledge  of  individual  cases,  so  as  to  fit  the  aid  to  the  need, 
remove  causes  of  suffering,  and  especially  to  supplement  gifts  of 
money  and  commodities  with  personal  aid  and  counsel  through  fre- 
quent visits. 

C.  It  is  difficult  to  draw  a  clear  line  between  public  and  private 
charity  in  Austria-Hungary  because  of  the  practice  of  uniting  public 
and  private  funds  to  be  administered  by  public  agency.  This  belongs 
to  the  essence  of  the  system  called  Pharrarmen-institute.  Much  of  the 
cost  of  Austrian  charities  is  met  by  the  income  from  endowments. 
These  are  largely  public  funds  voted  in  honor  of  some  anniversary 


88  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

or  other  event  in  the  royal  family  or  some  other  noble  household.  At 
the  end  of  1898  there  were  in  Vienna  951  endowments,  mostly  under 
municipal  administration,  with  a  combined  capital  of  6,140,939  gulden, 
annually  yielding  247,548  gulden.  According  to  the  provisions  of  the 
various  foundations  136,892  gulden  of  this  income  went  for  tem- 
porary relief,  90,365  for  permanent  aid,  15,975  fo^  care  of  inmates  in 
city  institutions,  3,710  for  the  same  purpose  in  non-municipal  insti- 
tutions, 606  for  the  sick  poor.  The  persons  who  received  temporary 
aid  from  this  source  numbered  11,069  ^^^  those  who  received  regular 
aid  numbered  1,618.  These  endowments  cannot  be  classified  strictly 
as  private  charity.  But  in  the  same  year,  1898,  there  were  in  Vienna 
136  societies  with  32,229  members  engaged  in  private  charity.  That 
year  by  their  own  funds  they  gave  temporary  aid  to  25,695  males,  and 
37,368  females,  to  the  amount  of  482,087  gulden.  Enough  other  pri- 
vate contributions  to  the  same  purpose  were  reported  to  raise  the 
sum  to  574,807  gulden,  and  the  number  of  those  aided  to  68,897. 
In  a  number  of  Austrian  cities  the  activities  of  private  charity  equal 
or  surpass  those  of  public  charity.  The  financial  contributions  of 
private  charity  in  the  province  of  Lower  Austria,  including  income 
from  private  endowments,  in  1896  amounted  to  696,495.91  flor.  The 
invested  property  of  private  associations  amounted  to  2,258,283.21 
flor. 

Private  charitable  societies  exist  in  184  of  the  municipalities  of 
Lower  Austria,  namely  in  33  cities,  92  market  towns  and  59  villages. 
The  number  of  such  societies  is  264,  and  they  maintain  about  100 
charitable  institutions.  Though  they  are  very  considerably  developed 
in  the  Alpine  province  of  the  southwest,  and  Jewish  ecclesiastical  so- 
cieties play  an  important  part  in  the  Polish  northeast.  In  Bohemia 
and  the  other  provinces  of  the  extreme  northwest  they  are  less  numer- 
ous, and  are  very  slightly  represented  in  the  Greek  provinces  of  the 
southeast.  Where  they  exist  the  voluntary  associations  supplement 
public  charities  in  attending  to  the  forms  of  need  least  adequately  met 
by  official  activity,  and  especially,  in  that  they  are  not  limited  by  regu- 
lations as  to  legal  residence,  though  many  of  them  are  limited  by 
creed  or  some  other  social  distinction.  Like  public  charity,  they  afford 
emergency  aid  in  money  and  supplies,  and  meet  special  requirements 
of  particular  cases.  There  are  societies  devoted  to  the  care  of  crip- 
ples, convalescents,  poor  school  children,  and  neglected  or  abused 
children.     They  maintain  hospitals  and  homes,  stations  for  render- 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY 


89 


ing-  aid  in  case  of  accident  or  sudden  illness,  soup  kitchens  that  save 
from  theft  or  despair  the  poorest  of  the  poor,  warming  rooms,  lodg- 
ings, employment  bureaus,  schools  for  training  servants,  vacation 
colonies. 

Certain  knightly  orders,  as  Der  Deutsche  Ritterorden  and  Der 
souveraene  Malteser-Ritterorden,  maintain  charitable  activities.  The 
former  has  ten  general  hospitals.  It  affords  stipends  or  pensions  to 
over  70  needy  persons ;  it  maintains  4  homes  for  62  other  persons,  and 
keeps  free  places  at  sanitaria.  It  has  12  schools  and  2  kindergartens, 
employing  over  100  sisters  of  the  order.  The  membership  of  the  order 
includes  80  priests.  Its  schools  afford  free  instruction  to  some  3,000 
children  per  year.  The  order  participates  in  the  sanitary  service  of 
the  army  in  time  of  action.  The  second  of  the  knightly  orders  men- 
tioned is  likewise  engaged  in  the  service  of  the  sick  and  wounded. 
The  Austrian  societies  of  the  White  Cross  and  of  the  Red  Cross  are 
efficient  agents  of  relief  in  war  and  times  of  catastrophes.  The  first  or- 
ganization to  aid  wounded  soldiers  was  formed  in  Vienna  in  1859, 
shortly  after  the  outbreak  of  war  with  France  and  Italy.  The  pur- 
pose of  this  original  society  was  to  supply  money,  underclothing,  ban- 
dages and  medicines  to  wounded  soldiers  without  distinction  or  rank, 
creed  or  nationality,  and  to  aid  disabled  soldiers  and  the  widows  and 
orphans  of  the  fallen.  Austria  was  ready  to  take  part  in  the  move- 
ment that  centered  in  Geneva.  The  development  of  women's  societies 
of  this  character  has  been  strong  since  an  impetus  received  from  the 
empress  in  1878.  In  1880  the  numerous  societies  formed  a  federa- 
tion known  as  the  Austrian  Red  Cross  Society.  The  main  purpose 
is  to  be  always  ready  to  supplement  government  activity  in  the  care 
of  the  wounded  in  case  of  war.  Depots  of  necessary  materials  are 
maintained.  The  women  prepare  underclothing  and  bedding  and 
themselves  receive  instruction  in  volunteer  nursing.  In  time  of  peace 
the  agencies  care  for  widows  and  orphans  of  soldiers  and  meet  emer- 
gencies occasioned  by  flood,  fire  or  other  disaster.  In  numerous 
emergencies  the  society  has  rendered  great  service.  It  possesses 
property  valued  at  over  six  million  florins. 

The  Society  of  the  White  Cross  founds  and  maintains  homes  for 
the  recuperation  of  soldiers  and  to  make  existing  sanitaria  accessible 
to  them.  The  health  of  the  standing  army  is  its  care,  but  especially 
of  the  officers  of  the  standing  army  and  militia,  including  also  officials 
of  the  war  department,  members  of  the  families  of  such  persons,  their 


go  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

widows  and  orphans,  and  students  at  military  schools  or  at  the  insti- 
tutions for  the  daughters  of  officers.  The  society  has  existed  since 
1882.  Up  to  1894  4,671  persons  had  received  care  in  the  societies' 
sanitaria  or  in  places  supported  by  it  in  institutions.  The  society 
owns  a  number  of  fine  sanitaria  equipped  with  every  comfort. 

D.  The  historical  importance  of  ecclesiastical  charity  in  Austria- 
Hungary  and  its  survival  in  the  Pharrarmen-institute  already  men- 
tioned can  not  be  further  dwelt  upon.  The  activities  of  the  church 
and  of  other  voluntary  associations,  together,  nearly  if  not  quite  equal 
those  of  the  state  and  municipality.  The  Christian,  especially  Catho- 
lic, church  charity  is  largely  characterized  by  the  spirit  of  mediaeval 
almsgiving,  that  is,  not  so  much  by  discriminating  and  intelligent 
adaptation  of  means  to  ends  as  by  impulsive  kindness,  obedience  to 
religious  duty,  and  sense  of  merit  in  the  giver.  The  Hebrew  chari- 
ties, on  the  other  hand,  are  a  calculated  effort  to  restore  the  power 
of  self-support  where  it  has  been  lost  and  to  prevent  the  loss  of  it 
where  it  is  imperilled.  This  is  most  often  accomplished  by  loaning 
capital,  which  may  be  in  the  form  of  a  little  stock  of  goods,  tools,  a 
beast  and  cart.  At  other  times  a  trade  is  taught.  A  family  is  pretty 
thoroughly  wrecked  in  which  the  agents  of  Hebrew  charity  can  not 
find  some  member  with  an  earning  capacity  that  can  be  nursed  into 
effectiveness. 

Although  the  system  of  Pharrarmen-institute  went  far  to  amal- 
gamate Catholic  poor-relief  with  public  charity.  Catholic  societies 
for  special  benevolent  purposes  continue.  Once  at  least.  May,  1900, 
in  Vienna,  there  has  been  a  congress  of  the  Catholic  benevolent  so- 
cieties of  Austria  attended  by  representatives  of  almost  every  organi- 
zation of  the  kind  in  Austria  and  participated  in  by  high  nobles  as  well 
as  ecclesiastics.  Special  attention  was  given  to  the  care  of  children 
and  youth,  foundlings,  cripples,  orphans,  and  the  scope  of  the  dis- 
cussion was  extended  to  include  popular  education,  trade  schools, 
free  libraries,  and  protective  legislation  for  apprentices,  girls,  and 
minors. 

The  Protestants  of  the  Augsburg  and  of  the  Helvetian  confessions 
combined  number  in  Austria  (1898)  436,352  communicants.  Their 
charities  consist  mainly  of  parish  relief.  They  support  schools  and 
libraries,  and  in  their- schools  poor  children  are  instructed  free  and 
often  receive  a  large  part  of  their  food  and  clothing.  They  maintain 
eleven  orphanages  and  they  are  active  in  caring  for  the  sick,  not 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  gi 

alone  in  ordinary  parish  charity.  The  "Inner  Mission  Society  of 
Upper  Austria"  maintains  a  hospital  community  with  four  depart- 
ments, for  the  sick,  for  incurables,  for  the  insane,  and  for  epileptics. 
The  Protestant  Deaconess  Society  of  Vienna  has  a  deaconess  home 
in  that  city  and  a  summer  sanitarium  in  the  country.  Four  other 
similar  institutions  are  maintained  by  the  Protestants  of  Austria : 
"The  Home  of  Peace"  in  Graz,  a  general  hospital  in  Teschen  em- 
bracing eight  pavilions,  two  other  buildings  and  accommodating  130 
patients,  a  home  for  the  sick  in  Waiern,  and  a  hospice  in  Karlsbad. 

Several  funds  and  one  central  home  which  has  property  amount- 
ing to  310,728.56  flor.  are  devoted  to  aiding  aged  Protestant  ministers 
and  teachers,  and  their  widows  and  orphans.  There  is  a  mutual 
benefit  burial  society  for  evangelical  ministers  and  teachers.  Besides 
this  there  is  in  Vienna  an  evangelical  funeral  society  which  had  in 
1898  spent  154,955  flor.  and  possessed  property  valued  at  89,315  flor. 
The  Gustavus  Adolphus  Society  is  a  general  supporter  of  the  Prot- 
estant benevolences.  It  has  in  Austria  15  branches,  with  30  women's 
societies,  49  children's  bands  and  324  local  societies. 

In  1898  there  were  in  Austria  1,261,600  Hebrews.  The  Jewish 
population  is  largest  in  the  province  of  Galicia  where  in  1898  it  num- 
bered 772,213  or  1 16.6  to  every  1,000  of  the  whole  population.  In 
Galicia  the  charitable  associations  among  the  Hebrews  appear  to  out- 
number those  among  all  the  other  people,  more  than  two  to  one, 
with  a  membership  correspondingly  greater.  Their  receipts  and  ex- 
penditures, however,  are  less  than  those  of  the  other  charitable  so- 
cieties, yet  only  by  about  14  per  cent.,  while  the  charitable  endow- 
ments administered  by  the  Hebrew  societies  are  somewhat  the 
greater.  The  smaller  income  of  the  Hebrew  societies  is  divided 
among  twice  as  many  beneficiaries.  This  is  in  part  because  in 
many  cases  the  aid  is  given  in  the  form  of  loans  with  the  inten- 
tion that  the  beneficiary  shall  recover  economic  standing  and  repay. 
Lower  Austria  comes  next  to  Galicia  in  the  absolute  number  of 
Hebrews,  because  of  the  influx  to  the  commercial  capital,  Vienna.  Of 
the  128,729  Hebrews  in  that  province  118,495  were  in  this  city,  and 
there  is  a  large  amount  of  charitable  activity  and  expenditure  among 
the  Jews  of  Vienna.  Available  reports  include  information  of  Jewish 
charitable  endowments  in  Austria  of  over  two  million  florins.  Be- 
sides the  funds  of  charitable  societies  the  authorities  of  many  syna- 
gogues are  trustees  of  funds.     The  sums  thus  administered  are  said 


gi  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

to  amount  to  2.3  million  g-ulden,  including-  about  1.5  millions  devoted 
to  charity.  The  Hebrew  charitable  societies  have  a  custom  of  re- 
quiring contributions  from  their  members  in  honor  of  notable  events 
in  family  life,  such  as  a  betrothal,  a  marriage,  a  birth  or  the  occupa- 
tion of  a  new  residence.  Mutual  benefit  societies  exist  among  them 
that  tend  to  prevent  the  need  of  charity,  as  by  caring  for  the  sick  and 
burying  the  dead.  The  mutual  feature  includes  the  obligation  of 
members  themselves  to  attend  the  sick  of  their  number,  especially  at 
night. 

The  common  classification  of  charitable  societies  according  to  their 
objects  is  not  easily  applied  to  the  Hebrew  organizations.  The  kinds 
of  activity  are  determined  less  by  their  constitutions  than  by  the 
kinds  of  need  encountered,  and  of  some  societies  it  would  be  hard  to 
tell  which  of  several  kinds  of  ministration  is  their  prevalent  activity ; 
but  it  can  be  said  that  the  Jewish  charities  apply  to  almost  every 
fonn  of  need  and  include  almost  every  recognized  method  of  relief. 

Bohemia :  Catholic  Societies. — In  the  archdiocese  of  Prague  in 
1900  there  were  14  orders  of  men,  with  35  places  of  residence,  and 
632  members;  15  orders  of  women,  with  83  places  of  residence,  and 
1,089  members.  Only  a  part  of  these  are  devoted  to  charity;  many 
are  ecclesiastics,  teachers,  etc.  The  church  sustains  almshouses  and 
all  forms  of  relief;  has  200  endowments,  with  an  annual  income  of 
31,659  kr.,  and  distributes  food  at  monasteries  and  elsewhere.  The 
Society  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul  had  in  1899,  34  conferences,  and  there 
are  many  local  societies.  The  Brothers  of  Mercy  have  existed  since 
1620  in  Prague,  and  have  cared  for  389.518  sick  persons.  During 
1899  they  ministered  to  3,863  patients.  There  are  9  orphanages  and 
institutions  for  the  blind,  deaf,  epileptics,  etc.^ 

E.  Co-operation. — While  some  creditable  advances  have  been 
made  in  the  direction  of  such  coordination  of  charities  as  is  repre- 
sented by  the  phrases  "charity  organization"  and  "associated  chari- 
ties," yet  the  condition  of  Austria  in  this  particular  is  on  the  whole 
backward.  In  towns  too  large  to  permit  each  citizen  to  know  the 
others  the  need  is  apparent.  Especially  in  groat  cities  where  there 
are  numerous  dispensers  of  charity  it  is  possible  for  one  to  receive 
aid  from  many  sources,  and  the  decline  into  professional  mendicancy 
is  thus  made  easy.     The  money  and  effort  are  dissipated,  often  doing 

^  Zcit.  f.  d.  Armenwesen,  1904,  p.   151, — reference  to  Das  soziale  Wirken  der 
katholischen  Kirclie  in  Oesterreich,  Vol.  X. 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  g3 

harm  instead  of  good,  and  for  lack  of  concert  some  forms  of  need  are 
left  without  provision.  State  and  provincial  unions  exist,  but  they 
do  not  meet  the  situation.  The  congress  of  Catholic  benevolent  so- 
cieties held  in  Vienna,  May,  1900,  devoted  especial  attention  to  the 
need  of  reform  in  this  direction  and  passed  resolutions  outlining  and 
approving  methods  of  cooperation  between  public,  religious  and  other 
private  charity. 

The  societies  against  impoverishment  {Verein  gegen  Verarmung 
und  Bettelei)  are  often  in  the  closest  cooperation  with  the  public 
charities  and  to  this  end  frequently  elect  public  poor  officials  as  offi- 
cers of  their  societies. 

In  promotion  of  cooperation  between  public  and  ecclesiastical 
charity  the  law  of  some  provinces  {e.  g.  Upper  Austria)  provides  that 
the  Armenrath  shall  include  a  parish  priest.  Styrian  law  specifies 
promotion  of  cooperation  with  church  charities  as  one  of  the  duties 
of  the  Armenrath.  The  coordination  of  charities  is  a  feature  of  the 
Elberfeld  system,  and  progress  in  this  direction  has  been  made  by  the 
cities  where  this  system  has  had  most  influence.  There  is  a  recogni- 
tion of  the  necessity  of  learning  whether  an  applicant  for  public  relief 
is  also  a  recipient  of  private  charity.  Troppau  and  Innsbruck  require 
by  ordinance  that  private  charities,  where  they  grant  aid  larger  in 
amount  than  that  allowed  by  the  city,  shall  act  in  consultation  with 
the  public  poor  officials.  They  also  give  to  chairmen  of  district  poor 
committees  the  right  to  invite  to  particular  sessions  of  these  bodies  the 
heads  of  private  charities.  In  Innsbruck  these  chairmen  are  ex- 
pected to  request  from  every  private  benevolent  agency  in  the  city 
regular  reports  of  every  case  aided  within  the  districts  over  which 
they  respectively  preside.  Among  the  cities  Trent  deserves  especial 
mention  for  the  coordination  of  its  charities.  Graz  also  holds  a  lead- 
ing position.  In  that  city  a  charity  organization  society  was  formed 
January,  1897.  It  aims  to  introduce  individualizing  treatment  into 
the  municipal  poor-relief  and  to  promote  such  reorganization  of  that 
department  as  is  necessary  to  the  exercise  of  intelligent  discrimination 
and  persistent  fostering  care  in  the  treatment  of  cases,  while  at  the 
same  time  it  is  the  aim  of  the  society  to  secure  systematic  cooperation 
of  public  and  private  charity.  One  hundred  and  fifty  women  were 
among  those  who  responded  to  the  call  to  enter  such  an  organization. 
The  year  following  its  formation  it  had  410  supporting  and  310  active 
members,  the  latter  apportioned  among  the  districts  of  the  city.     The 


94 


MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 


most  notable  movement  in  this  direction  is  the  provincial  society  for 
charity  cooperation  in  Styria  (which  aims  to  bring  all  the  charities  of 
that  crown  land  into  a  league).  The  movement  was  initiated  by  offi- 
cial action  and  has  the  support  of  prominent  personages,  though  from 
its  nature  it  must  depend  on  private  contributions  for  the  necessary 
funds.  The  aim,  measurably  fulfilled,  is  to  include  in  one  organiza- 
tion the  public,  private  and  ecclesiastical  charities  of  the  crown  land, 
to  secure  a  general  view  of  all  means  and  agencies,  without  curtailing 
the  independence  of  any,  to  avoid  duplication  of  effort,  to  promote  the 
formation  of  agencies  that  will  provide  for  needs  still  not  met,  to  en- 
list private  activity,  to  diminish  the  burden  of  municipalities,  to 
disseminate  sound  principles  for  the  guidance  of  practice  by  means  of 
conventions  and  a  periodical.  An  innovation  in  this  connection  is  the 
establishment  of  a  registry  of  the  poor,  aiming  at  nothing  less  than  a 
record  of  the  case  of  every  person  who  is  aided  anywhere  in  Styria, 
a  copy  of  the  same  to  be  forwarded  to  every  agency  interested. 

The  Katholische  Lands-Wohlthatigkeits-Komittee  fiir  Nieder- 
oesterreich  was  founded  in  Vienna  in  1900.  It  seeks  to  unite  all 
Catholic  agencies  for  the  care  of  children,  popular  education,  social 
help,  relief  of  the  poor  and  sick,  and  to  guide  all  to  the  most  effective 
and  economical  methods.  In  December,  1902,  it  had  united  67  so- 
cieties in  its  federation.  The  central  bureau  gives  information,  but 
not  material  relief.  In  1902  a  movement  was  started  to  extend  this 
union  to  include  all  Catholic  charities  in  the  Empire. 

F.  Institutional  Relief. — As  early  as  the  thirteenth  century 
thgre  were  institutions  for  the  care  of  the  poor.  Toward  the  close 
of  the  middle  ages,  and  later,  they  were  founded  within  their  respec- 
tive districts  by  princes  and  nobles  and  by  ecclesiastical  orders.  A 
"Burger-spital"  existed  in  Vienna  from  the  middle  of  the  thirteenth 
century.  These  early  institutions  received  the  poor,  the  sick,  the  in- 
sane, children  and  the  aged.  It  was  Joseph  II.  (1765-1790)  who 
reorganized  the  administration  of  such  institutions,  especially  in  Vi- 
enna, and  assigned  to  each  one  specific  functions,  to  one  the  care  of 
the  sick  poor,  to  another  those  with  incurable  or  repulsive  diseases, 
and  to  another  orphans.  But  up  to  1863  the  mingling  of  these  classes 
was  general  in  the  Empire,  and  the  institutions  in  which  they  were 
congregated,  though  quite  numerous,  met  inadequately  the  humblest 
requirements  for  the  care  especially  of  those  with  sick  inmates. 
Often  they  were  unclean  and  malodorous.     Progress  in  knowledge 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY 


95 


of  hygiene,  backed  by  a  new  sanitary  law  of  1870,  has  occasioned 
marked  improvements.  This  law  gave  to  provincial  authorities 
power  and  responsibility  with  reference  to  hygienic  conditions  in  all 
such  institutions  within  their  territories.  The  organization  has  been 
slower  to  improve  and  there  are  still  institutions  of  the  sort,  even 
in  great  cities,  where  incurables,  as  the  consumptive  and  the  cancer- 
ous, sufferers  from  disgusting  ailments,  epileptics,  the  aged,  crippled 
children,  idiots,  cretins,  the  deaf  and  dumb,  blind,  and  wrecks  of 
alcoholism  are  congregated  without  individualization  or  classifica- 
tion. By  far  the  largest  number  of  such  poorhouses  are  supported 
by  municipalities,  many  are  maintained  by  endowments,  more  than 
a  score  are  district  institutions  (system  of  Lower  Austria)  and  half 
as  many  provincial,  while  three  are  supported  by  societies.  The  total 
number  is  1,486.  The  number  of  inmates  in  1895  was  43,055.  In 
1870  there  were  114  inmates  in  such  institutions  to  each  100,000  of 
the  population  in  Austria;  in  1880,  156;  and  in  1890,  179.  As  to 
their  administration  they  are  of  three  classes:  (a)  Those  which 
furnish  to  their  inmates  entire  living,  either  in  natura  or  by  allowances 
of  over  15  kr.  a  day  per  head  in  cash.  This  is  by  far  the  largest 
class  and  in  different  institutions  of  this  class  the  expense  per  day 
per  head  varies  from  22  to  89  kr,,  and  the  average  is  44  kr.  (b) 
Those  which  furnish  lodging  and  less  than  15  kr.  per  day.  (c)  Those 
which  furnish  lodging  only,  relatively  few,  numbering  probably  be- 
tween 190  and  200  in  all  Austria.  In  the  country  districts  there  is 
pitiful  lack  of  care  for  the  disabled  poor.  The  bidding  off  of  paupers 
to  those  who  will  support  them  at  the  lowest  rate  tends  to  the  most 
wretched  results.  Many  of  the  poor  end  their  days  in  barns  and  out- 
houses, subsisting  on  refuse  and  covering  their  nakedness  with  rags. 
The  aged  and  utterly  broken  down,  after  lives  spent  in  hard  and 
honest  toil  are  reduced  to  a  state  from  which  death  is  a  deliverance ; 
and  younger  persons  suffering  from  incurable  diseases  are  in  a 
plight  no  less  pitiable.  Proper  institutional  care  for  such  persons  in 
country  districts  is  possible  only  when  large  districts  or  whole  prov- 
inces unite  in  the  support  of  infirmaries.  Certain  provinces  have  a 
regulation  that  the  provincial  board  can  compel  the  incurable  to  enter 
provincial  institutions  against  the  will  of  the  individuals  and  without 
the  request  of  the  municipalities  concerned,  when  it  is  recognized  that 
a  municipality  is  not  in  a  position  to  furnish  shelter  and  care  com- 
patible with  the  demands  of  humanity. 


g6  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

In  discussing  the  crying  need  of  better  organization  and  classifi- 
cation Inspector  Gerenyi  recognized  six  classes  now  existing  in  the 
Austrian  poorhouses  or  infirmaries.  First  are  the  mentally  defective 
but  not  dangerous.  These  would  be  far  better  off  in  the  departments 
for  incurables  or  labor  colonies  connected  with  hospitals  for  the  in- 
sane. Often  there  is  in  them  considerable  power  of  useful  labor. 
Not  a  few  such  would  be  taken  home  by  farmers  for  a  small  consid- 
eration and,  under  proper  regulations,  good  results  could  be  expected. 
Second  are  the  incurably  diseased,  for  whom  there  should  be  special 
provincial  homes.  Third  are  drunkards  and  tramps,  whose  proper 
treatment  remains  to  be  considered.  Fourth  are  orphans  and  found- 
lings. And  according  to  the  author  cited  these  should  be  brought 
up  in  rural  homes.  Fifth  are  the  sick  and  crippled  children  requiring 
special  homes,  as  also  do  the  deaf  mutes  and  the  blind.  Sixth  are  the 
aged  and  broken-down,  the  proper  inmates  of  infirmaries.  This  class 
alone,  Inspector  Gerenyi  thinks,  should  be  left  to  local  care  and 
support. 

Brighter  aspects  are  presented  by  certain  institutions,  as  the 
six  municipal  "houses  of  maintenance."  The  first  has  a  three-story 
central  structure  containing  the  offices  and  residences  of  officials, 
and  two-story  wings  in  w'hich  are  wards  of  12  beds  each,  accommo- 
dating 540  persons — 240  men  and  300  women,  with  air  space  of  29^^ 
cubic  meters  per  head.  A  second  has  a  front  and  a  rear  building, 
with  wards  of  14  to  20  beds,  allowing  20  cubic  meters  air  space  per 
head  and  accommodating  1,726  persons — 744  men  and  982  women.  A 
third  is  located  about  114  kilometers  out  of  the  city,  has  wards  of 
15  beds,  20^  cu.  m.  air  space  per  head  and  places  for  694 — 267  men 
and  427  women.  A  fourth,  about  14  kilos,  from  the  city,  occupies 
an  old  cloister,  and  as  the  location  and  building  are  less  sanitary 
than  the  others  no  more  beds  are  allowed  than  will  leave  26  to  35 
cu.  m.  of  air  space  per  head.  It  has  596  places — 285  for  men  and 
311  for  women.  A  fifth  is  61  kilos,  from  the  city,  allows  15  cu.  m. 
space  per  head,  and  has  330  places — 155  for  men  and  175  for  women. 
The  sixth  has  wards  for  16  beds,  with  20  cu.  m.  per  head  and  places 
for  831 — 313  men  and  518  women.  The  six  have  places  for  4,717 — 
2,004  nien  and  2,713  women.  The  buildings  cover  37,837  sq.  m.  and 
have  yards  and  gardens  170,465  sq.  m.  in  extent.  This  plant  cost 
3,543,000  gulden,  and  the  daily  expense  per  inmate  averages  60  krz. 

The  second  institution  described  is  large  and  in  the  city  itself. 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  gy 

and  receives  indiscriminately  all  persons  admissible.  Here  they  are 
divided  into  three  classes:  (i)  The  aged  and  broken-down;  (2) 
idiots,  epileptics  and  incurable;  (3)  persons  requiring  strict  discipline. 
These  three  classes  are  kept  by  themselves  by  being  transferred  from 
this  central  institution  to  others  of  the  six  which  are  set  apart  for 
special  classes.  Though  these  institutions  are  for  legal  residents  of 
Vienna,  others  may  be  temporarily  admitted  till  provided  for  by  their 
home  municipalities ;  and  when  there  is  vacant  room  non-residents 
who  pay  for  their  care  are  sometimes  admitted  for  longer  periods. 
In  the  conduct  of  these  institutions  the  head  of  the  poor  department 
acts  as  agent  of  the  magistracy,  and  the  latter  is  supervised  by  the 
Gemeinderath.  Each  of  the  six  has  a  manager  with  one  or  more 
assistants,  one  or  more  house  physicians,  and  a  Catholic  chaplain, 
while  a  Protestant  clergyman  holds  service  for  those  of  his  faith  on 
sacred  days.  All  these  officials  of  an  institution  are  required  to 
meet  monthly  to  discuss  the  suggestions  of  the  month's  experience 
and  the  requests  and  complaints  of  the  inmates.  The  inmates  receive 
lodging,  board  or  a  portion  of  money,  clothing,  bed,  bedding,  wash- 
ing, medical  treatment  and  nursing  in  sickness,  and  after  death  a 
decent  burial.  Formerly  the  inmates  were  not  boarded  in  commons 
but  received,  every  fifth  day,  a  money  payment,  and  connected  with 
each  institution  was  an  eating-house  keeper  who  was  under  contract 
to  supply  food  to  the  inmates  according  to  a  schedule  of  prices  that 
made  proper  living  possible  with  the  stipend  allowed.  When  prices 
have  risen  it  has  been  necessary  to  allow  a  bounty  from  the  city  to  the 
eating-house  keeper.  The  inmates  were  not  required  to  buy  at  the 
restaurant  attached  to  the  institution,  save  a  few,  whose  mental  ca- 
pacity or  other  special  reason  gave  ground  for  restriction.  Too  much 
of  the  allowances  went  for  stimulants,  and  in  1862  it  was  decided  to 
try  an  experiment  at  the  great  infirmary  described  above  (second)  ; 
only  a  little  money  was  allowed  each  inmate  for  incidentals  and  they 
were  boarded  in  common.  The  aim  was  to  furnish  a  healthier  diet 
without  excess  of  brandy  or  coffee.  It  proved  impossible  to  satisfy 
the  inmates  without  greatly  exceeding  the  outlay  under  the  former 
system.  Opposition  to  the  new  arrangement  caused  it  to  be  given 
up  within  a  year.  After  an  experiment  in  1888  there  was  a  special 
tariff  for  the  sick  at  the  official  eating-houses.  In  1893  the  magis- 
tracy introduced  boarding  in  commons  at  all  the  institutions  outside 
the  city,  and  two  years  later  the  practice  was  adopted  in  all  the  six 

7 


gS  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

infirmaries  except  the  one  first  described.  This  one  was  for  persons 
of  the  burgher  class  and  its  inmates  were  allowed  their  choice  between 
an  allowance  of  40  kr.  a  day  and  22  kr.  a  day  with  board  in  commons. 
In  the  other  five  infirmaries  the  daily  allowance  had  been  26  kr.  and 
it  was  now  reduced  to  4,  and  regular  meals  were  furnished  three 
times  a  day.  The  ordinary  bill  of  fare  was  somewhat  modified  on 
Sundays  and  holidays,  and  the  sick  were  fed  according  to  the  orders 
of  physicians.  A  bar  was  established  in  each  infirmary,  and  wine 
and  beer  were  sold  at  cost.  Brandy  was  prohibited.  Though  the 
inmates  could  not  justly  complain  of  the  board  furnished  them,  and 
although  physicians  approved  of  it  on  sanitary  grounds,  the  free 
disposal  of  their  money  was  so  missed  that  the  inmates  by  agitation 
succeeded  in  having  the  plan  modified  after  two  years.  Accordingly, 
by  the  rule  of  1887,  inmates  were  given  choice  between  taking  full 
board  in  commons,  and  taking  only  breakfast  and  dinner,  and  re- 
ceiving a  money  allowance  for  supper.  The  quantity  of  bread  for 
all  inmates  was  cut  down  from  45  to  30  deka.  and  by  that  means  the 
money  allowance  of  those  taking  full  board  was  increased  from  4  to 
5.5  kr.  a  day,  and  those  who  took  only  breakfast  and  dinner  in  com- 
mons received  8  kr.  a  day.  A  year  later  the  rule  was  further  modi- 
fied so  that  inmates  are  not  required  to  take  any  of  the  board  in  com- 
mons but  may  receive  instead  the  former  allowance  of  26  kr.  a  day 
paid  in  advance  every  five  days.  One  who  takes  board  and  wishes 
to  take  money  instead  must  give  30  days'  notice  before  the  change 
is  made.  One  who  takes  money  can  receive  board  instead  after  5 
days'  notice.  The  manager  or  the  physician  can  refuse  the  money 
option  to  inmates  who  are  sick  or  cannot  be  trusted  with  money. 
Inmates  are  not  required  to  work  but  may  be  employed  at  a  wage. 
They  are  not  required  to  stay  in  the  institution  after  breakfast  is 
eaten  and  the  rooms  are  put  in  order  for  the  day.  The  manager  may 
grant  leave  of  absence  for  not  over  4  weeks.  Infraction  of  house 
rules  may  be  punished  by  reprimand,  detention  in  one's  room  not  over 
48  hours,  forbidding  to  leave  the  institution  for  not  over  4  weeks, 
exclusion  from  paid  services,  or  transference  to  the  fourth  house 
of  maintenance,  which  is  for  those  who  require  strict  discipline. 
Punishments  are  inflicted  upon  a  majority  vote  of  three  officials,  the 
manager,  the  physician  and  one  other  specified.  In  each  case  of  pun- 
ishment a  record  is  to  be  kept  stating  on  whom  it  was  inflicted,  the 
offence  and  the  penalty. 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  gg 

G.  Vagrants. — Drunkards  and  begging  parasites  find  their  way 
into  Austrian  almshouses  where  they  form  the  third  of  the  six  classes 
of  inmates  already  mentioned,  and  prove  themselves  the  dread  of 
the  officials,  the  plague  of  the  physicians,  and  the  terror  of  the  other 
inmates.  They  undermine  discipline,  prevent  arrangements  favor- 
able to  the  welfare  of  others,  and  in  no  sense  belong  in  a  poorhouse 
or  infirmary,  but  require  restraint,  severe  discipline  and  efforts  at  re- 
form. In  seven  provinces  of  Austria  there  are  road  stations  on  the 
Wiirttemberg  plan,  known  also  in  other  parts  of  Germany,  Switzer- 
land and  the  Netherlands.  The  purpose  of  these  stations  is  to  give 
lodging  to  homeless  wayfarers,  remove  the  excuse  for  beggary  and 
facilitate  the  search  for  employment.  The  purpose  is  to  afiford  such 
food  and  lodging  as  to  preserve  health  and  require  labor  in  return, 
always  making  the  reward  for  labor  less  than  that  received  for  equal 
exertion  at  regular  employment.  The  stations  are  usually  15  kilo- 
meters apart.  None  are  received  who  cannot  do  the  prescribed  work, 
and  usually  a  passport  is  required  and  a  certificate  showing  that  the 
person  has  been  employed  within  the  last  two  or  three  months.  At 
each  station  is  kept  a  list  of  opportunities  for  employment  in  the 
neighborhood.  The  system  was  first  put  in  operation  in  Lower  Aus- 
tria, in  1887,  and  later  in  Moravia,  Styria,  Upper  Austria,  Bohemia, 
Silesia  and  Vorarlberg.  The  expense  is  borne  by  districts,  munici- 
palities or  provinces.  In  the  period  1895-97  there  were  814  stations 
which  reeceived  1,495,983  guests  and  found  positions  for  43,125. 

In  Vienna  there  is  an  institution  similar,  in  some  respects,  to  these 
road  stations,  but  at  the  same  time  very  different  in  that  it  is  intended 
not  for  wayfarers  but  for  legal  residents  of  the  city.  It  is  an  asylum 
and  voluntary  workhouse  for  the  shelterless.  It  is  open  only  to  per- 
sons who  are  in  health  and  able  to  labor.  They  are  admitted  between 
6  and  9  p.  m.  in  summer  and  5  and  8  in  winter.  There  is  a  section 
for  late  comers.  Those  regularly  admitted  are  at  once  examined  by 
a  physician  and  may  be  sent  to  a  hospital.  Persons  of  both  sexes 
are  accommodated  and  there  is  a  special  section  for  women  having 
children.  Children  under  14,  unaccompanied  by  a  relative  are  re- 
ceived, but  the  next  day  they  are  turned  over  to  the  magistracy  for 
appropriate  care.  Applicants  must  present  certificates  of  legal  resi- 
dence in  Vienna.  A  compulsory  bath  is  furnished,  and  a  light  supper 
and  breakfast.  The  institution  has  two  departments :  the  asylum  and 
the  workhouse.     Persons  who  come  for  more  than  seven  nights  are 


lOO 


MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 


transferred  to  the  workhouse  and  persons  who  become  shelterless  and 
have  recourse  to  the  asylum  a  second  time  within  three  months  are 
sent  directly  to  the  workhouse,  and  a  person  coming  for  the  first  time 
may  be  sent  there  upon  decision  of  the  competent  authority.  One 
who  declines  to  go  to  the  asylum  for  lodging  loses  claim  to  any  other 
kind  of  municipal  aid.  Those  who  come  so  often  as  to  indicate  idle- 
ness become  subject  to  the  law  for  the  treatment  of  vagabonds.  Per- 
sons are  admitted  to  this  voluntary  workhouse  in  order  to  maintain 
themselves  during  a  period  of  lack  of  employment.  All  such,  as  well 
as  those  transferred  from  the  asylum  as  just  described,  must  perform 
a  daily  minimum  of  work,  Sundays  and  holidays  excepted.  Wages 
are  allowed  for  work  in  excess  of  the  required  minimum.  Work 
begins  at  6  in  summer  and  7  in  winter.  After  the  day's  task  is  done 
there  is  liberty  to  go  out  in  search  of  employment.  Special  privileges 
are  allowed  the  best  behaved  in  beginning  early  the  search  for  work. 
Clothing  is  loaned  to  some  while  their  own  is  being  washed,  but  they 
are  not  allowed  to  leave  the  building  while  wearing  the  borrowed 
clothing.  To  inmates  of  long  standing  and  good  record  clothing  may 
be  given  to  make  them  presentable  while  searching  for  employment. 
Too  frequent  recourse  to  the  workhouse  is  disciplined  by  increasing 
the  daily  task  or  diminishing  the  rations,  or  finally  by  turning  the 
offender  over  to  the  police.  Drinking  alcoholic  liquors,  smoking  to- 
bacco and  games  of  every  sort  are  prohibited  in  the  workhouse.  Un- 
willingness to  do  the  work  forfeits  claim  to  any  other  form  of  aid 
and  may  lead  to  turning  the  shirk  over  to  the  police.  The  work  done 
by  the  men  and  women  is  partly  for  the  market,  including  the  manu- 
facture of  paper  bags  and  pasteboard  boxes,  partly  for  consumption 
in  municipal  institutions,  including  the  making  of  clothing,  under- 
wear, shoes,  carpenter  and  cabinet  work,  painting,  locksmithing  and 
whatever  else  is  required  to  keep  the  institution  in  repair,  and  all  the 
whitewashing,  scrubbing,  etc.,  required  to  keep  it  neat. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  year  1897  there  were  430  inmates  in  the 
voluntary  workhouse,  397  men  and  33  women  ;  during  the  year  10,889 
were  admitted,  10,122  men  and  767  women,  and  at  the  end  of  the 
year  376  of  these  men  and  36  of  the  women,  412  in  all,  were  still 
in  the  institution.  That  year  the  income  from  labor  done  was 
29,761.37  flor.  The  running  expenses  were  28,577.40  flor.  and  the 
wages  paid  for  extra  labor  8,203.34  flor. 

H.     Medical  Relief. — In  1890  there  were  in  Vienna  19  physi- 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  lOl 

cians  for  the  poor  besides  three  oculists,  an  aurist  and  a  dentist.  By 
the  incorporation  of  surburbs  into  the  city  the  number  of  physicians 
for  the  poor  was  increased,  in  1891,  to  52,  besides  the  speciaHsts  men- 
tioned and  physicians  who  conducted  dispensaries  at  each  poHce  sta- 
tion. At  the  end  of  1896  the  number,  including  specialists,  had  in- 
creased to  64  in  addition  to  dispensary  physicians  and  heads  of  clinics 
at  hospitals,  all  of  whom  are  authorized  to  furnish  free  medical  aid. 
According  to  regulations  of  1895  the  city  physicians  are  required  to 
attend  all  the  sick  poor  in  their  respective  districts,  whether  legal 
residents  of  the  city  or  not,  and  the  attendance  is  to  be  either  at  the 
physician's  office  or  by  visit,  according  to  the  needs  of  each  case. 
They  are  also  required  to  investigate,  and  at  least  twice  each  year  to 
report  upon  the  health  and  sanitary  surroundings  of  all  orphans 
boarded  out  by  the  city.  They  attend  the  sick  in  the  poorhouses  and 
they  take  part  in  the  conferences  of  the  district  poor  commissioners. 
Each  must  reside  within  his  district  and  have  on  his  house  a  sign 
"City  Physician  for  Treatment  of  the  Poor."  A  monthly  report 
must  be  made  to  the  chief  city  physician.  This  official,  in  addition  to 
the  regular  duties,  upon  requisition  of  the  magsistracy,  has  to  in- 
vestigate the  cases  of  those  who  seek  the  benefit  of  any  fund  or  pen- 
sion or  admission  to  any  institution.  The  prescriptions  are  filled  by 
authorized  apothecaries  upon  their  presentation  accompanied  by  a 
certificate  of  worthy  poverty  from  the  district  poor  commissioner. 
When  non-residents  receiving  free  treatment  use  medicines  costing 
over  19  gulden  a  claim  for  the  amount  is  sent  to  their  legal  residence. 
Similar  arrangements  apply  to  the  filling  of  prescriptions,  not  only 
of  medicines,  but  also  of  bandages,  dressings,  glasses  for  the  eyes, 
and  medicinal  baths.  In  each  case  the  official  prescriptions  that  have 
been  filled  are  turned  into  the  city  as  valid  claims  against  its  treasury. 
There  is  a  "cure  house"  for  the  poor  in  Baden,  where  sulphur  baths 
can  be  taken  with  the  proper  accompaniment  of  medical  treatment. 
Board  and  lodging  are  furnished  and  the  beneficiaries  usually  re- 
main six  weeks.  This  institution  was  founded  in  1808.  There 
are  169  beds  at  the  disposal  of  Vienna  and  400  to  500  persons 
each  season  go  there  cost  free  from  Vienna  alone.  Admission  is 
conditioned  upon  presentation  of  certificates  showing  the  physician's 
prescriptions  and  the  patient's  inability  to  pay  for  the  enjoyment  of 
the  baths,  but  the  degree  of  poverty  need  not  be  so  great  as  is  neces- 
sary to  secure  admission  to  a  poorhouse  or  the  grant  of  a  stipend. 


102  MODERN  AIETHODS  OF  CHARITY 

There  are  other  baths  and  sanitaria  to  which  the  poor  of  Vienna  may- 
be sent.  With  this  exception  the  care  of  persons  in  hospitals  is  not 
at  the  cost  of  the  city  but  of  the  province.  When  hospital  patients 
are  recipients  of  a  stipend  payments  on  the  stipends  falHng  within 
the  time  spent  in  the  hospital  are  paid  over  to  the  hospital  manage- 
ment and  defray,  in  part,  the  expense  of  hospital  care.  The  burial  of 
the  destitute  is  regarded  as  an  expenditure  for  sanitation  and  is  not 
charged  to  poor  funds. 

Not  only  in  Vienna  but  elsewhere  in  Austria  the  number  of  dis- 
pensaries is  large.  They  are  either  independent  or  connected  with 
hospitals.  The  most  completely  appointed  is  the  general  clinic  in 
Vienna.  It  has  a  building  erected  in  1893,  with  special  reference  to 
its  uses.  The  building  has  a  garden  and  is  constructed  in  8  sub- 
divisions, each  with  a  waiting  room,  a  room  for  the  physicians  in 
charge,  an  assistant's  room,  an  auditorium  and  toilet  rooms  for  men 
and  for  women.  The  institution  has  a  chemical  and  bacteriological 
laboratory  and  a  Roentgen  closet.  There  is  an  isolation  room  where 
persons  found  to  have  infectious  diseases  are  placed  until  they  can 
be  taken  to  hospitals.  There  are  electric  lights,  central  heating,  a 
ventilating  plant  which  renews  the  air  every  thirty  minutes,  washable 
walls,  xylolith  floors,  hot  and  cold  water  in  every  room  and  all  aids 
to  diagnosis  and  treatment.  There  are  20  departments,  20  head 
physicians,  37  assistants  and  43  "aspirants."  The  departments  are : 
two  for  children's  diseases,  two  for  diseases  of  the  eyes,  two  for  sur- 
gical cases,  two  for  skin  and  syphilitic  diseases,  five  for  internal  mala- 
dies, one  for  throat  and  nose,  one  for  women's  diseases,  one  for  the 
ear,  one  for  urinary  organs,  and  one  for  dentistry.  All  treatment  is 
free,  persons  of  means  not  being  received. 

Austria  has  well  developed  agencies  {"Rettungszvcsen")  for  the 
rescue  of  those  whose  life  is  in  sudden  peril,  and  restoration  of  those 
who  are  at  the  point  of  death  by  asphyxia,  drowning,  strangling, 
poisoning,  lightning-stroke,  etc.  Conspicuous  notices  of  the  location 
of  stations  are  posted.  At  each  of  these  stations  the  most  necessary 
implements  are  kept  packed  in  a  small  box  that  can  be  hurriedly  car- 
ried to  the  place  where  the  endangered  person  lies.  More  extensive 
apparatus  is  also  provided,  including  an  operating  bed  and  often  an 
ambulance.  Persons  who  would  die  before  they  could  be  carried  to 
a  hospital  are  saved  at  these  neighboring  stations.  This  development 
is  due  largely  to  voluntary  private  agency,  especially  to  the  "Wiener 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  I03 

Freiwillige  Rettungsgesellschaft."  This  society  founded  stations, 
provided  lectures  on  the  treatment  of  emergencies,  made  an  agree- 
ment with  the  government  sanitary  service  with  respect  to  rendering 
aid,  and  when  the  army  is  mobiHzed  places  means  of  rescue  at  water 
courses  and  prepared  to  do  service  in  cases  of  flood,  fire  and  wreck. 
The  activity  of  this  society  has  been  imitated  in  Budapest,  Prague, 
Bruenn,  Krakau,  Triest,  Lemberg,  Innsbruck,  and  elsewhere.  Due 
to  the  same  initiative,  firemen  have  been  instructed  in  restoring  and 
in  transporting  the  injured,  and  also  taught  to  make  themselves  use- 
ful in  other  emergencies  than  fire.  A  full  description  of  the  utensils 
found  desirable  for  the  stations  can  be  found  in  "Oesterreichs  Wohl- 
fahrtseinrichtungen,"  Band  III,  pp.  458,  462  seq. 

Of  Austria  in  general  it  may  be  said  that  hospitals  have  out- 
stripped other  forms  of  beneficence.  In  1848  there  were  189  Aus- 
trian hospitals  with  12,701  beds,  and  in  1896  there  were  207  public 
and  395  private  hospitals,  in  all  602  with  39,588  beds.  In  1848  there 
was  one  hospital  bed  to  every  1,416.9  inhabitants.  During  this  in- 
terval the  population  has  increased  nearly  7,000,000.  In  1848  the 
number  cared  for  in  hospitals  was  116,410,  in  1896,  402,904.  The 
increase  is  due  in  part  to  the  opening  of  hospitals  during  epidemics 
which  have  been  maintained  after  the  passing  of  the  epidemics.  The 
greatest  cause  of  increase  is  industrial  activity,  mining,  iron  works, 
factories,  with  their  armies  of  laborers  to  be  cared  for,  with  greater 
resources.  The  largest  increase  has  been  in  Upper  and  Lower  Aus- 
tria, Styria  and  Bohemia,  where  in  1859  there  was  one  bed  to  every 
1,058  inhabitants  and  at  last  report  one  bed  to  630.  In  provinces 
chiefly  rural  the  accommodations  are  still  inadequate ;  thus  Dalmatia 
has  one  bed  to  1,054  of  the  population,  Galicia  one  bed  to  1,559.5,  ^"cl 
Bukowina,  one  to  1,576.  The  general  public  hospitals  have  the  legal 
right  to  draw  on  the  treasury  of  the  province  of  which  a  patient  was 
a  legal  resident,  for  the  cost  of  care  and  treatment  in  every  case  where 
the  patient  is  unable  to  pay  and  the  expense  is  not  met  by  some 
benefaction  or  by  a  corporation,  labor  union  or  society  with  which 
the  hospital  stands  in  relation.  There  are  agreements  with  some 
states  outside  the  Empire  by  which  the  latter  honor  bills  sent  in  for 
treating  their  citizens  who  fall  ill  while  in  Austria.  Austria  in  turn 
pays  the  cost  of  caring  for  her  own  citizens  who  fall  sick  and  are 
taken  into  the  public  hospitals  of  these  foreign  states.  Poor  persons 
from  foreign  states  that  make  no  such  agreement  are  received  in  the 


I04  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

Austrian  hospitals  and  the  cost  is  borne  by  the  province  in  which  the 
hospital  is  located.  Though  hospitals  are  provincial  institutions, 
municipalities  have  legally  defined  duties  with  reference  to  their  main- 
tenance. The  capacity  of  single  public  hospitals  varies  from  13  to 
1,964  beds  and  floor  space  per  bed  from  12  to  893  sq.  met.  Many 
are  overcrowded.  The  395  private  hospitals  receive  no  public  aid 
and  are  under  no  administrative  control  of  city  or  province.  As  a 
rule  they  do  not  have  fixed  rates,  they  often  care  for  the  sick  gratu- 
itously, and  otherwise  upon  terms  agreed  upon  in  each  case.  Of  the 
private  hospitals  128  are  founded  and  managed  by  independent  cor- 
porations, 61  by  mutual  benefit  societies  chiefly  of  laborers,  56  by 
Catholic  ecclesiastical  bodies,  26  by  Protestant  and  Hebrew  bodies, 
23  by  benevolent  societies,  15  by  landlords  and  nobles  for  the  people 
of  their  domains,  13  are  private  sanitaria  existing  for  purposes  of 
gain,  and  there  are  73  others.  Some  are  very  small,  having  only  2, 
4  or  6  beds.  In  1896  there  were  71,947  cases  treated  in  the  private 
hospitals.  There  are  in  Austria  seven  homes  for  convalescents,  so 
far  as  reports  show.  This  kind  of  aid  for  the  sick  is  comparatively 
little  developed.  Such  homes  not  only  economize  the  rooms  in  hos- 
pitals but  also  facilitate  recovery.  Neither  the  often  crowded  wards 
of  hospitals  nor  the  homes  of  poverty  are  fit  places  for  convalescents. 
In  times  of  epidemics  such  homes  can  be  used  as  hospitals.  Aus- 
tria has  18  maternity  hospitals,  most  of  which  were  founded  in 
the  eighteenth  century.  They  employ  66  physicians,  53  midwives 
and  140  attendants.  The  number  of  beds  in  each  institution  varies 
from  6  to  594  and  the  total  number  of  beds  in  the  18  institutions  is 
1,576.  During  the  years  1848-1877  there  were  from  11,300  to  14,908 
births  annually  in  these  hospitals.  The  number  increased  to  19,029 
in  1896.  The  administration  in  most  cases  is  by  the  provincial  au- 
thorities. Subordinate  to  them  is  usually  a  superintending  board  of 
physicians,  then  the  resident  physician,  who  often  is  director  of  a 
larger  hospital  in  which  the  maternity  hospital  is  a  department.  In 
such  cases  the  head  of  the  maternity  department  is  under  a  pretty 
complicated  government,  especially  when  as  a  teacher  he  is  also  under 
the  dean  of  the  faculty  of  medicine  in  the  university.  In  most  of 
these  institutions  instruction  is  given  to  midwives  or  to  medical 
students  or  both.  There  is  generally  lack  of  sufficient  rooms  for  the 
purposes  of  instruction  and  research.  The  greatest  maternity  hos- 
pital in  the  world  is  a  section  of  the  general  public  hospital  in  Vienna. 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY 


lOS 


The  building  is  half  a  century  old,  but  during  its  existence  it  has 
been  provided  with  means  of  ventilation,  a  disinfecting  house  in  the 
court,  extensive  baths  and  tile  floors.  The  worst  housed  of  these 
institutions  is  probably  that  in  Czernowitz,  unless  the  plans  for  en- 
largement and  alteration  of  the  building  have  been  recently  carried 
out.  The  building  was  a  private  house  of  eight  rooms  of  moderate 
size.  Here  lo  or  12  or  even  18  women  are  taken  as  patients  and  20 
to  34  midwives  receive  theoretical  and  practical  instructions.  Under 
such  conditions  it  is  exceedingly  difficult  to  prevent  the  spread  of 
contagion.  The  best  equipped  was  built  at  Lemberg  in  1895,  and 
is  so  constructed  that  9  separate  sections  can  be  shut  off,  each  with 
its  room  for  attendant,  kitchen,  bathroom  and  sickroom.  Cases  rec- 
ognized as  septic  when  received  are  taken  by  a  special  way  to  the 
second  story  without  touching  the  corridor,  and  all  washing  from 
this  section  goes  to  the  basement  by  a  chute  and  thence  by  a  special 
exit  to  the  disinfecting  room  and  the  laundry.  The  mortality  in  the 
maternity  hospitals  has  greatly  diminished,  the  main  point  of  prog- 
ress having  been  in  the  antiseptic  treatment  of  birth  cases.  This  prog- 
ress is  largely  due  to  the  Austrian  Semmelweiss,  who  in  1847  rec- 
ognized the  danger  of  carrying  infection  to  the  women  by  the  hands 
of  physicians  and  attendants.  The  precautions  which  he  intro- 
duced resulted  in  a  reduction  of  mortality,  at  the  clinic  with  which 
he  was  connected,  from  nearly  10  per  cent,  to  3  per  cent.  By  insist- 
ing that  not  the  hands  only  but  also  instruments,  etc.,  be  disinfected, 
he  caused  the  death  rate  to  fall  further  to  1.27  per  cent.  The  teach- 
ings of  Semmelweiss  were  not  generally  followed  in  Austria  till  after 
they  had  been  reenforced  by  those  of  Lister  of  Edinburgh  in  1867. 
The  carrying  of  infection  by  students  is  particularly  to  be  feared. 
No  student  should  be  allowed  to  approach  a  bearing  woman  who  is 
known  to  have  been  in  the  presence  of  contagion,  and  researches  that 
involve  contact  with  contagion  should  not  be  allowed  in  the  same 
semester  with  instruction  in  these  institutions.  Safety  requires  that, 
on  the  average,  women  should  be  at  least  three  weeks  in  the  establish- 
ment, of  which  at  least  10  to  14  days  should  be  spent  in  bed.  But 
from  lack  of  room  this  is  impossible  except  in  a  few  institutions.  In 
most  the  women  are  crowded  out  by  newcomers  as  soon  as  they  have 
spent  7  or  8  days  in  bed  and  9  or  10  days  in  the  house.  The  mortality 
of  women  in  Austrian  maternity  hospitals  and  its  relation  to  the 
length  of  stay  is  as  follows :     In  the   1 1   hospitals  mentioned  the 


Io6  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

women  are  allowed  to  keep  the  bed  7  to  9  days.  In  Ragusa  though 
in  bed  but  9  days  they  regularly  remain  in  the  house  14  days  and  the 
mortality  is  o.i  to  each  100  births;  in  Zara,  a  very  small  house,  the 
mortality  is  0.2  per  cent.;  in  Czernowitz,  i.i  per  cent.;  in  Laibach, 
where  they  remain  in  the  institution  10  to  14  days  and  may  remain 
four  weeks,  i.i  per  cent.;  in  Triest,  1.4;  in  Klagenfurt,  1.6;  in  Vi- 
enna, 1.7 ;  in  Bruenn,  2.0 ;  in  Prague,  2.1  ;  in  Krakau,  2.8 ;  in  Linz,  3.2, 
In  six  other  establishments  where  the  women  remain  in  bed  10  days 
or  more  the  mortality  is  as  follows:  Lemberg,  1.7;  Lebenico,  i.i; 
Salzburg,  0.2 ;  Olmutz,  0.3 ;  Graz,  0.3,  and  in  Spalato,  a  small  house, 
0.07.  The  highest  average  was  in  1854,  4.8  per  cent.  In  1880  it  was 
I  per  cent,  and  has  never  since  been  greater  than  that ;  during  recent 
years  it  has  been  .05  to  .06.  One  of  the  seven  homes  for  convales- 
cents is  for  poor  women  who  have  just  given  birth. 

The  care  of  consumption  is  in  a  backward  state.  But  for  several 
years  it  has  been  a  subject  of  agitation,  and  in  1897  there  was  one 
hospital  for  consumptives  which  the  year  preceding  had  100  patients. 
In  1898  an  institution  for  those  suffering  with  diseased  lungs  was 
opened  at  Alland,  near  Baden.  This  equipment  cost  600,000  flor. 
There  is  a  similar  institution  for  Hebrews  at  Kierling,  but  with  im- 
perfect arrangements. 

Regular  provision  for  free  vaccination  is  offered  at  many  of  the 
Austrian  dispensaries.  In  1894  there  was  one  vaccination  to  every 
19,  and  in  1895  one  to  every  19.5  of  the  population.  Vaccination 
is  not  so  nearly  universal  as  in  Germany,  where  it  is  compulsory.  In 
1886-1895  seventeen  Bohemian  cities  lost  4,078  by  smallpox,  while 
the  disease  was  little  known  just  across  the  border  in  Germany.  To 
make  the  example  more  specific,  in  the  town  of  Warnsdorf  and  its 
immediate  vicinity  in  northern  Bohemia  539  persons  died  of  small- 
pox in  the  years  1876-1899.  Intercourse  across  the  boundary  is  very 
active,  scarcely  any  separation  at  all  being  made  by  the  national  line, 
and  in  the  whole  of  the  adjoining  district  on  the  German  side,  during 
the  statistical  period  1883-1893  there  was  not  a  single  death  from 
smallpox. 

J.  Defectives. — Though  of  course  much  has  been  done  for  the 
care  of  defectives  the  provisions  remain  very  inadequate.  It  has 
been  said  that  there  are  10,000  defectives  in  the  relatively  advanced 
province  of  Lower  Austria  alone  who  require  institutional  care  but 
for  whom  it  is  not  provided.     The  first  institution  in  Austria  for  the 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  107 

instruction  of  the  blind  was  founded  in  Vienna  in  1806,  and  the 
teacher  was  Klein,  whose  ingenuity  and  devotion  have  caused  him  to 
be  regarded  as  the  greatest  teacher  of  the  blind  among  the  German 
peoples.  It  was  in  1816  that  Klein's  school  became  a  permanent  state 
institution.  According  to  the  latest  available  report  it  had  yi  pupils, 
44  boys  and  27  girls.  The  largest  number  that  has  ever  been  in  the 
institution  at  one  time  was  82.  This  school  gives  a  regular  eight 
years'  course,  including  besides  subjects  always  taught  to  the  seeing, 
practical  and  theoretical  instruction  in  music  and  trades.  In  music 
instruction  is  given  upon  the  organ,  piano,  and  string,  reed  and  brass 
instruments.  The  institution  has  its  own  orchestra,  writing  of  scores 
in  prick-note  is  diligently  practiced,  many  learn  piano-tuning,  and 
all  learn  to  sing.  The  trade  instruction  aims  at  thorough  prepara- 
tion to  practice  some  trade  suited  to  the  blind.  The  trades  taught 
include  brush-making,  chair-bottoming,  machine-knitting,  rug-mak- 
ing, and  all  feminine  handiwork.  The  hand  is  strengthened  and  the 
sense  of  form  developed  by  means  of  hand  and  finger  gymnastics, 
Froebel  work,  modelling,  drawing,  wood  work,  work  at  the  lathe  and 
the  potter's  wheel.  Great  heed  is  paid  to  the  physical  health  and  de- 
velopment, which  are  promoted  by  gymnastics,  baths,  walks  and  a 
vacation  colony,  belonging  to  the  school.  A  physician  visits  the  insti- 
tution daily,  and  a  dentist  examines  the  pupils  every  two  months. 
There  are  three  hospital  rooms  for  pupils  suffering  with  light  ail- 
ments, those  seriously  ill  are  sent  to  the  hospital.  The  instruction 
at  this  institution  is  highly  successful.  A  large  number  of  those  who 
have  enjoyed  its  courses  become  entirely  self-supporting,  and  most 
largely  so,  yet  many  require  aid  and  receive  it  in  a  variety  of  ways. 
There  is  in  Vienna  a  home  for  blind  single  women  and  another  for 
blind  men,  and  an  additional  institution  to  afford  home  and  occupa- 
tion to  the  blind. 

The  second  institution  for  the  blind  in  Austria  was  founded  in 
Prague  in  1807.  This  establishment  carries  on  two  kinds  of  work, 
the  instruction  of  poor  blind  children,  and  also  the  free  treatment  of 
blind  children  whose  sight  may  be  wholly  or  partially  restored  by 
medication  or  by  operations.  Because  of  limited  funds  as  late  as 
1880  only  31  could  be  received.  To  supplement  the  small  regular 
staff  of  teachers  benevolent  persons  have  given  gratuitous  instruction 
in  music  and  in  mechanical  occupations.  At  present  the  house  has  the 
necessary  school  rooms,  shops,  dormitories,  etc.,  to  accommodate  80. 


Io8  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

Children  are  admitted  between  the  ages  of  eight  and  twelve,  who  are 
incurably  blind,  poor  and  residents  of  Bohemia.  Beside  usual  school 
studies,  music,  gymnastics  and  trades  are  taught.  A  competent 
and  adequately  large  corps  of  teachers  is  now  employed.  The  care 
of  health  is  similar  to  that  in  the  institution  at  Vienna.  Among 
the  trades  taught  is  basket  making.  Since  the  foundation  of  the 
school  1,374  blind  children  have  been  educated  here,  796  boys  and 
578  girls.  The  attendance  never  falls  below  the  full  capacity.  An- 
other school  for  the  blind  exists  in  Linz.  It  was  founded  in  1824 
and  has  capacity  for  54  inmates.  It  receives  children  between  the 
ages  of  seven  and  fourteen  if  they  are  blind,  able  to  learn,  and  not 
afflicted  with  any  other  incurable  malady.  Poor  children  of  other 
provinces  than  Upper  Austria  are  received,  but  for  such  a  fee  of 
50  flor.  a  year  is  required.  In  Bruenn  there  is  a  school  for  the 
blind  of  the  provinces  of  Moravia  and  Silesia,  founded  in  1822.  It 
provides  for  116  pupils.  Among  the  trades  taught  are  the  making 
of  straw  coverings  for  bottles,  reed  mats,  table  covers,  trunks,  and 
the  use  of  the  sewing  machine.  The  occupations  by  which  the  larg- 
est numbers  of  graduates  of  this  school  have  made  themselves  self- 
supporting  are  those  of  musician,  piano  tuner,  basket  weaver,  brush 
maker,  and  feminine  handwork.  The  institution  has  a  fund  of 
128,201  flor.  for  the  aid  of  its  graduates ;  this  is  annually  increased 
by  about  2,500  flor.  An  essential  part  of  the  work  of  such  an  insti- 
tution is  to  have  a  paternal  care  for  those  who  have  gone  out  from 
its  instruction,  and  the  ways  in  which  it  can  aid  them  are  many.  An- 
other school  for  the  blind  is  in  Lemberg,  Galicia.  It  accommodates 
about  40,  and  the  admirable  handiwork  of  its  girls  is  an  object  of 
remark.  In  Vienna  there  is  a  school  for  blind  Hebrew  children, 
with  between  50  and  60  pupils.  It  has  a  large  collection  of  models 
for  use  with  its  beginners  in  extended  exercises  for  the  development 
of  the  sense  of  touch. 

At  Purkersdorf  in  Lower  Austria  a  school  for  the  blind  was 
founded  in  1873.  Its  new  edifice  was  built  in  1879  with  a  model 
equipment.  It  has  capacity  for  100  pupils,  and  has  15  teachers  in 
addition  to  the  director  and  one  male  and  one  female  nurse.  At 
Graz  there  is  a  school  for  the  blind  with  62  pupils.  Another  at 
Klagenfurt  was  opened  in  1898.  In  one  of  the  public  schools  at 
Vienna  there  is  a  department  for  the  blind.  They  live  at  home  and 
are  conducted  to  and  from  school  by  relatives.     But  a  noon  meal  is 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY 


109 


furnished  free,  and  street  car  fare  is  free  to  blind  pupils.  The  num- 
ber in  this  public  school  division  for  the  blind  is  between  15  and  20. 
The  work,  like  that  at  regular  institutions  for  the  blind,  is  in  three 
departments,  literary,  musical  and  manual,  though  the  two  latter  are 
not  in  so  great  variety.  After  five  or  six  years'  attendance  the  pupils 
are  usually  transferred  to  a  regular  school  for  the  blind. 

A  benevolent  society  founded  at  Vienna  in  1885  an  asylum  for 
blind  children  under  school  age.  It  is  a  boarding  home  and  kinder- 
garten. The  kindergarten  methods  are  modified  to  meet  the  require- 
ments of  blind  children  and  much  of  the  attention  is  devoted  to  exer- 
cises in  touch,  hearing  and  orientation,  finger-play,  hand  gymnastics, 
marching  and  motion  plays.  The  kindergarten  poems  and  songs  and 
most  of  the  kindergarten  occupations  are  successfully  used.  The  in- 
mates number  25  and  the  expenses  are  5,300  flor.  a  year. 

There  is  an  institution  in  Vienna  for  those  who  have  become 
blind  late  in  life.  The  aim  is  to  restore  courage  to  live  and  the  joy 
of  activity  by  fitting  these  unfortunate  persons  either  to  return  to 
their  former  callings  or  to  take  up  new  ones.  All  are  required  to 
learn  to  read  and  write  the  characters  for  the  blind  and  to  learn  to 
read  the  musical  notation  for  the  blind.  Among  the  occupations 
taught  are  those  of  typewriter,  organist,  piano  tuner,  and  teacher  of 
foreign  languages.  Those  who  have  received  instruction  here  are 
expected  to  become  self-supporting. 

Among  those  sightless  from  childhood  and  educated  in  an  ordi- 
nary school  for  the  blind  are  many  who  but  partially  support  them- 
selves and  who  must  be  aided.  Klein — that  father  of  the  blind — 
felt  this  necessity  and  there  is  an  institution  in  Vienna,  grown  from 
the  seed  he  planted,  which  affords  home  and  occupation  to  the  blind 
who  are  no  longer  in  school.  Here  none  are  admitted  under  15  years 
of  age;  there  are  about  100  inmates,  slightly  more  women  than  men, 
and  there  are  many  applicants  for  admission.  Those  who  live  to- 
gether here  carry  on  all  the  trades  usually  taught  the  blind  and  their 
products  are  exceedingly  well  executed.  Great  attention  is  given  to 
music.  Health  is  promoted  by  required  exercise  in  the  garden  and 
by  baths.  Furloughs  for  visits  are  allowed  to  those  who  have  rela- 
tives, and  life  is  cheered  by  concerts,  theatres,  lectures  and  social 
festivities.  The  running  expenses  for  a  recent  year  were  59,860.77 
flor.;  profits  on  labor  done,  2,051.76  flor. 

There  is  an  institution  for  the  blind  in  Prague  which  besides  doing 


no  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

the  work  of  an  ordinary  school  for  the  blind  with  over  lOO  pupils, 
and  maintaining  a  kindergarten  with  about  20  blind  children,  also 
gives  a  quite  exceptional  place  in  its  activity  to  aiding  those  who  have 
received  its  instruction.  Still  other  institutions  exist  primarily  or 
wholly  to  furnish  homes  with  occupation  for  the  instructed  blind. 
A  finely  appointed  one  is  at  Linz,  another  is  at  Prague,  and  one  at 
Graz,  one  each  for  men  and  women  at  Vienna,  as  above  stated,  one 
for  women  at  Bruenn  and  one  for  women  at  Melk  a.  d.  Donau;  so 
that  there  are  in  Austria  nine  institutions  of  this  class  besides  the  12 
schools. 

The  Deaf. — Those  informed  long  ago  abandoned  the  idea  that 
the  deaf  mutes  are  necessarily  or  usually  mentally  inferior  save  as 
the  mind  is  dormant  and  undeveloped  because  of  the  defective  access 
through  the  senses  to  the  external  world.  Catholic  priests  were  the 
first  in  Austria  to  teach  deaf  mutes.  The  first  public  institutions  for 
their  instruction  was  founded  at  Vienna  in  1779,  in  imitation  of  the 
school  of  Abbe  de  I'fipee  in  Paris.  The  written  language  is  the 
basis  of  instruction.  Sign  language  is  used  both  as  a  means  of  teach- 
ing the  written  language  and  for  its  own  usefulness.  Spoken  lan- 
guage, formerly  attempted  only  with  the  most  gifted,  and  as  a  sub- 
ordinate factor  in  their  education,  with  experience  has  been  given 
a  more  and  more  prominent  place.  The  so-called  "German  method" 
of  instruction  is  used.  Manual  training  is  taught,  but  no  trades. 
However,  there  is  a  trade  school  for  deaf  mutes  with  a  two  years' 
course  which  supplements  the  eight  years'  school  course.  Children 
are  admitted  between  the  ages  of  seven  and  twelve.  There  is  ac- 
commodation for  120  pupils.  Religious  services  are  held  on  Sun- 
days from  10  to  II  o'clock,  and  from  ii  to  12  review  exercises  for 
those  who  have  left  the  institution  but  gather  there  on  that  day.  This 
is  an  imperial  institution,  open  to  deaf  mute  children  from  the  whole 
Empire,  if  sound  in  body  and  able  to  learn. 

There  are  now  25  institutions,  the  principal  being  Prague  (170 
pupils),  Linz  (100),  Lemburg  (100),  Graz  (128).  In  July,  1903, 
there  were  in  all  1,784  pupils ;  22  institutes  arc  boarding  schools,  and 
3  receive  pupils  from  outside.  Of  6,000  deaf  children  of  school  age 
in  Austria  only  1,800  could  be  provided  for  in  existing  schools.  The 
school  period  is  usually  from  4  to  8  years.  There  are  3  continuation 
schools,  but  no  homes  or  asylums  for  adults.^ 

^  Zeit.  f.  d.  Armenwesen,  June,  1903,  p.  169. 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  m 

The  Hebrews  maintain  an  institution  located  in  Lower  Austria 
which  receives  Jewish  deaf  mute  children  from  all  Austria.  At  St. 
Poelten  in  the  same  province  there  is  a  diocesan  institute  for  deaf 
mutes.  Other  schools  for  the  deaf  are  situated  at  Linz,  Graz,  Goerz, 
Mils,  Trient ;  private  ones  at  Prague  and  Lemburg ;  one  for  Moravia 
and  Silesia  at  Bruenn ;  one  recently  founded  by  the  Landtag  at  Salz- 
burg, and  there  is  a  second  one  in  Vienna  besides  two  departments 
for  deaf  mutes  in  connection  with  public  schools.  Others  are  at 
Klagenfurt,  Budweis,  Letimeritz,  Koeniggraez,  Eibenschitz,  Leipnik, 
Lemberg,  and  one  for  girls  at  St.  Michael. 

In  the  treatment  of  the  insane,  in  Austria  much  as  elsewhere, 
the  transition  from  the  shocking  conditions  of  a  few  decades  ago  has 
been  by  way  of  the  following  steps.  First  came  the  relaxation  of 
cruel  bonds  and  imprisonment,  and  the  readmission  of  the  insane 
to  the  circle  of  human  sympathy.  Next  was  the  realization  that  many 
cases  are  curable  and  a  separation  of  the  curable  from  the  incurable, 
that  went  so  far  as  to  placing  them  in  entirely  distinct  institutions. 
This  was  proved  impracticable  because  of  the  impossibility  of  predict- 
ing which  were  incurable,  and  which,  under  proper  conditions,  would 
be  restored  to  sanity,  as  well  as  because  of  the  extravagance  of  the 
duplication  of  plants.  Accordingly  the  method  most  approved  by 
experience  is  to  have  separate  departments  in  the  same  institution. 
The  classification,  moreover,  not  being  into  curables  and  incurables 
but  rather  according  to  the  outward  manifestations  of  disease,  as 
quietness,  disturbance,  violence,  etc.,  avoiding  associations  injurious 
to  the  patients  and  likely  to  interfere  with  the  progress  of  possible 
cures.  This  of  course  does  not  exclude  the  removal  of  cases  proved 
incurable.  The  latest  and  most  important  advance  is  the  rational 
employment  of  the  insane,  and  the  idea  of  outdoor  work  as  a  thera- 
peutic agent.  The  most  recent  phase  of  this  advance  is  the  forma- 
tion of  labor  colonies  of  the  insane  for  systematic  employment.  In 
great  asylums  there  is  a  class  of  patients  who  are  far  better  off 
when  taken  out  of  the  institutions  and  put  in  such  colonies.  Of 
course  the  great  asylum  may  maintain  such  a  company  of  workers 
as  one  of  its  departments.  But  the  labor  colony  should  not  be  within 
the  surrounding  wall  of  the  asylum,  and  in  no  case  should  the  room 
occupied  by  its  members  have  barred  windows.  On  the  contrary 
these  patients  should  be  housed  on  the  open-door  system  in  separate 
cottages  like  ordinary  country  homes.     Even  incurables  who  do  not 


112  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

require  restraint  should,  if  possible,  be  freed  from  the  sight  of  all 
symbols  of  force  and  restraint.  The  number  of  hospitals  for  the 
insane  in  Austria  is  36.  One  of  the  largest  has  been  built  recently. 
December  31,  1896,  the  number  of  inmates  in  the  35  asylums  then 
existing  was  12,432,  or  more  than  four  times  as  many  as  were  in  the 
asylums  fifty  years  earlier ;  the  general  population  meantime  had  in- 
creased only  one-third.  The  number  of  insane  persons  in  Austria  in 
1873,  according  to  official  statistics  was  one  to  every  1,077  of  the 
population,  and  in  1896  one  to  every  825,  an  increase  of  3  to  each 
10,000  (Dalmatia  is  omitted  in  each  report).  The  per  cent,  of  in- 
sanity in  different  provinces  varies  widely;  in  1873  this  variation  was 
from  I  in  390  to  i  in  5,098;  in  1896  it  was  from  i  in  383  to  i  in 
2,089.  The  fact  that  during  this  period  the  number  of  inmates  in 
institutions  increased  from  5,965  to  12,432  indicates  great  progress 
in  hospital  facilities  for  unfortunates  of  this  class.  The  36  hospitals 
mentioned  are  public,  and  while  most  of  them  contain  facilities  for 
caring  for  patients  from  the  well-to-do  classes  in  accordance  with 
their  habits  of  life,  yet  they  are  chiefly  intended  for  patients  from  the 
more  numerous  classes  of  the  population.  There  are  in  Austria  8 
private  hospitals  for  the  insane,  of  which  5  are  in  Lower  Austria  and 
3  in  Vienna.  One  is  at  Bubenc  near  Prague  in  Bohemia  and  2  are  in 
Galicia.  The  8  have  all  together  359  beds.  These  institutions  are 
under  strict  legal  regulations,  especially  with  reference  to  the  admis- 
sion and  release  of  inmates. 

K.  Children. — Among  the  public  officials  of  Austria  for  the 
care  of  the  poor  are  Foster  Parents  for  Orphans  {Waisenvdter, 
Waiscnmiitter).  Each  of  these  foster  parents  has  charge  of  three  or 
four  of  the  children  who  are  boarded  at  public  expense.  Each  of  these 
children  the  foster  parent  is  expected  to  visit  if  possible  several  times 
a  month.  The  representative  of  the  public  is  to  see  that  the  boarding 
places  of  the  children  are  suitable,  their  dwellings  sanitary,  their 
clothing  adequate,  clean  and  whole,  the  child  itself  kept  clean,  and  to 
learn  whether  it  is  in  good  health,  and  whether  school  and  church 
are  regularly  attended.  Every  six  months  each  foster  parent  gives 
a  concise  report  to  the  chairman  under  whom  they  are  organized,  and 
these  reports  go  ultimately  to  the  magistracy.  In  spite  of  what  can 
be  said  of  well  planned  activities  here  and  there  it  must  be  admitted 
that  on  the  whole  the  care  of  orphans  in  Austria  is  totally  inadequate, 
and  oversight  of  the  education  and  bringing  up  of  orphans  outside 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  1 1 3 

of  institutions  is  generally  lacking.  There  are  private  organizations 
for  the  rescue  and  protection  of  children.  The  aim  of  such  organi- 
zations are:  (i)  After  thorough  investigation  of  cases  of  abuse 
of  children  to  report  to  the  authorities;  (2)  to  oversee  persons  to 
whom  abused  children  are  transferred  or  to  secure  the  transfer  of 
the  children  to  persons  chosen  by  the  society  or  to  institutions;  (3) 
to  move  the  appointment  of  some  person  as  guardian  when  the  par- 
ents have  legally  forfeited  the  right  of  guardianship,  or  the  child  is 
for  other  reasons  without  a  guardian;  (4)  to  see  to  it  that  persons 
responsible  for  the  support  of  children  perform  their  duty. 

In  Vienna  in  case  of  legal  residence  outdoor  aid  is  granted  for 
children  whose  parents  are  living  if  it  is  proved  that  parents  are  too 
poor  to  support  the  child,  especially  if  one  parent  is  arrested  or  in  a. 
hospital  or  other  institution,  or  if  the  mother  or  grandparents  of  an 
illegitimate  child  are  willing  to  care  for  the  child  but  unable  to  do 
so  without  aid.  Such  aid  to  parents  cannot  exceed  2  flor.  a  month 
for  one  child.  Orphan  stipends  are  3  flor.  a  month,  and  the  latter 
sum  under  certain  circumstances  is  allowed  for  the  child  of  a  widow. 
Outdoor  aid  for  children  is  allowed  only  for  those  under  the  com- 
pulsory school  age,  that  is  to  the  end  of  the  school  year  following  the 
fourteenth  birthday.  The  grants  are  made  for  terms  of  six  months 
or  a  year  and  are  renewable ;  grants  for  orphans  are  for  one  or  two 
years.  Unless  proof  to  the  contrary  is  given  it  is  assumed  that  even 
a  widow  can  support  one  child  and  accordingly  no  grant  is  made  for 
only  one  child.  The  magistracy  may  pay  the  monthly  allowance  for 
a  child  to  a  family  not  related  to  it,  who  in  return  agree  to  board  the 
child,  when:  (i)  Both  parents  are  dead,  or  (2)  their  residence  is 
unknown,  or  (3)  both  parents  or  the  only  surviving  parent  are 
arrested  or  in  a  public  institution,  or  for  other  exceptional  reason  un- 
able to  care  for  all  their  children,  or  (4)  in  the  case  of  foundlings 
discharged  from  the  asylum  at  the  age  of  ten  and  turned  over  to  the 
magistracy.  Of  every  family  that  receives  money  thus  it  must  be 
proved  that  they  inhabit  healthy  quarters,  are  fit  to  rear  children  and 
in  such  circumstances  as  to  preclude  the  suspicion  that  they  take  a 
child  in  order  to  improve  their  own  condition  at  its  expense. 

The  original  and  for  generations  the  only  system  of  foundling 

asylums  was  that  of  the  turning  box  (Die  Drehlade,  le  tour,  la  ruota). 

A  circular  box  was  fixed  in  the  house  wall  so  that  part  was  within  and 

part  without.     The  infant  was  deposited  in  the  turning  box  outside 

8 


114 


MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 


the  house  and  a  bell  was  rung,  whereupon  the  box  turned  around  and 
carried  the  child  inside  and  allowed  the  person  who  had  deposited  it 
to  depart  unseen.  Thus  no  child  could  be  refused  admittance  and  the 
anonymity  was  complete.  Under  the  present  Austrian  system  chil- 
dren are  admitted,  without  charge,  if  the  mothers  are  legal  residents 
of  the  given  municipality  or  of  other  municipalities  that  will  pay 
charges,  but  only  when  the  children  are  illegitimate  and  the  mothers 
have  submitted  to  the  purposes  of  instruction  at  the  obstetric  clinic. 
A  fee  is  charged  for  the  admission  of  children  born  in  the  pay  sections 
of  the  lying-in  hospital.  Admission  is  either  temporary  or  perma- 
nent. It  is  permanent  when  the  mother  binds  herself  to  serve  four 
months  as  a  nurse.  Children  taken  thus  permanently  are  kept  in  the 
institution  until  they  can  be  placed  in  families  and  remain  under 
the  care  of  the  institution  for  from  6  years  (Prague)  to  lo  (Vienna), 
and  the  maternity  is  kept  secret  during  that  time,  but  not  longer,  the 
child  being  then  turned  over  to  the  magistracy  of  the  mother's  legal 
residence  unless  she  has  meantime  found  the  means  to  provide  for 
it.  The  Vienna  foundling  asylum  is  the  largest  in  the  world.  It 
regularly  contains  from  200  to  300  children,  20  to  25  per  day  are  ad- 
mitted, or  7,000  to  8,000  per  year.  Outside  of  the  institution  are  al- 
ways from  23,000  to  24,000  of  its  wards,  of  whom  a  part  are  with 
their  mothers  or  other  relatives  and  the  rest  are  placed  in  the  homes 
of  married  people.  Thus  the  total  number  under  the  care  of  the 
institution  in  a  year  is  31,000  to  32,000  children.  The  great  mass 
of  these  are  illegitimate ;  during  ten  years  only  902  legitimate  children 
have  been  received.  There  is  a  foundling  asylum  in  Prague  where 
the  numbers  are  about  half  as  large  as  those  of  this  institution  in 
Vienna.  At  least  five  smaller  asylums  are  situated  in  other  parts  of 
Austria.  As  a  rule  the  institution  acts  only  as  a  bureau  for  receiv- 
ing the  children  and  placing  them  out  as  soon  as  may  be  done.  When 
possible  the  children  are  sent  to  the  country.  They  are  entrusted  to 
respectable  married  couples  or  to  widows,  whose  fitness  is  attested  by 
the  clerical  and  political  authorities  of  their  places  of  residence.  The 
certificates  include,  with  more  obvious  requirements,  statements  as 
to  the  physical  health  of  the  parties  who  offer  to  take  children,  and 
vouch  that  the  places  where  they  live  are  not  in  sanitary  or  other 
respects  unfit  for  children.  Only  one  child  is  placed  in  a  family,  ex- 
cept in  case  of  twins  or  triplets,  and  two  may  be  entrusted  to  a  family 
specially  commended.     Each  child  must  be  taken  from  the  institu- 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY 


IIS 


tion  by  the  woman  who  is  to  be  its  foster  mother.  An  allowance  for 
travelling  expenses  may  be  made.  On  taking  the  child  the  foster 
mother  receives  a  printed  booklet  which  gives  a  statement  of  the 
rights  and  duties  of  child  and  foster  parents,  and  directions  for  the 
care  of  infants.  Those  who  have  a  child  in  charge  receive  6  flor.  a 
month  till  the  child  is  one  year  old,  5  flor,  a  month  during  its  second 
year  and  4  flor.  thereafter  to  the  end  of  the  period  of  six  or  ten 
years.  A  party  which  has  kept  a  child  for  8  consecutive  months  of 
its  first  year  receives  extra  10  flor.  Another  extra  10  flor.  is  allowed 
at  the  end  of  the  full  period  when  the  child  has  been  well  cared  for  at 
least  one  year  and  the  party  agrees  to  keep  it  free  thereafter.  If  the 
foster  parents  return  a  child  to  the  institution  they  receive  5  flor. 
Every  year  50  or  60  especially  good  foster  mothers  are  distinguished 
by  an  extra  reward.  Sometimes  the  natural  mother  furnishes  the 
necessary  documents  and  takes  her  child,  and  sometimes  other  rela- 
tives do  so.  These  receive  only  two-thirds  as  much  pay,  and  after 
one  year  they  cannot  give  back  the  charge  to  the  institution  nor  turn 
it  over  to  other  parties  except  by  special  permit  from  the  provincial 
government.  This  two-thirds  pay  is  allowed  to  the  natural  mother 
even  if  she  is  married,  if  she  declares  before  witnesses  that  the  hus- 
band is  not  the  father,  and  if  the  husband  agrees  to  take  the  child 
with  her.  In  any  case  the  natural  mother  has  the  right  to  claim  her 
child  at  the  end  of  the  full  period  of  6  or  10  years.  If  investigation 
shows  that  the  natural  mother  is  too  poor  then  the  foster  mother  has 
the  right.  If  neither  the  mother  nor  the  foster  mother  takes  the  child 
it  is  turned  over  to  the  authorities  of  the  municipality  which  is  its 
legal  residence.  No  child  is  given  into  permanent  adoption  unless 
the  mother  is  dead  or  has  relinquished  her  right.  Whenever  a 
foundling  is  ill,  after  being  placed  out,  the  foster  parent  is  bound 
without  delay  to  summon  one  of  the  public  physicians  for  the  poor 
who  reports  semi-annually  to  the  institution.  At  the  asylums  the 
children  are  vaccinated,  and  on  certain  hours  of  certain  days  of  the 
week  any  one  can  be  vaccinated  without  charge. 

The  institution  also  serves  as  a  bureau  of  wet-nurses,  since  nurses 
who  have  served  two  months  in  the  asylum  and  are  no  longer  re- 
quired can  go  into  private  service  at  the  market  rate.  All  but  the 
older  children  and  those  who  are  ill,  or  suspected  of  being  so,  have 
the  service  of  wet-nurses  as  long  as  they  remain  in  the  asylum.  One 
hundred   and   thirty-eight  nurses   are   constantly   employed   at   the 


Il6  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

asylum  in  Vienna;  from  80  to  125  at  Prague.  The  whole  number 
that  come  to  the  latter  institution  from  the  maternity  hospital  in  the 
course  of  a  year  is  about  3,000. 

The  asylum  at  Vienna  was  founded  in  1784,  and  in  that  year 
2,366  children  were  admitted,  of  whom  54  per  cent,  died  before  com- 
pleting the  period  during  which  children  regularly  remain  under  the 
watch  and  care  of  the  institution.  The  death  rate  gradually  in- 
creased until  of  the  4,307  taken  in  181 1  it  was  74  per  cent.  There- 
after the  death  rate  diminished  as  expenditure  was  increased,  until  in 
1829  20,540  children  were  admitted,  of  whom  13  per  cent,  died  before 
completing  the  normal  period.  The  next  year  the  expenditure 
was  cut  down,  and  the  death  rate  rose  in  consequence,  and  32  per 
cent,  of  the  25,050,  who  were  admitted  in  1866,  died.  In  1873  the 
rate  of  expenditure  was  again  increased,  and  the  death  rate  dimin- 
ished gradually  thereafter  until  in  1883,  35,008  were  admitted,  of 
whom  10.9  per  cent.  died.  Since  that  year  expenditures  have  again 
been  cut  down,  and  the  death  rate  has  responded  with  an  increase, 
so  that  in  1896,  27,433  children  were  admitted,  of  whom  12.3  per  cent, 
died. 

At  the  institution  in  Prague  80.8  per  cent,  of  those  taken  in  their 
first  year,  in  1863,  died.  This  rate  fell  steadily,  until  of  those  taken 
in  1868,  66.1  per  cent,  were  lost.  The  per  cent,  of  deaths  among 
those  taken  in  the  next  three  years  increased  until  of  those  taken  in 
1872  it  was  74  per  cent.  Children  taken  up  to  this  time  remained  in 
the  care  of  the  institution  until  the  completion  of  their  tenth  year; 
thereafter  this  care  ceased  with  the  sixth  year,  and  of  those  received 
in  the  year  1873,  63.1  per  cent,  died  before  completing  the  sixth  year. 
Thenceforward  the  death  rate  diminished  steadily,  and  among  the 
infants  received  in  1893  it  was  39.4  per  cent,  and  the  diminution  has 
continued  from  that  time. 

The  foundling  asylums  of  Dalmatia  date  from  not  later  than  the 
fifteenth  century,  and  are  organized  on  a  plan  quite  different  from 
the  one  just  described.  Children  are  received  and  no  questions 
asked.  None  are  refused,  and  complete  anonymity  is  allowed.  In 
Dalmatia  there  are  five  such  asylums  connected  with  maternity  or 
general  hospitals. 

In  the  asylum  at  Styria  an  attempt  has  recently  been  made  to 
replace  the  use  of  wet-nurses.  Though  doubtless  this  is  the  best,  it 
is  far  the  most  costly  method  of  maintaining  the  infants,  and  it  seems 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY 


117 


an  inconsistency  to  afford,  for  children  thus  dependent  on  the  public, 
a  luxury  scarcely  within  the  reach  of  the  well-to-do.  However,  with 
weakly  children,  especially  with  those  of  imperfectly  developed  diges- 
tive organs,  no  substitution  is  practicable.  The  death  rate  in  the 
Styrian  asylum,  including  those  who  are  classified  as  sickly  from  the 
first,  falls  to  a  point  between  123^  and  13  per  cent. 

There  are  two  other  classes  of  homes  for  children,  those  designed 
for  orphans  and  those  designed  for  children  whose  parents  are  living. 
Each  class,  as  a  rule,  admits  only  children  who  have  reached  school 
age,  that  is,  six  years,  although  a  few  maintain  a  kindergarten  de- 
partment and  receive  children  between  the  ages  of  three  and  six.  In 
institutions  of  these  classes  care  of  the  health  does  not  cease  to  be 
the  main  concern.  Where  the  management  is  most  intelligent,  health 
is  promoted  by  open-air  occupations,  walks,  baths,  gymnastics,  games, 
skating.  The  management  is  as  a  rule  under  two  head  officials,  one 
of  whom  has  the  care  of  physical  well-being,  and  the  other  the  care 
of  instruction  and  discipline.  These  homes  are  numerous  in  Bo- 
hemia. Information  is  accessible  concerning  twenty  Bohemian 
homes  for  children  who  are  not  orphans,  which  receive  from  30  to 
300  children  each,  and  in  all  care  for  about  2,500  at  a  time.  These 
are  not  altogether  charitable  institutions,  though  mainly  so,  and  the 
expenses  are  partly  met  by  fees  from  the  parents,  which  in  most  cases 
are  small,  and  supplemented  by  municipal  funds,  endowments,  socie- 
ties, private  subscriptions  and  the  patronage  of  noblemen.  There 
are  also  over  fifty  homes  in  Bohemia  that  receive  orphans,  most  of 
them  orphans  exclusively.  The  number  of  homes  where  orphans  are 
received,  in  all  Austria,  exceeds  two  hundred. 

While  great  institutions  located  in  cities,  where  children  are 
brought  up  to  trades,  will  always  be  necessary,  it  has  come  to  be  rec- 
ognized that  it  is  far  better  for  children  born  in  the  country,  to 
remain  when  they  can  in  the  conditions  from  which  they  have  sprung, 
rather  than  to  be  thrust  into  the  crowded  labor  markets  of  the  great 
towns.  The  state  orphan  asylum  of  Lower  Austria  owns  a  farm- 
house in  the  country,  which  is  carried  on  as  a  branch  home.  It  is 
thoroughly  equipped  for  farming,  and  in  charge  of  a  practical  farmer 
and  his  wife,  who  become  "father"  and  "mother"  to  a  large  family 
of  eight  orphan  children.  As  soon  as  the  children  reach  the  age  of 
fourteen,  they  go  out  to  service  in  the  region  round  about,  and  are 
replaced  by  others.     The  "father"  and  "mother"  are  under  obliga- 


Il8  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

tion  to  keep  the  home  always  open  to  those  who  have  been  its  inmates, 
and  to  stand  by  them  permanently  with  aid  and  counsel.  If  the 
"parents"  are  able  to  make  money  in  managing  the  farm  and  rear- 
ing such  a  family,  they  are  allowed  to  do  so.  But  they  are  controlled 
with  reference  to  the  standard  of  living  and  the  manner  of  bringing 
up  the  children.  This  control  is  exercised  by  a  responsible  committee 
which  consists  of  the  local  pastor,  burgomeister  and  public  physician, 
a  teacher,  and  two  women  who  are  expert  in  housekeeping.  The 
women  have  the  right  and  duty  to  make  requirements  with  reference 
to  the  housekeeping;  the  minister  is  responsible  for  the  moral  and 
religious  character  of  the  home ;  the  physician  for  the  sanitary  condi- 
tion and  the  care  of  the  children's  health ;  the  burgomeister  must  see 
that  thrifty  farming  is  carried  on.  When  the  farmer  and  his  wife 
grow  old,  they  will  be  called  "grandfather"  and  "grandmother,"  oc- 
cupy a  room  in  the  house,  and  help  with  the  children  and  such  work 
as  they  are  able  to  do,  while  a  younger  pair  come  in  as  a  new  "father" 
and  "mother."  The  cost  of  equipping  a  number  of  such  institu- 
tions would  be  no  more  than  that  of  founding  one  great  asylum 
to  accommodate  the  same  number  of  children,  and  while  the  main- 
tenance of  a  child  in  a  great  orphanage  in  the  most  economical  way 
does  not  fall  below  360  to  480  crowns  a  year,  a  child  of  school  age, 
in  such  a  country  home,  costs  not  over  96  crowns  a  year. 

There  are  three  important  kinds  of  institutions  for  the  partial  care 
of  children,  of  which  the  first  is  the  creche.  The  creche  is  a  private 
institution  where  infants  and  children  under  three  years  of  age  are 
cared  for  during  the  working  hours  of  their  parents.  The  first 
creche  was  founded  in  Paris  in  1840  by  the  physician  Firmin  Mar- 
beau.  Sanitary  conditions  are  of  prime  importance.  Rooms  used 
for  this  purpose  must  be  dry  and  have  abundance  of  pure  air  and  sun- 
shine. An  ideally  equipped  creche  will  have  a  waiting  room  for 
mothers,  so  that  they  need  not  enter  the  nursery  with  the  dirt  of  the 
street,  the  home,  and  workshop,  and  possibly  bearing  germs  of  con- 
tagion. There  will  be  a  bathroom,  where  the  babies  can  be  washed 
and  the  little  ones  cleanly  dressed  before  entering  the  nursery ;  an 
isolation  room  for  those  who  are  suddenly  taken  ill  and  suspected  of 
contagion ;  there  will  also  be  a  room  for  nurselings,  provided  with 
little  iron  beds  or  cradles,  a  diapering  stand,  a  case  with  numbered 
compartments  for  each  child's  eating  utensils,  and  an  air-tight  re- 
ceptacle for  soiled  diapers.     There  should  be  another  room  with 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  Hg 

padded  enclosure  for  the  creeping  children,  and  for  the  toddlers  little 
chairs,  tables,  playthings,  and  a  carpet,  perhaps  of  cork ;  also  a  nap 
room.  Besides  all  these  there  may  be  rooms  for  the  attendants,  a 
kitchen  and  cellar,  or  else  a  refrigerator  to  contain  sterilized  milk; 
and  a  washing  and  drying  room.  The  personnel  will  include  a 
matron,  a  cook  and  washer,  who  may  be  one  person,  and  one  attendant 
for  each  three  to  five  children. 

The  second  kind  of  institution  of  this  class  cares  for  children 
from  three  to  six  years  old  during  their  parents'  working  hours. 
The  first  institution  of  this  kind  was  founded  in  1780  at  Waldbach 
in  Alsace  by  Pastor  Friedrich  Oberlin.  Such  institutions  should  be 
provided  with  a  play  room,  kindergarten,  nap  room,  isolation  room, 
garden  or  playground,  and  water  closets. 

The  third  kind  of  institutions  for  the  partial  care  of  children  is 
the  simple  kindergarten,  like  those  first  founded  in  1837  ^"  Blanken- 
burg  by  Friedrich  Froebel.  These  differ  from  the  second  kind  in 
that  they  do  not  feed  the  children,  nor  keep  them  for  more  than  a  few 
hours. 

In  the  year  1896  seven  creches  in  Vienna  cared  for  1,674  children, 
of  whom  502  were  under  two  years  of  age.  Multiplying  the  num- 
ber of  children  cared  for  by  these  seven  institutions  by  the  average 
number  of  days  each  child  was  kept,  gives  a  total  of  111,119  days' 
care.  Five  per  cent,  of  the  children  were  illegitimate ;  only  two  per 
cent,  could  be  fed  by  the  mothers,  the  remainder  were  fed  artificially. 
The  older  children  were  expected  to  take  breakfast  and  supper  at 
home,  and  received  at  the  institution  a  midday  meal  of  such  food  as 
porridge,  meat,  soup  and  vegetables,  each  child  having  its  own  uten- 
sils. These  institutions  provide  one  attendant  for  each  five  or  six  in- 
fants, and  one  to  each  twenty  or  thirty  of  the  older  ones.  The  floors 
lack  coverings,  and  there  are  no  isolation  rooms.  The  annual  cost  of 
these  seven  creches,  including  rent,  is  flor.  17,617.55.  Two  other 
creches  in  Vienna  care  for  214  children  a  year.  The  larger  of  the 
two  receives  a  fee  of  5  kr.  a  day  for  each  child.  The  last  of  the  ten 
institutions  of  the  kind  in  the  city  furnished  4,460  days'  care  in  1896. 
It  is  open  all  the  working  days  of  the  year,  receives  no  fees,  and  ad- 
mits only  the  children  of  the  poor.  The  expenses  of  this  creche  were 
flor.  3,575  for  that  year,  the  average  cost  of  a  day's  care  for  one  child 
being  7%  kr. 

In  Upper  Austria  there  are  two  creches.     One  is  in  Stadl  Paura. 


I20  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

It  has  ordinarily  about  15  children,  of  whom  three  per  cent,  are  ille- 
gitimate. No  fees  are  received.  The  hours  are  from  5  a.  m.  to 
6.30  p.  m.,  and  the  expense  about  flor.  1.50  per  day.  The  other  is  in 
Wels.  A  minority  who  are  able  to  do  so,  pay  fees  of  40  kr.  a  month 
and  3  kr,  additional  for  dinner.  No  infants  are  received.  The  hours 
are  from  8  to  11  a.  m.  and  i  to  7  p.  m.  In  Salzburg  there  is  one 
creche  where  children  are  taken  from  their  first  days  until  six  years 
of  age.  The  ordinary  attendance  is  80  children,  the  hours  from  6 
a.  m.  to  5  p.  m.  It  is  open  all  the  year  round.  A  fee  of  10  kr. 
a  day  is  received ;  and  for  10  kr.  additional  the  children  will  be  kept 
all  night.  In  Graz  in  Styria,  there  are  three  creches,  founded  in 
1853  by  a  society.  The  ordinary  attendance  at  the  three  is  194. 
Children  are  taken  from  the  fourteenth  day  to  the  end  of  the  third 
year.  In  winter  children  are  received  between  7  and  8  a.  m.,  in  sum- 
mer between  6  and  7 ;  and  they  are  taken  away  between  6  and  7  p.  m. 
The  addresses  of  the  parents  are  required,  the  baptismal  certificate 
of  each  child,  and  evidence  of  poverty.  The  costs  are  16.8  kr.  per 
day  for  each  child.  The  total  cost  for  the  three  amounts  to  flor. 
2,439  ^  y^^^ '}  ^^^  the  society  is  assisted  in  their  maintenance  by  ap- 
propriations from  the  city  and  from  the  province.  In  Carinthia  a 
creche  was  founded  in  1893,  and  is  supported  from  the  private  purse 
of  a  baroness.  The  average  attendance  is  24.  There  is  a  creche  at 
Trieste  in  Kiistenland,  and  in  Bohemia  there  are  ten,  four  of  which 
are  maintained  by  a  society  in  Prague.  In  1896  these  four  gave 
23,312  days'  care,  and  in  the  same  year  the  six  others,  located  in  six 
different  places,  had  an  attendance  of  from  14  to  38,  respectively, 
or  a  total  of  156.  In  all  of  the  ten,  children  are  received  from  the 
age  of  two  weeks  to  four  years.  At  the  one  situated  in  Zuckmantel 
the  mothers  are  required  to  bring  milk  for  their  infants ;  all  the  others 
prepare  their  own  sterilized  milk.  The  equipments  of  the  Bohemian 
creches  include  wicker  or  iron  beds,  diaper  stands  and  rooms  for 
washing,  baby  carriages,  little  benches  and  tables,  and  in  the  play 
rooms  railed  walks  for  those  learning  to  go  alone,  and  in  most  the 
floor  is  covered  with  cork  carpet  or  linen,  in  which  particular  they 
are  better  equipped  than  most  creches  in  Austria.  They  lack  wait- 
ing rooms  for  the  mothers,  and  proper  bath  rooms  with  arrangements 
for  warming  the  little  clothes,  all  of  which  is  done  in  the  kitchen. 
Nearly  all.  However,  have  separate  laundry  and  drying  room,  except 
the  one  in  Dobrovitc.     The  last  mentioned  is  inspected  daily  by  a 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY 


121 


physician — a  practice  common  in  many  of  the  other  Austrian  creches. 
None  has  an  isolation  room.  Evidence  of  poverty,  and  the  addresses 
of  the  parents  are  required,  and  in  some  a  certificate  of  the  health  and 
the  legitimate  birth  of  the  child.  In  most  of  the  ten  no  fee  is  taken, 
but  in  the  four  creches  in  Prague,  3  kr.  a  day  must  be  paid.  All  are 
open  throughout  the  working  days  of  the  year,  and  the  hours  are  in 
general  from  6  a.  m.  to  7  p.  m.  In  most  of  these  ten  institutions 
it  is  a  rule  that  the  children  must  be  bathed  before  being  brought, 
and  on  arrival  they  receive  clean  underclothes  for  the  day.  The  com- 
moner practice  in  the  Austrian  creches  is  to  bathe  and  dress  the  infants 
after  they  have  been  received  in  the  morning.  One  nurse  to  five 
children  is  the  rule  in  the  Bohemian  creches.  Creches  exist  in  four 
different  places  in  the  province  of  Moravia.  The  expense  incurred 
varies  from  3  kr.  to  17  kr.  a  day  for  each  child. 

Day  nurseries  of  the  second  class  which  take  children  from  the 
age  of  three,  or  in  exceptional  cases  at  two,  are  more  numerous,  but 
deal  with  a  less  difficult  problem.  The  day  nursery  should  occupy 
rooms  with  walls  that  are  light  in  color  but  not  white,  well  heated 
and  lighted,  and  with  abundant  ventilation.  The  furniture  should 
include  little  chairs  (though  benches  are  common),  little  tables, 
closets,  blackboard,  pictures,  and  a  piano  or  organ,  an  article  only 
occasionally  found.  There  should  be  good  water  closets,  which 
often  are  seriously  missed ;  a  garden,  which  in  Austria  is  nearly  al- 
ways present,  and  in  the  garden  there  should  be  a  sand  heap  to  play 
in,  and  if  possible  flower  beds  and  shaded  places.  The  occupations 
for  children  in  the  Austrian  day  nurseries  of  this  class  are  mostly 
based  upon  the  system  of  Froebel.  In  many  there  is  periodic  medical 
inspection.  Some  divide  the  children  into  two  sections  according  to 
age.  Many  furnish  food  to  the  children,  which  is  usually  free  to 
the  poor,  and  for  others  the  fee  varies  from  3  kr.  to  10  kr.  per  day. 
Admission  is  usually  free,  but  there  is  required  a  certificate  of  good 
health  and  effective  vaccination.  Of  the  twelve  Austrian  provinces 
only  Dalmatia  and  Bukowina  seem  to  be  wholly  without  such  an  in- 
stitution. Lower  Austria  has  79,  Upper  Austria  74,  Bohemia  104, 
and  all  Austria  405 — with  an  attendance  of  37,682  children.  Some 
of  these  are  maintained  by  public  funds,  others  by  the  patronage  of 
nobles  or  by  benevolent  societies  or  religious  bodies,  others  by  large 
employers  of  labor,  and  a  few  by  benevolent  private  individuals. 

Of  the  third  class  of  institutions,  kindergartens  pure  and  simple, 


122  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

Vienna  has  56,  varying  in  attendance  from  12  to  450,  and  witli  a 
total  attendance  of  5,255.  There  are  kindergartens  in  every  province 
except  perhaps  Galicia.  Information  is  accessible  concerning  604 
kindergartens  in  all  Austria,  which  have  an  attendance  of  50,932. 
Some  of  these  are  maintained  by  public  funds,  some  by  school  au- 
thorities, others  by  ecclesiastical  bodies,  benevolent  societies,  private 
individuals  or  employers  of  labor.  The  support  of  some  is  more  or 
less  assisted  by  fees  and  by  the  possession  of  slight  endowments. 
The  quarters  occupied  by  these  kindergartens  vary  greatly  in  char- 
acter. Some  have  five  or  six  rooms  with  modern  heating  and  ven- 
tilation, frequently  there  is  an  organ  or  piano,  closets  with  numbered 
compartments,  charts,  and  pictures ;  many,  but  by  no  means  all,  have 
gardens  or  play  grounds ;  others  occupy  a  single  room,  meagerly 
equipped.  Suitable  water  closets  are  by  no  means  always  present. 
Many  have  regular  medical  inspection,  but  a  still  larger  number  do 
not.  There  is  usually  a  forenoon  session  of  three  hours,  and  an  after- 
noon session  of  two  hours,  work  and  play  alternating  in  periods  of 
20  to  30  minutes.  With  reference  to  the  methods  of  instruction  and 
occupation,  the  Austrian  kindergartens  are  in  general  loyal  to  the 
system  of  Froebel,  but  in  Bohemia  considerable  additions  to  it  have 
been  made  as  well  as  modifications  and  substitutions. 

In  summer,  walks  and  excursions  in  the  public  parks  are  common. 
There  is  always  one  experienced  kindergartener,  and  usually  at  least 
one  assistant.  Frequently  the  children  are  divided  into  two  and 
sometimes  into  three  sections,  according  to  their  ages.  In  some  in- 
stances a  kindergarten  is  open  only  to  children  of  a  single  school 
district.  The  usual  requirement  for  entrance  is  a  certificate  that 
the  child  is  in  good  health,  and  the  certificate  in  some  cases  must  in- 
clude additional  particulars,  for  example,  a  statement  that  the  child 
has  been  successfully  vaccinated,  and  a  certificate  of  baptism.  As  a 
rule  a  fee  is  charged  which  varies  from  one  florin  to  flor.  3.20  per 
month.  Frequently  the  registration  fee  is  exacted  varying  from 
50  kr.  to  flor.  2.  These  charges  are  reduced  or  remitted  in  the 
cases  of  poor  children. 

In  order  to  secure  treatment  adapted  to  children,  and  also  for 
considerations  of  morality,  it  is  necessary  to  have  separate  hospitals 
for  juvenile  patients.  The  earliest  children's  hospital  on  the  conti- 
nent of  Europe  was  the  "Hopital  des  Enfants  Malades,"  founded 
in  1802  in  Paris.     The  earliest  in  Austria  was  founded  in   1837. 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY 


123 


Institutions  of  this  class  in  Austria  have  owed  their  existence 
to  the  intelHgence  and  self-sacrifice  of  a  relatively  small  number 
of  persons,  who  realized  their  importance,  and  especially  to  phy- 
sicians who  have  been  willing  not  only  to  render  their  services  free, 
but  also  to  incur  expense.  All  institutions  of  this  class  in  Austria 
exist  as  private  charities,  for  the  most  part  under  societies  for  the 
purpose,  which  secure  funds  in  the  form  of  legacies,  endowments, 
endowed  beds,  members'  dues,  etc.  They  are,  however,  not  en- 
tirely without  aid  from  public  funds,  part  of  which  comes  from  the 
profits  of  public  savings  banks.  The  first  children's  hospital  built 
in  Vienna,  beside  the  original  building,  which  has  been  enlarged 
and  contains  both  medical  and  surgical  departments,  now  has  also 
a  separate  pavilion  for  scarlet  fever,  and  another  for  diphtheria.  Of 
course  no  children's  hospital  can  properly  admit  contagious  diseases 
without  the  means  of  thorough  isolation.  There  are  in  all  23  sick 
rooms,  six  with  one  bed  in  each,  two  with  two  or  three  beds,  and 
fifteen  with  from  four  to  ten.  In  the  diphtheria  pavilion  there  are 
single  rooms  which  may  be  rented  by  mothers  who  wish  to  attend 
their  own  children.  The  pavilions  are  equipped  with  every  modern 
improvement  for  lighting,  heat  and  ventilation,  bath  rooms  as  well 
as  movable  bath  tubs,  inhalation  cabinets,  improved  sewerage,  steam 
disinfecting  apparatus,  furniture  of  iron  and  glass,  and  tile  floors. 
This  hospital  serves  the  purposes  of  instruction  in  children's  diseases, 
in  connection  with  the  University  of  Vienna.  It  has  also  a  dispen- 
sary and  free  vaccination  station.  The  medical  director  and  the 
chief  surgeon  are  both  professors  of  the  university,  who  serve  with- 
out pay,  as  do  most  of  the  physicians  connected  with  institutions  of 
this  class,  only  resident  assistants  receiving  remuneration.  The 
Vienna  children's  hospital  has  three  official  physicians,  twenty-five 
attendants,  and  ten  servants.  The  institution  is  under  the  direction 
of  a  benevolent  society,  and  has  received  numerous  legacies  and 
gifts. 

In  all  Austria  there  are  sixteen  hospitals  for  children,  having 
1,114  beds,  and  caring  for  about  12,500  children  annually,  giving 
them  nearly  300,000  days'  care.  The  cost  per  day  for  each  child 
in  the  city  of  Vienna  averages  flor.  1.42,  in  the  two  hospitals  situated 
in  Prague  flor,  1.25,  and  a  somewhat  smaller  sum  in  those  located 
elsewhere.  At  least  four  additional  children's  hospitals  are  either 
in  process  of  erection  or  have  been  so  recently  opened  as  to  furnish 


124  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

no  figures.  Most  of  the  sixteen  institutions  receive  children  up  to 
the  age  of  fourteen,  others  only  those  of  twelve  years  and  under. 
Some  do  not  receive  children  under  one  year  old  save  in  exceptional 
cases.  Three  hospitals  employ  wet-nurses,  and  the  one  at  Krakau 
has  a  separate  department  for  nurslings. 

Success  in  the  treatment  of  children  depends  largely  on  proper 
diet,  and  the  proper  feeding  of  children  has  received  great  attention 
at  these  institutions. 

Beside  the  direct  benefit  to  the  children  treated,  the  Austrian  hos- 
pitals have  done  important  service  by  their  contribution  to  the  sci- 
ence and  practice  of  medicine  for  children.  The  most  important 
recent  advances  in  this  field  are  O'Dwyer's  incubation  in  croup, 
which  replaces  cutting  the  wind-pipe ;  the  treatment  of  diphtheria 
according  to  the  method  of  Behring;  and  achievements,  particularly 
those  of  Lorenz,  in  orthopedic  surgery.  At  almost  all  these  hospitals 
there  are  vaccination  stands  and  dispensaries ;  and  the  suggestions 
given  to  mothers  at  the  dispensaries  are  perhaps  as  valuable  as  the 
medicines  prescribed. 

There  is  great  need  of  additional  provision  for  the  children  of  the 
poor  in  times  of  epidemics  of  juvenile  diseases, — either  in  special 
pavilions  in  connection  with  hospitals,  or  in  buildings  erected  in  the 
outskirts  of  cities.  And  supplements  indispensable  to  the  success  of 
children's  hospitals  are  country  homes  for  the  convalescent,  vacation 
colonies,  seaside  homes,  and  bathing  sanitaria  for  the  cripples  and 
those  afflicted  with  rickets.  Seven  such  sanitaria  at  bathing  places 
already  exist  in  Austria,  and  one  home  for  convalescents  is  for  chil- 
dren exclusively. 

L.  Among  the  most  difficult  problems  of  charitable  activity,  and 
of  all  perhaps  the  most  important,  is  that  of  dealing  with  morally  im- 
perilled children  and  youth — children  who,  because  of  the  poverty 
of  their  parents,  the  lack  of  proper  oversight,  the  wild  life  of  the 
street,  insufficient  schooling,  and  evil  example  and  association,  in- 
herited mental  or  moral  defects  and  promise  to  recruit  the  ranks  of 
wretchedness  and  crime.  The  normal  family  affords  the  proper 
model  and  source  of  suggestions  for  dealing  with  this  class  of  per- 
sons. Literary  and  moral  instruction,  and  such  teaching  in  trades, 
in  farming,  domestic  work  and  woman's  handicraft  as  makes  it  pos- 
sible to  earn  an  honest  livelihood,  are  the  means  to  be  employed. 
The  agencies  available  in  Austria  are  altogether  inadequate  to  this 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  125 

great  and  melancholy  task.  In  Lower  Austria  there  is  one  public, 
provincial  home  for  neglected  children  of  both  sexes,  with  a  capacity 
for  450  inmates,  A  "protective  association"  maintains  in  Vienna 
two  other  homes  for  the  rescue  of  neglected  children — one  for  boys, 
with  a  capacity  for  100,  another  for  girls,  with  capacity  for  60.  An- 
other institution  is  in  Loosdorf,  Lower  Austria.  There  are  two 
children's  homes  in  the  province  of  Upper  Austria.  One  of  these 
is  at  Linz,  and  at  the  time  of  the  last  available  report  it  had  68  boys 
and  53  girls.  Its  aim  is  preventive — the  rescue  of  children  from 
neglect,  and  not  the  reform  of  those  who  have  already  fallen  into 
vice  or  crime.  In  1891  this  institution  inaugurated  the  practice  of 
admitting  among  children  morally  unspoiled,  others  who  are  under 
correction.  This  bold  experiment  has  resulted  in  remarkable  suc- 
cess, and  the  effect  on  the  subjects  of  correction  is  said  to  have  been 
so  good  as  to  entitle  the  experiment  to  be  regarded  as  an  important 
invention  in  "social  technology."  Another  institution  in  Upper  Aus- 
tria, situated  at  Baumgartenberg,  has  upwards  of  161  inmates.  This 
home  combines  two  functions,  the  bringing  up  of  neglected  children 
and  the  rescue  of  fallen  girls.  Many  of  the  latter,  after  leaving  the 
institution,  prove  to  have  been  genuinely  reformed,  and  earn  an 
honest  livelihood;  others  remain  permanently  in  the  institution.  At 
Graz  in  Styria,  there  is  a  reformatory  for  boys.  Besides  ordinary 
schooling,  the  boys  receive  instruction  in  gardening,  tailoring  and 
certain  other  trades,  and  freehand  drawing  and  music.  This  home 
was  founded  in  1879.  Since  that  date  282  pupils  have  been  received, 
and  228  of  these  have  been  discharged.  Of  the  228,  149  proved  to 
have  been  reformed,  10  were  discharged  as  unreformed,  11  have 
died,  12  have  been  transferred  to  other  institutions,  and  46  have  back- 
slidden. At  Klagenfurt,  in  Carinthia,  there  is  a  successful  institu- 
tion for  fallen  girls,  with  between  40  and  50  inmates.  At  Waiern, 
in  the  same  province,  there  is  a  home  for  neglected  children,  which 
at  the  time  of  the  last  available  report  had  80  inmates  and  300  on  the 
waiting  list.  In  Bohemia  there  are  three  institutions  of  this  class, 
one  for  boys  of  school  age,  with  22  inmates,  another  in  which  there 
are  80  girls  and  40  boys,  and  another  with  56  inmates.  The  last 
named  publishes  an  estimate  that  75  per  cent,  of  its  pupils  prove 
to  have  been  rescued.  A  reformatory  for  boys,  founded  in  1890  by 
the  provincial  government  of  Moravia,  had  in  its  first  five  years  199 
inmates,  of  whom  143  have  proved  to  be  reformed,  and  46  have 


126  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

backslidden.  Its  pupils  at  the  last  report  numbered  152.  At  this 
school  particular  attention  is  given  to  the  development  of  the  health 
of  the  body,  by  gymnastics,  games,  military  drill,  excursions,  baths 
and  out-of-door  employments.  There  is  a  similar  provincial  re- 
formatory at  Olbersdorf  in  Silicia,  founded  in  1893  having  between 
30  and  40  inmates.  Among  the  trades  taught  are  wood  engraving, 
book  binding,  cabinet  making,  and  gardening.  An  institution 
founded  in  1886  at  Volders,  in  Tyrol,  takes  children  as  well  as  youth, 
and  gives  particular  attention  to  teaching  out-of-door  employments — 
farming,  orcharding,  gardening  and  forestry.  Its  inmates  number 
100.  Another  school  in  Gorz,  with  about  40  pupils,  trains  orphan 
girls  to  be  employed  as  domestics. 

M.  Among  preventive  measures,  compulsory  insurance  holds  a 
place  of  conspicuous  importance  in  the  German-speaking  nations. 
Such  a  system  of  insurance  is  in  harmony  with  the  modern  ideal  of 
poor-relief  that  seeks  to  avoid  breaking  the  spirit  of  the  recipient  of 
charity  and  reducing  him  to  pauperism,  it  substitutes  for  precarious 
aid  a  regular  legal  claim  to  that  which  has  been  earned  in  the  days  of 
health  and  strength.  And  when  insurance  for  the  aged  or  disabled 
laborer  is  coupled  with  insurance  against  illness  and  accident,  it 
is  believed  by  many  that  we  may  reasonably  anticipate  a  time  when 
the  historic  forms  of  poor-relief  will  survive  only  as  a  supplementary 
agency. 

The  experience  of  Austria,  which  as  yet  is  much  less  than  that  of 
Germany,  cannot  be  said  to  prove  this  proposition.  The  statistics 
of  poor-relief  in  Saxony,  which  include  a  statement  of  the  causes  of 
poverty,  yield  the  following  evidence :  In  the  year  1885,  when 
compulsory  accident  insurance  first  went  into  effect,  the  number  of 
those  who  were  receiving  permanent  aid  because  of  accidents  which 
had  been  sustained  was  1,665.  After  compulsory  accident  insurance 
had  been  in  effect  for  five  years,  this  number  had  fallen  to  981. 
Those  who  received  temporary  aid  because  of  accident,  in  1885,  num- 
bered 735,  and  the  corresponding  number  five  years  later  was  397. 
Insurance  against  sickness  had  gone  into  effect  a  few  months  earlier, 
and  the  number  of  those  who  received  aid  because  of  sickness  dur- 
ing 1885  was  11,583.  Five  years  later  this  number  had  fallen  to 
8,856. 

It  is  claimed  for  compulsory  insurance  that  it  not  only  affects  the 
economic  welfare  of  the  laboring  classes,  but  that  it  promotes  the 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY 


127 


cdre  of  the  public  health,  improvement  of  tenements  for  working 
people,  and  general  prevention  of  injurious  conditions  of  life  and  of 
labor,  that  it  leads  to  increased  safeguards  against  accident  and  more 
efficient  care  for  the  injured,  and  that  it  thus  becomes  an  important 
social  agency  for  the  diminution  of  physical  suffering  and  the  con- 
servation of  the  laboring  power  of  the  working  classes.  The  m- 
surance  agency  has  great  interest  in  the  completest  possible  restora- 
tion of  the  labor  power  of  an  injured  man.  Cases  of  sickness  and 
of  accident  fall  under  the  direct  attendance  and  care  of  the  agency, 
since  the  permanent  burden  which  is  to  be  borne  in  behalf  of  the 
injured,  depends  upon  the  success  of  the  nursing  afforded  during 
the  first  weeks,  and  the  least  neglect  may  result  in  heavy  permanent 
expense.  The  popular  realization  of  the  importance  of  first  aid  is 
also  stimulated.  Activities  like  those  of  the  societies  for  the  rescue 
of  imperilled  persons,  previously  described,  are  inspired  by  the 
maxim,  "the  first  bandage  may  determine  the  result  of  the  injury." 
From  the  point  of  view  of  the  insuring  agency,  of  the  public  and  of 
the  individual,  it  is  alike  necessary  to  afford  not  only  efficient  medical 
treatment  and  nursing,  but  also  to  teach  the  injured  such  occupations 
as  may  enable  them  to  continue  to  earn  a  livelihood.  The  insurance 
agencies  have  also  direct  interest  in  the  prevention  of  illness  and  the 
treatment  of  incipient  diseases,  for  example,  incipient  consumption, 
and  have  been  clothed  with  special  legal  powers  in  this  direction. 

The  favorite  objection  to  compulsory  insurance  is  that  it  with- 
draws capital  from  industry  and  ties  it  up.  But  capital  that  secures 
from  poverty  the  aged  and  crippled,  widows  and  orphans,  cannot 
be  looked  upon  as  unproductive.  Moreover  by  exercising  proper 
care  with  regard  to  security,  the  reserves  accumulated  for  this  pur- 
pose can,  without  injury  to  their  primary  object,  be  employed  in  in- 
dustry. The  Germans,  who  lead  in  the  matter  of  compulsory  insur- 
ance, could  not  be  induced  to  abandon  it,  and  Austria  is  second  only 
to  Germany  in  this  movement.  Accident  insurance  was  made  com- 
pulsory in  Austria,  December  28,  1887,  and  insurance  against  sick- 
ness March  28,  1888.  The  latter  became  compulsory  in  Hungary, 
April  9,  1891. 

The  aims  of  the  compulsory  and  governmental  feature  are :  ( i ) 
Universality — that  all  (or  as  nearly  as  possible  all)  laborers  and  those 
dependent  on  them  may  be  kept  from  dependency.  (2)  Greater 
security.      (3)  Avoidance  of  litigation.      (4)  Lessening  of  class  bit- 


J28  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

terness.  (5)  The  continuation  of  their  insurance  when  workmen 
change  their  places  of  residence  and  employment.  (6)  The  least 
possible  cost.  Accident  insurance  is  compulsory  for  those  employed 
in  factories,  mines,  smelters,  foundries  and  other  metal  works,  upon 
wharves  and  docks,  in  quarries,  in  the  building  trades,  wherever 
explosives  are  made  and  used,  wherever  power  machinery  is  a  regu- 
lar part  of  the  equipment,  including  all  transportation  except  by  craft 
under  the  laws  regulating  sea  navigation,  in  dredging,  the  cleaning 
of  streets,  windows,  sewers  or  chimneys,  in  warehouses  or  elevators, 
in  handling  wood  and  coal,  in  theaters  or  as  firemen,  stone  cutters, 
well  drivers,  or  structural  iron  workers.  The  Minister  of  the  In- 
terior has  large  discretionary  power,  and  is  expected  to  require  all 
employers  whose  employes  are  necessarily  exposed  to  danger  to 
come  under  the  compulsory  insurance  regulation,  and  to  excuse  all 
others. 

The  benefits  received  in  case  of  fatal  accident  are  in  general  the 
payment  of  funeral  expenses  and  a  stipend  to  the  widow  amounting 
to  20  per  cent,  of  the  rate  of  wages  earned  by  the  deceased  at  the  time 
of  the  accident ;  the  same  to  be  paid  until  the  widow  dies  or  remar- 
ries;  in  addition  15  per  cent,  of  the  amount  of  wages  for  each  child 
until  it  reaches  its  fifteenth  year,  or  20  per  cent,  of  the  wages  re- 
ceived by  the  father  for  each  child  in  case  both  parents  are  dead. 
For  illegitimate  children  10  per  cent,  of  the  father's  wages  is  allowed. 
But  the  income  allowed  to  the  widow  and  children  together  cannot 
exceed  50  per  cent,  of  the  wages  which  were  earned  by  the  deceased 
father.  In  case  of  total  disability,  the  injured  receives  a  stipend 
equal  to  60  per  cent,  of  the  wages  which  he  had  earned,  and  in  case  of 
partial  disability,  aid  not  to  exceed  50  per  cent,  of  the  wages  previ- 
ously earned.  In  1897  the  moneys  paid  in  accident  benefits  of  all 
these  sorts  amounted  to  fior.  3,959,887.  In  1895  the  laborers  who 
were  insured  against  accident  were  receiving  wages  that  amounted 
to  437.32  million  gulden.  The  premiums  on  their  insurance  amount- 
ed to  flor.  6,654,874,  or  1.52  per  cent,  of  their  wages.  The  insurance 
against  sickness  during  1896  furnished,  in  money,  medical  aid,  medi- 
cines, hospital  care  and  funeral  expenses,  15,252,194  gulden,  of  which 
9,015,255  gulden  were  paid  in  money. 

Pensions  for  old  age  and  disability  have  been  largely  developed 
in  Austria.  Soldiers'  pensions  were  known  as  early  as  1750,  under 
Maria  Theresa.     Pension  rolls  for  government  officials  go  back  as 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  I2g 

far  as  1771.  The  next  step  was  to  allow  pensions  for  the  superan- 
nuated clergy  of  the  state  church.  More  recently,  especially  since 
the  year  1850,  great  industrial  concerns  have  been  establishing  pen- 
sion institutions  for  their  employes  of  the  higher  class,  chiefly  office 
employes.  Since  1869  there  has  been  a  regular  system  of  pensions 
for  public  school  teachers.  A  variety  of  voluntary  associations  pro- 
vide pensions  for  their  members,  and  among  these  are  included  some 
classes  of  laborers,  in  the  narrow  sense  of  that  word. 

There  are  in  Austria  laws  for  the  protection  of  laborers  against 
danger  to  life  and  health,  which  forbid  excessive  hours  for  women 
and  children,  prescribe  pauses  in  work,  and  Sunday  rest,  forbid  em- 
ployment in  factories  before  the  age  of  fourteen,  but  allow  appren- 
tices to  be  received  at  the  end  of  the  twelfth  year,  at  other  than  fac- 
tory work,  limit  the  working  hours  for  such  apprentices  to  eight 
hours  per  day,  and  prohibit  night  work  for  them.  The  last  two 
provisions  apply  also  to  factory  laborers  between  the  ages  -of  four- 
teen and  sixteen.  There  are  protective  laws  in  reference  to  the 
forms  of  contract  between  employers  and  laborers,  stipulating  the 
times  of  payment,  that  payment  must  be  made  in  cash  except  to  ap- 
prentices, limiting  the  power  to  impose  fines,  prescribing  certain 
rights  and  duties  of  overseers  of  the  young,  regulating  the  "notice" 
which  must  be  given,  and  specifying  cases  in  which  the  relation  of 
employer  and  employe  can  be  severed  without  notice. 

It  would  scarcely  be  an  exaggeration  to  say  that  that  in  by  far  the 
larger  part  of  Austria  employment  bureaus  are  absent.  The  old 
spirit  prevails  which  looks  only  upon  those  who  are  unable  or  unwill- 
ing to  work  as  the  proper  objects  of  public  relief.  But  agitation  has 
been  made  and  investigation  instituted,  and  resolutions  passed  look- 
ing to  the  establishment  of  a  general  system  of  public  employment 
bureaus  open  to  all  workmen  at  the  least  possible  cost.  Provisions 
have  existed  for  engaging  the  unemployed  in  public  works  in  the 
cities  of  Vienna,  Salzburg,  Reichenberg,  Trautenau,  Prachatitz,  and 
Vienna,  Prague  and  Reichenberg  have  maintained  municipal  em- 
ployment bureaus.  The  Styrian  State  League  for  Charity  Organi- 
zation disseminates  information  as  to  those  who  seek  and  those  who 
offer  employment.  In  one  year  it  published  notice  of  1,626  em- 
ployers who  were  seeking  help,  and  3,168  who  were  seeking  em- 
ployment, and  was  the  means  of  filling  1,234  positions.  In  the  year 
1 810  private  employment  bureaus  for  domestics  were  made  illegal  in 


130 


MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 


certain  cities,  and  the  function  was  assigned  to  the  poHce  department. 
And  although  such  private  employment  bureaus  have  again  been 
allowed  since  1848,  they  are  not  free  from  familiar  abuses.  One 
of  the  most  frequent  abuses  is  the  publication  of  bogus  openings, 
which  decoy  the  laborers  and  encourage  them  to  enroll  in  the  agency 
and  pay  their  fee.  In  1895  there  were  in  Austria  916  employment 
bureaus  or  intelligence  offices;  814  of  these  found  positions  for 
180,692  labor  seekers ;  630  of  these  agencies  enrolled  257,944  em- 
ployment seekers  and  330,515  employers;  429  agencies  dealt  only 
with  domestic  and  agricultural  servants,  and  others  with  nurses, 
with  skilled  and  unskilled  laborers,  coachmen,  waiters  and  other  serv- 
ants for  hotels,  teachers,  actors,  clerks  and  other  office  employes. 
The  fact  that  the  number  of  ofifers  of  employment  enrolled  largely 
exceeds  the  number  of  employment  seekers  is  due  to  the  fact  that 
those  who  offer  employment  to  domestic  servants  are  generally  en- 
rolled wi-thout  payment  of  a  fee,  and  therefore  frequently  enroll  in 
several  bureaus,  while  applicants  must  pay  a  fee,  and  usually  enroll 
in  but  one.  In  some  provinces  the  amount  of  fees  that  can  be 
charged  is  limited  by  law.  The  function  of  an  employment  bureau 
is  exercised  by  trade  organizations  and  a  variety  of  benevolent  so- 
cieties and  trade  schools. 

Savings  banks  deserve  to  be  mentioned  among  the  agencies  pre- 
ventive of  poverty.  In  1848  there  were  in  all  Austria  but  seven- 
teen, while  Prussia  had  200,  and  England  over  600  savings  banks. 
In  1895  Austria  had  488,  158  of  which  were  in  Bohemia;  and  the 
next  largest  number  in  a  single  province  was  74  in  Lower  Austria. 
There  was  then  in  Austria  one  savings  bank  to  each  614.78  square 
kilometers  of  area,  and  one  to  each  51,172  of  the  population.  Even 
then  several  provinces  were  exceedingly  ill  supplied  with  such  insti- 
tutions. Bukowina  was  worst  of  all  in  this  respect,  having  one  sav- 
ings bank  to  344,059  people.  There  are  still  numerous  political  dis- 
tricts that  have  not  a  single  savings  bank;  13.5  per  cent,  of  the 
savings  banks  which  were  in  existence  in  Austria  in  1899  had  been 
founded  by  societies  more  or  less  benevolent  in  character,  81  per  cent, 
by  municipalities,  and  5.5  per  cent,  by  administrative  districts.  In 
1882  there  were  75  savings  bank  accounts  for  every  1,000  of  the 
inhabitants  of  Austria.  In  1889  there  were  96,  and  in  1895  there 
were  115.  It  would  probably  be  wise  to  set  a  legal  limit  upon  the 
profits  which  may  be  realized  by  savings  banks  that  are  founded  by 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  I3I 

municipalities  and  districts.     There  is  no  reason  why  the  savings 
of  the  poor  should  be  made  a  source  of  government  revenue. 

A  society  was  founded  in  Vienna  in  1894  with  the  purpose  of 
erecting  groups  of  buildings,  simply  but  substantially  built,  and  di- 
vided into  small,  convenient  and  sanitary  tenements,  to  be  rented  at 
the  rates  prevailing  among  the  laborers  of  the  neighborhoods  in 
which  the  buildings  stood.  It  is  estimated  that  the  investment  made 
will  pay  31-3  per  cent,  and  replace  the  capital  in  eighty  years.  The 
buildings  erected  are  intended  to  accommodate  5,000  persons.  It  is 
not  enough  to  secure  the  erection  of  such  buildings ;  it  is  an  equally 
important  and  difficult  problem  to  administer  them  so  as  to  secure 
the  good  results  intended.  Agents  of  the  society  must  keep  in  touch 
with  the  tenants  and  carry  out  the  suggestions  that  have  been  made 
in  the  writings  of  Octavia  Hill.  A  house  committee  should  be  elected 
by  the  occupants  of  each  building,  and  once  or  twice,  and  oftener  if 
need  be,  there  should  be  a  meeting  between  this  committee  and  the 
general  society  to  discuss  the  complaints  and  desires  of  the  tenants 
and  the  possibilities  of  improvement.  Periodically,  perhaps  twice 
each  year,  all  of  these  committees  should  meet  together  and  discuss 
arrangements  for  promoting  the  common  good  of  the  tenants.  Out 
of  these  meetings  there  may  develop  neighborhood  guilds,  with  social, 
educational  and  ethical,  as  well  as  economic  aims.  In  order  that  such 
a  movement  may  be  a  genuine  contribution  to  the  solution  of  the 
tenement-house  problem,  and  for  the  interest  of  the  tenants  them- 
selves, such  buildings  must  pay  interest  on  the  capital  invested,  and 
not  be  a  charity  in  any  objectionable  sense.  At  the  same  time  the 
rent  which  is  charged  must  not  much  exceed  that  which  is  charged 
for  other  houses  in  the  neighborhood.  As  a  rule  it  is  unwise  to 
admit  tenants  who  do  not  regularly  earn  five  times  the  rent  which 
they  agree  to  pay;  and  the  owners  must  insist,  for  the  success  of 
their  experiment  and  for  the  interest  of  the  tenants  and  themselves, 
that  the  payment  of  rent  shall  be  as  regular  as  the  succession  of  day 
and  night.  There  must  be  a  prescribed  maximum  number  of  oc- 
cupants for  each  tenement,  which  cannot  be  exceeded.  A  failure 
to  keep  the  house  in  order  according  to  the  rules  prescribed  by  the 
owners,  must  be  followed  by  warning,  and,  if  the  failure  continues, 
by  notice  to  move.  There  should  be  an  understanding  that  tenants 
who  have  kept  their  apartments  in  good  order  for  three  successive 
years  acquire  thereby  the  right  to  have  them  thoroughly  renovated. 


132  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

The  functions  of  janitors  are  important,  and  these  officers  must  be 
chosen  with  care. 

It  is  proposed  that  in  such  a  system  of  buildings  there  should  be 
one  central  building,  to  contain:  (i)  the  creche,  for  infants;  (2) 
a  nursery  for  children  up  to  six  years  of  age;  (3)  a  retreat  for  chil- 
dren of  school  age  out  of  school  hours,  which  shall  be  provided  with 
games,  magazines,  music,  a  gymnasium,  and  an  attendant  who  sees 
to  it  that  children  who  wish  to  do  school  work  out  of  school  hours, 
and  others  who  wish  to  do  handiwork,  are  undisturbed,  and  who 
assists  them  at  their  tasks.  If  the  system  of  buildings  accommodates 
5,000  tenants,  this  number  will  include  about  1,000  children  of  school 
age,  and  such  a  retreat  could  be  maintained  for  them  at  a  cost  of 
about  flor.  4,000  a  year.  The  central  building  should  also  include : 
(4)  A  central  kitchen,  making  it  unnecessary  for  each  family  to  do 
its  own  cooking;  (5)  a  cooperative  store;  (6)  a  bath  house;  (7) 
a  steam  laundry,  washing  in  private  kitchens  being  a  thing  to  be 
avoided ;  (8)  a  reading-room  and  waiting-room.  While  no  one  of 
the  women  in  such  a  city  neighborhood  may  be  able  to  employ  a 
cook  of  her  own,  or  maintain  a  home  laundry,  it  is  entirely  possible 
for  a  large  number  to  do  so,  and  the  economies  made  possible  by 
serving  many  persons  in  a  single  set  of  processes  may  make  these 
conveniences  which  have  been  the  luxury  of  the  rich,  even  an  econo- 
my to  the  poor. 

There  are  in  existence  a  number  of  societies  that  maintain 
cooperative  kitchens  similar  to  those  suggested  in  connection  with 
model  tenements.  They  prepare  food  in  a  hygienic  manner,  and 
either  serve  it  in  a  society  dining  room  or  send  it  to  individual  dining 
rooms,  at  the  lowest  cost  possible.  Incidentally  they  make  it  possible 
for  both  public  and  private  charity,  by  the  use  of  meal  tickets, 
to  be  honored  at  one  of  these  common  dining  rooms,  to  avoid  indis- 
criminate gifts  of  money,  and  give  good  food  instead,  to  those  who 
apply  for  temporary  relief. 

In  Austria  there  are  a  considerable  number  of  cooperative  stores. 
In  1896,  495  such  societies  were  in  existence ;  of  these,  30  had  been 
active  for  thirty  years,  95  for  twenty  years,  45  for  ten  years,  and 
345  for  shorter  periods.  These  societies  had  a  membership  of 
133,783,  of  whom  118,199  belonged  to  the  German-speaking  peoples 
of  Austria,  and  15,584  to  other  nationalities.  In  1895  the  purchases 
made  through  these  societies  amounted  to   17,908,534  gulden — an 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY 


133 


increase  over  the  purchases  of  the  preceding  year  of  12.47  P^^  cent., 
the  purchases  of  each  member  amounting  on  an  average  to  163 
gulden. 

Among  the  most  important  private  preventive  agencies  there  are 
the  "Societies  against  Impoverishment  and  Beggary,"  copied  from 
the  Berlin  "Verein  gegen  Verarmung  und  Bettelei."  These  societies 
flourish  especially  in  Vienna  and  vicinity  and  in  northern  Bohemia. 
They  do  not  propose  to  make  giving  their  main  activity,  but  afford 
aid  in  the  form  of  loans  of  money,  of  tools,  stocks  of  goods,  aids  to 
travel  in  search  of  employment,  and  the  like.  Their  aim  is  not  to 
assist  those  who  have  already  become  impoverished,  but  to  enable 
those  who  are  in  danger  of  that  fate  to  remain  self-supporting.  The 
methods  of  this  society  are  eminently  reasonable.  Men  become 
broken-spirited  paupers  who  by  a  little  judicious  aid  at  the  right 
moment  would  have  been  able  to  retain  their  economic  footing  and 
their  self-respect.  A  society  of  this  sort  has  existed  in  Vienna  for 
twenty-five  years.  It  requires  each  person  who  receives  aid,  to  fill 
out  a  blank  statement,  and  it  has  gathered  results  numerous  enough 
to  have  statistical  value  and  of  particular  importance  because  they 
deal  with  a  somewhat  different  class  of  persons  from  those  reached 
by  ordinary  charitable  agencies.  This  society  in  Vienna  in  a  single 
year  made  1,193  loans  without  interest,  which  amounted  to  68,553 
gulden,  and  made  gifts  of  47,685  gulden,  distributed  among  3,242 
persons. 

Hungary* 

A-C.  The  legal  regulation  of  poor-relief  is  of  comparatively  recent 
origin.  According  to  the  law  of  1724  the  parish  was  charged  with 
the  care  of  the  poor.  Endowments,  supplemented  by  a  tax,  have 
provided  funds.  Most  parishes  lack  both  the  means  and  the  agencies 
for  adequate  poor-relief,  the  need  of  which  is  less  felt  in  the  rural 
life  where  neighbors  and  employers  care  for  the  needy  ones.  With 
the  growth  of  cities  there  is  a  corresponding  development  and  spe- 
cialization of  poor-relief.  Budapest  in  1898  spent  3.6  million  crowns 
on  its  poor  fund.  The  most  notable  progress  has  been  made  in  the 
care  of  the  sick  and  of  children,  under  the  law  of  1898  and  the  min- 
isterial ordinances  of  1899. 

An  ordinance  of  the  ministry  requires  each  parish  to  form  an 

^  We  add  here  some  more  specific  facts  relating  to  Hungary. 


134  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

organization  for  poor-relief  which  must  have  the  sanction  of  the 
parish  directors  and  in  great  cities  of  the  Minister  of  the  Interior. 

A  law  of  1875  defined  the  obligation  of  parents  to  care  for  chil- 
dren, and  children  for  parents,  spouse  for  spouse,  employer  for  em- 
ploye, so  far  as  there  is  ability ;  and  when  these  sources  fail  the  sick 
must  be  relieved  by  the  parish.  A  law  of  1885  provided  that  the 
larger  political  units,  county  and  state,  should  share  the  burden  with 
parishes ;  and  arrangements  were  made  for  joining  parishes  together 
for  the  relief  of  the  poor. 

But  up  to  the  present  time  most  of  the  parishes  have  lacked  both 
means  and  suitable  organization  for  relief,  and  traditional  sentiment 
has  not  hindered  the  authorities  from  giving  indigent  persons  license 
to  beg.  Municipal  administration  is  in  the  hands  of  notaries  who 
collect  state,  county  and  parish  taxes  and  attend  to  other  duties,  as 
recruiting  the  army  and  reporting  men  liable  for  military  service. 
At  a  recent  date  only  1,832  large  parishes  had  a  notary,  while  the 
remaining  10,723  parishes  had  among  them  only  2,336  notaries.  If 
persons  legally  liable  for  support  are  able  to  reimburse  the  parish 
they  are  required  to  do  so.  The  relief  is  generally  in  money,  but 
sometimes  in  provisions. 

There  are  no  "workhouses"  and  indoor  relief  is  very  rare.  Va- 
grants in  centers  of  population  sometimes  menace  public  safety. 

H.  Medical  Relief  in  Hungary. — The  number  of  physicians 
to  100,000  inhabitants  is  only  26.5  (in  1895),  while  Austria  (in  the 
year  1892)  had  27.6,  the  German  Empire  (1881)  33.8,  and  France 
(1893)  39.1.  In  at  least  10,000  communes  there  was  no  resident 
physician.  In  1876  a  law  was  enacted  which  ordered  that  every 
city  and  every  commune  of  6,000  inhabitants  should  have  a  physi- 
cian and  that  smaller  communes  should  be  united  for  the  support  of 
a  medical  man.  The  sanitary  regulations  were  systematized  and 
placed  under  administrative  direction.  Croatia  and  Slavonia  enacted 
a  similar  law  in  1894.  In  Hungary  there  has  been  marked  progress, 
and  while  in  1873  there  were  only  12.5  physicians  to  100,000  souls, 
in  1897  there  were  27.6.^ 

The  provisions  for  hospitals  have  been  greatly  improved.  In 
1877  there  were  of  all  forms  only  237;  in  1897  the  number  was  359, 
including  4  hospitals  for  the  insane.  Separate  hospitals  are  con- 
nected with  prisons  and  houses  of  correction.     The  number  of  pa- 

^  A.  V.  Matlckovitz,  Das  Konigreich  Ungarn,  I,  x,  and  149. 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  135 

tients  treated  in  hospitals  rose  from  87,025  (with  2,083,819  days' 
care)  in  1877  ^o  189,675  (with  8,725,720  days'  care)  in  1897,  The 
mortahty  in  1877  was  8.3  in  100,  and  in  1897  only  6.39  in  100.  In 
1897  there  were  in  2,398  communes  epidemic  hospitals  with  8,412 
beds.  The  census  of  1895  reported  8,032  insane  and  14,650  feeble- 
minded. The  expenditures  on  hospitals  for  the  insane  in  1897  were 
500,000  gulden. 

The  leaders  of  Hungarian  thought^  are  awake  to  the  importance 
of  maintaining  the  numbers  and  the  efficiency  of  the  people.  The 
population  has  by  no  means  reached  the  limit  which  a  fertile  soil  can 
maintain.  To  the  square  kilometer  there  are  54  inhabitants,  while 
France  has  71,  Austria  79  and  Germany  91.  The  increase  of  popula- 
tion is  indeed  relatively  rapid  since  the  encouraging  ecomomic  pros- 
perity which  followed  the  establishment  of  constitutional  freedom  and 
security.  There  are  9.4  marriages  to  1,000  inhabitants,  while  France 
has  7.6,  Germany  7.9,  Austria  8.01.  That  is  a  vigorous  people  who 
show  the  high  birth  rate  of  infants  born  alive  42.5  to  1,000  souls, 
whereas  France  has  22.9,  Germany  36.7,  and  Austria  37.9.  Natur- 
ally the  rate  of  infant  mortality  is  high, — 31.3  in  1,000 ;  while  the  rate 
in  France  is  only  22.7,  in  Germany  24.6  and  in  Austria  27.1.  But  in 
spite  of  this  excessive  death  rate  the  population  grows,  but  at  great 
cost ;  and  the  authorities  are  moving  with  intelligence  and  energy 
to  discover  and  diminish  the  causes  of  sickness  and  mortality. 

There  are  in  Hungary  105  orphan  asylums  with  about  5,000 
inmates.     Of  these  31  belong  to  the  state  and  16  are  entirely  private. 

The  state  has  not  followed  the  policy  of  providing  asylums  for 
foundlings,  but  a  private  institution  exists  in  the  capital  city.  Cities 
and  parishes  usually  board  out  foundlings  with  persons  who  accept 
them  for  low  wages,  and  about  one-half  such  infants  die.  A  public 
health  law  of  1876  required  the  parish  physicians  to  exercise  superin- 
tendence over  such  children ;  but  as  only  about  one-third  of  the 
parishes  employed  physicians  the  law  was  not  generally  effective. 

Guardian  Schools  (Kinderbczvahranstalten). — The  evils  of  leav- 
ing little  children  alone  while  parents  were  at  work  were  realized  by  a 
few  persons  early  in  the  nineteenth  century.  The  Countess  Theresia 
Brunswick  opened  a  school  in  1828  at  Kristinenstadt.  In  1867 
there  were  97  schools,  and  in  1897  there  were  1,143.  The  rise  of  the 
kindergarten  movement  began  to  affect  those  arrangements  about 
^  Das  Konigreich  Ungarn,  von  Dr.  Alexander  von  Matlekovitz,  Leipsic,  1900. 


136  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

1869,  and  associations  were  formed  to  propagate  the  ideas  of  Froe- 
bel.  Legislation  brought  these  schools  under  state  care  in  1891. 
The  law  then  passed  prescribed  as  their  function  the  protection  of 
infants  between  the  ages  of  3  and  6  years  during  the  absence  of  their 
parents,  and  their  training  in  order,  cleanliness,  neatness,  and  the 
care  of  their  health  and  physical  and  moral  development.  The 
schools  and  shelters  must  be  in  charge  of  trained  teachers.  They 
are  supported  by  the  state,  by  communes,  churches,  associations, 
cities,  endowments  and  private  persons.  Wherever  there  are  enough 
children  to  require  it  a  guardian  school  must  be  established.  Formal 
instruction  is  not  given.  The  little  ones  learn  informally  to  pray,  to 
talk  distinctly,  to  sing,  and  to  play,  without  subjecting  them  to  strain. 
Children  who  are  not  directly  watched  over  by  parents  are  required 
to  be  placed  in  such  schools. 

There  are  in  Hungary  three  houses  of  correction  for  delinquent 
children  which  are  used  for  the  morally  perverted  who  in  some 
countries  would  go  to  reform  schools,  and  also  for  criminals  under 
16  years  of  age. 

Since  1867  Hungary  has  made  great  progress  in  elementary  edu- 
cation. The  number  of  common  schools  (outside  of  Croatia  and 
Slavonia)  in  the  year  1869  was  13,789,  and  by  1897  had  risen  to 
16,951,  or  22  per  cent.  The  number  of  pupils  rose  from  1,152,115 
in  the  year  1870  to  2,341,624  in  the  year  1897,  or  103  per  cent. 

M.  Hungary's  Savings  Banks  and  Social  Policy. — The 
deposits  in  savings  banks  increased  from  72.6  million  gulden  in  1867 
to  837.2  million  gulden  in  1897.^  The  government  organized  postal 
savings  banks  in  1885.  The  number  of  depositors  increased  from 
539,064  in  1886  to  1,002,369  in  1897,  and  the  deposits  from  3,934,630 
gulden  to  20,802,025. 

The  development  of  industries  and  cities  has  brought  to  Hun- 
gary the  "labor  question."  The  Socialists  carried  their  propaganda 
into  Hungary  as  early  as  1867  and  have  been  strongly  influenced  by 
the  German  movement  and  parties.  Trade  unions  grew  up  in  the 
more  advanced  trades.  The  "social  policy"  of  Hungary  began  with 
the  organization  of  funds  to  help  in  sickness,  and  in  this  movement 
the  employers  frequently  took  the  initiative,  about  the  middle  of  the 
last  century.  It  was  discovered  that  this  voluntary  form  of  insur- 
ance was  confined  almost  entirely  to  the  well-paid  artisans,  and  that 

'  A.  V.  Matlekovitz,  Das  Konigreich  Ungarn,  I,  xxix,  II,  569. 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY 


137 


those  who  most  needed  it,  the  unskilled,  derived  no  benefit  from  it. 
The  voluntary  principle  broke  down.  In  1891  the  government  made 
it  obligatory  on  all  employes  in  certain  industries  to  contribute  to  a 
fund,  not  more  than  3  per  cent,  of  their  wages,  the  employer  paying 
one-third  of  the  premiums.  In  return  medical  care  and  money  in- 
demnities are  guaranteed.  In  1897  there  were  426  funds,  with  594,- 
778  members,  and  receipts  of  4,783,373  gulden. 

Very  important  in  the  prevention  of  pauperism  is  a  system  of 
factory  regulations  protecting  laborers  against  danger  and  sickness, 
with  a  force  of  inspectors  to  inforce  the  law.  In  1872  the  govern- 
ment provided  regulations  and  administrative  agents  for  this  purpose. 
In  later  years  this  legislation  has  been  improved  and  made  more 
effective. 


CHAPTER  III 
SWITZERLAND 

BY  C.    R.   HENDERSON* 

A.     Legislation. 

The  constitution  of  Switzerland,  which  may  be  revised  by  Federal 
legislation,  under  the  rule  of  the  referendum  and  initiative,  is  the 
supreme  law  of  the  land.  Under  it  a  Federal  government  acts  for 
the  composite  nation  in  matters  of  peace,  war  and  treaties.  The 
highest  legislative  and  executive  authority  is  vested  in  a  parliament 
having  two  houses,  the  State  Council  and  the  National  Council ;  these 
united  are  called  the  Federal  Assembly. 

The  nation  is  divided  into  cantons,  each  of  which,  within  the 
limits  of  the  Constitution,  makes  its  own  laws,  by  direct  action  of  the 
voting  citizens.  Each  canton  is  divided  into  districts  (Auitsbecirkc), 
and  districts  are  made  up  of  communes.  The  people  dwell  chiefly  in 
small  towns  or  villages,  and  none  of  the  cities  are  large.  Geneva, 
the  largest,  in  1897,  had  86,535  inhabitants. 

Historical  Sketch. — Mediaeval  relief  in  Switzerland,  as  in 
other  parts  of  Europe,  was  administrated  by  the  church,  through 
parish  and  monastic  agencies,  and  by  indiscriminate  and  impulsive 
almsgiving.  The  plague  of  beggars  spread  through  the  valleys  of 
Switzerland  as  along  the  Thames,  the  Tiber  and  the  Rhine.  The 
same  causes  everywhere  produced  similar  results ;  the  breaking  up  of 
serfdom  and  feudal  control,  the  habit  of  wandering,  the  vicious  cus- 
toms of  almsgiving  without  consideration  of  effects  on  character,  and 
the  inadequacy  of  ecclesiastical  machinery  to  deal  with  sturdy  mendi- 
cant rogues,  all  increased  the  swarm  of  parasites.  The  evil  was  ag- 
gravated in  this  land  by  the  custom  of  sending  out  mercenary  sol- 
diers to  earn  their  living  in  foreign  armies.     Military  life  demoralized 

'  Here,  as  in  many  other  places,  the  articles  of  Dr.  E.  Miinsterberg  have  been 
drawn  upon  for  materials,  as  stated  in  the  preface. 

138 


SWITZERLAND 


139 


young  men ;  the  long  absence  of  husbands  broke  up  homes ;  and  of 
those  who  returned  many  were  without  skill  and  habits  of  regular 
industry.  The  ordinary  agencies  of  relief  could  not  manage  this 
dangerous  and  aggressive  element  of  the  population,  and  it  was  found 
to  be  necessary  to  invoke  the  police  power  of  the  governments  to  give 
security  to  life,  property  and  order.  The  first  intervention  of  gov- 
ernment was  therefore  repressive,  punitive,  deterrent;  and  the  can- 
tons enacted  strict  regulations  against  begging  and  vagabondage. 
Since  the  principle  of  local  responsibility  for  local  dependents  had 
long  been  accepted,  the  cantonal  authorities  required  those  who 
sought  assistance  to  make  their  appeal  to  their  neighbors  in  their 
own  commune. 

The  Influence  of  Communism  on  Pauperism. — The  common  land 
of  the  communes  in  various  parts  of  Switzerland  formerly  was 
used  for  the  general  benefit,  all  members  of  the  neighborhood  hav- 
ing certain  rights  in  it.  In  more  recent  times,  as  the  land  was  taken 
up  for  private  ownership  and  so  came  to  be  better  cultivated,  that 
which  remained  as  a  common  possession  became  a  source  of  income 
reserved  for  the  poor,  that  is,  for  the  most  inefficient  persons  in  the 
population.  The  consequence  was  that  the  inefficient  were  still  more 
pauperized,  and  wherever  it  was  possible  persons  of  the  same  type 
were  attracted  to  the  places  which  had  the  largest  common  fund.^ 
The  richest  city  of  Switzerland,  Basel,  has  relatively  the  largest 
number  of  dependents.  In  the  well-to-do  city  of  Zurich,  as  the  re- 
port of  1861  said,  those  districts  which  had  the  largest  poor  fund 
had  the  most  poor.  The  Zurich  administration  in  1865  gave  as  one 
of  the  causes  of  increasing  poverty  "the  existence  in  certain  com- 
munes of  communal  properties  on  which  many  a  young  man  relies 
instead  of  seeking  to  advance  his  interests  elsewhere."  In  the  Can- 
ton Bern,  between  1840-50,  a  commission  declared :  "The  highest 
numbers  of  dependents  in  proportion  to  the  number  of  citizens  is : 
(i)  In  the  city  parishes  where  large  poor  funds  foster  the  careless- 
ness of  the  poor;  (2)  in  communes  where  the  common  estates  are 
relatively  greatest;  (3)  in  communes  where  the  greatest  gratuitous 
enjoyments  are  furnished;  (4)  in  communes  where  the  situation  is 
most  unfavorable  for  opportunities  of  employment."  The  states- 
man, Blosch,  of  Bern,  said :    "It  is  a  fact  that  everywhere  where 

^  V.  Bohmert  (in  Emminghaus,  Armenwesen,  p.  468). 


I40 


MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 


there  are  the  largest  incomes  from  common  estates  there  is  most 
indolence,  laziness  and  shunning  of  labor." 

But  since  the  resident  poor  must  be  provided  for  at  home  if  they 
were  not  to  be  compelled  to  wander  elsewhere  to  beg,  the  cantons 
gradually  advanced  from  merely  repressive  measures  to  positive 
assistance,  at  first  depending  entirely  on  voluntary  gifts  for  the 
sources  of  relief,  and  slowly  adding  means  from  regular  revenues. 
In  the  year  of  1551  Baden  legally  adopted  the  principle  that  every 
locality  should  support  its  own  indigent  people,  and  the  German 
cantons  (with  the  exception  of  Basel),  during  the  Reformation  period 
developed  a  civil  system  of  poor-relief.  The  French  cantons  and 
Basel  continued  to  depend  on  legacies  and  voluntary  contributions. 
In  recent  times  even  some  of  the  French  cantons  have  followed  the 
same  plan;  as  Freiburg  in  1869,  Waadtland  in  1898,  Neuenburg  in 
1889,  and  the  Bernese  Jura  in  1897;  so  that  now  only  Geneva  and 
the  city  of  Basel  are  without  public  relief  organization,  and  Basel 
is  moving  in  the  same  direction.  Generally  where  there  is  public 
relief  its  privileges  are  quite  rigidly  confined  to  citizens,  and  when 
one  who  possesses  full  civic  rights  moves  to  another  canton  or  coun- 
try he  retains  his  claim  to  relief  from  the  place  of  legal  settlement. 
There  being  no  legal  provision  for  foreigners  these  must  be  aided  by 
voluntary  charity,  and  the  number  of  such  cases  is  considerable. 

Lazes  of  Settlement. — In  a  country  like  America  where  men 
travel  freely,  settle  where  they  like,  and  generally  soon  acquire  all 
the  rights  of  the  place  of  residence,  it  is  somewhat  difficult  to  imagine 
the  traditions  and  customs  of  Switzerland  where  ancient  ideas  have 
still  deep  influence.  One  custom  which  has  long  had  legal  force  is 
that  of  reserving  for  local  citizenship  the  right  to  receive  relief  in 
time  of  need.  This  right  was  inherited  from  a  line  of  ancestors  who 
have  shared  the  fortunes  of  the  commune,  or  who  have  purchased  the 
right  to  a  place  in  the  ranks  of  the  population,  or  who  have  been  ac- 
cepted by  formal  action.  It  was  difficult  to  gain  admission  to  those 
privileges,  and  the  rights  would  follow  a  citizen  even  if  he  moved  to 
another  region.  This  is  the  principle  of  local  cithenship  (Ortsbiirg- 
ergenossenschaftsrecht).  It  is  manifest  that  this  legal  arrangement 
would  become  more  and  more  unsatisfactory  under  modern  industrial 
conditions  which  require  men  to  travel  and  reside  in  various  parts  of 
the  country  as  their  employments  change.  A  different  principle  is 
that  of  territorial  right  to  poor-relief,  according  to  which  the  mere 


SWITZERLAND 


141 


fact  of  residence  in  a  place  gives  rise  to  a  claim,  without  any  formal 
adoption  into  the  ranks  of  the  association  of  ancient  families.  Thus 
Bern,  in  1857,  rn^de  a  law  which  required  the  communes  to  give 
poor-relief  on  the  basis  of  residence  and  not  as  a  citizen's  right ;  and 
relief  on  the  basis  of  local  citizenship  might  be  retained  only  in  com- 
munes which  were  able  to  cover  the  entire  expense  of  relief ;  and  the 
number  of  such  communes  has  steadily  decreased.  In  1901  only  13 
such  existed,  the  city  of  Bern  being  one.  The  obligation  to  give  poor- 
reHef  was  limited  to  citizens  resident  in  the  township.  A  distinction 
was  made  between  those  who  require  continuous  relief  (Nofanneii) 
and  those  who  require  only  temporary  relief  (Diirftigen).  The 
regular  paupers  were  to  be  formally  accepted  and  permanently  listed, 
while  the  transient  paupers  were  treated  as  casual.  Regular  pau- 
pers were  to  be  assisted  out  of  the  income  from  certain  fees  and 
the  products  of  community  property,  with  a  subsidy  from  the  state ; 
while  the  relief  of  transient  indigents  was  left  in  the  main  to  organ- 
ized private  charity  {Spendgut  und  Krankengut) . 

The  law  of  1857  revealed  defects  in  the  course  of  administration; 
the  relief  of  transient  poor  was  not  adequate,  since  the  sources  were 
too  meager.  In  the  Bernese  Jura  district  the  customary  voluntary 
charity  of  the  commune  was  retained.  In  1S97  a  new  law  was  en- 
acted governing  relief  and  settlement,  the  ground  having  been  care- 
fully prepared  by  the  thorough  investigation  of  Ritchard,  Director 
of  Poor-Relief.  By  this  law  poor-relief  in  the  entire  canton  is 
placed  under  uniform  regulations,  and  the  Jura  region  is  included 
in  its  provisions.  Adjustments  are  made  for  the  period  of  transi- 
tion. All  residents  in  the  territory  are  entitled  to  relief  and  the  terms 
of  settlement  are  fixed.  Residence  {Wohnsitz)  is  the  condition  of 
sharing  in  the  relief.  Residence  implies  taking  a  dwelling  with  the 
purpose  of  remaining  in  the  place.  Members  of  a  community  share 
the  rights  of  settlement  ( Unterstiitcungszvohnsitc)  according  to  cer- 
tain rules.  Registration  for  settlement  is  not  accorded  without  con- 
ditions ;  it  can  be  made  dependent  on  having  a  dwelling  or  something 
equivalent.  The  person  may  be  excluded  when  he  becomes  a  per- 
manent burden  on  public  relief  and  when  the  home  commune,  in  spite 
of  official  notification,  does  not  provide  adequate  support.  Relief  is 
an  obligation  of  the  commune  of  residence,  with  the  provision  that 
it  is  entitled,  if  the  person  relieved  has  not  lived  two  full  years  in  the 
commune,  to  demand  of  the  former  commune  of  residence  repayment 


142  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

of  the  costs.  When  a  citizen  of  a  canton  leaves  its  territory  with 
the  purpose  of  residing  elsewhere,  then  for  two  years  from  the  time 
when  he  departs  he  retains  his  former  settlement.  In  certain  cases 
part  of  the  cost  is  paid  by  the  state.  In  the  new  law  the  state  has 
been  made  responsible  in  a  greater  degree  for  equalizing  the  burden 
of  poor-relief  by  taxing  income  in  proportion  to  ability,  and  distrib- 
uting funds  in  proportion  to  need.  Close  organization  has  been  ef- 
fected and  placed  under  supervision  and  control.  The  distinction 
between  permanent  and  transient  paupers  is  retained,  and  there  are 
separate  sources  of  relief,  the  permanent  paupers  being  supplied  from 
fees  and  income  from  domains,  and  the  temporary  indigent  from 
voluntary  contributions.  But  a  significant  change  is  here  to  be 
noted :  The  state  gives  a  subsidy  for  the  permanent  paupers  of 
60  to  70  per  cent,  of  what  is  lacking  in  a  commune,  and  voluntary 
gifts  may  be  supplemented  when  necessary  by  the  commune  and  the 
state.  In  case  the  income  from  free  gifts,  legacies,  fines,  repayments, 
etc.,  are  not  sufficient,  and  the  commune  must  pay  additions  out  of 
its  treasury,  then  the  state  grants  a  subsidy  of  40  to  50  per  cent, 
for  the  adults  and  60  to  70  per  cent,  for  children.  Relief  of  out- 
siders includes  persons  who  reside  in  Switzerland  but  outside  of 
their  own  cantons  and  are  citizens  of  communes  which  have  local 
(ortliche)  relief;  and  these  are  to  be  assisted  out  of  the  voluntary 
fund  (Spcndkasse)  during  two  years  from  their  departure  from  their 
former  residence.  On  the  contrary,  paupers  who  are  absent  more 
than  two  years  and  have  not  already  been  relieved  or  have  not  been 
excluded  on  account  of  being  dependent,  are  helped  by  the  state  from 
its  fund  for  strangers.  The  expenditure  of  the  state  for  the  tran- 
sient indigent  in  the  old  canton  is  reckoned  at  205,000  fr.,  for  the 
new  at  39,500  fr.,  and  for  the  relief  of  non-residents  at  150,000  fr. 
The  state  takes  a  large  share  in  the  indoor  relief,  maintains  institu- 
tions which  for  technical  reasons  can  be  better  erected  by  the  state, 
but  to  which  the  communes  have  to  contribute.  The  entire  state  ex- 
penditures for  poor-relief  are  estimated  at  2,000,000  fr.,  of  which 
50,000  fr.  go  to  expenses  of  administration. 

The  law  prohibits  the  placing  of  children  of  school  age  in  poor- 
houses.  Care  for  such  children,  which  may  be  either  moral  or  finan- 
cial, is  continued  during  the  time  they  should  be  at  school.  Chil- 
dren under  16  years  of  age  may,  if  neglected,  be  placed  by  the  Coun- 
cil of  Administration  under  agents  of  compulsory  education.     Super- 


SWITZERLAND 


143 


vision  is  exercised  by  the  Directory  of  Poor-Relief  in  connection  with 
the  cantonal  poor  commission  which  has  two  instructors,  one  for  out- 
door and  the  other  for  institutional  relief. 

Reform  of  Poor  Law  in  Zurich. — In  1901  the  authorities  were 
at  work  on  a  new  poor  law.  The  impulse  toward  new  legislation 
came  from  the  commune  of  Hedingen,  a  suburb  of  Zurich,  in  1892, 
which  desired  to  introduce  the  territorial  principle  instead  of  the  local 
civil  principle  in  poor-relief.  The  request  was  referred  by  the  can- 
tonal council  to  a  commission,  which,  after  six  years  of  preparation, 
on  May  19,  1899,  proposed  a  draft  for  a  poor  law  which  sought  to 
meet  the  wishes  of  Hedingen.  The  draft  was  accompanied  with 
an  explanation  of  reasons,  many  general  considerations,  citations 
from  literature,  especially  of  Germany,  and  much  statistical  ma- 
terial. The  draft  which  even  in  the  commission  had  a  minority  of 
opponents  was  not  acceptable  to  the  cantonal  council.  In  Zurich 
the  principle  has  been  accepted  that  when  the  poor  tax  becomes  too 
heavy  (beyond  i  per  cent.)  in  a  commune,  the  canton  is  to  give 
relief  and  equalize  the  burden.  Inequalities  are  illustrated  by  these 
facts  (1898)  :  While  the  city  of  Zurich  paid  out  281,568  fr.  to  aid 
1,283  persons,  and  received  nothing  from  the  state;  Urdorff  spent 
8,233  fr.  on  59  poor  and  received  a  state  subsidy  of  5,946  fr. ;  Hoeugg, 
with  "^2  paupers  and  an  expenditure  of  10,100  fr.,  had  only  133  fr. 
from  the  state.  The  chief  city  of  the  canton  of  Zurich  occupies  a 
favorable  position  in  comparison  with  most  other  communities,  both 
in  respect  to  income  from  taxes  and  means  to  supplement  public 
relief.  In  the  report  of  1899  the  entire  number  of  persons  assisted 
was  1,283,  most  of  whom  were  permanent  charges;  the  expenditure 
was  281,568  fr.,  a  small  part  for  transient  paupers,  and  most  of  it, 
172,542  fr.,  for  aged  persons  and  defectives,  and  93,932  fr.  for  chil- 
dren. 

The  Federal  Government. — The  earlier  federal  law  permitted 
cantons  to  refuse  settlement  to  those  who  were  not  able  to  prove 
ability  to  support  themselves  and  their  families,  and  to  send  away 
those  immigrants  who  became  dependent.  This  arrangement  gave 
rise  to  many  hardships  as  travel  increased,  and  it  contradicted  the 
sense  of  federal  citizenship.  The  federal  constitution  of  1874  (art. 
45)  restricted  this  power  of  the  canton  and  secured  greater  freedom 
of  change  of  residence  to  citizens ;  and  under  this  article  cantons 
are  permitted  to  refuse  settlement  only  to  those  who  are  permanently 


144 


MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 


dependent  and  whose  home  community  refuses  needed  relief  after 
official  notification.  A  pauper  may  not  be  removed  to  his  former 
home  without  notice  to  the  authorities.  An  exception  is  made  only 
in  case  of  cantons  which  have  adopted  the  territorial  system  of  relief ; 
and  here  permission  to  settle  may  be  conditioned  on  proof  that  the 
immigrant  is  able  to  earn  his  support  and  has  not  been  dependent 
in  his  former  place  of  residence. 

In  earlier  times,  when  the  local  responsibility  for  support  was  the 
rule,  the  localities  sought  to  protect  themselves  against  surplus  popu- 
lation by  making  marriage  difficult,  and  sometimes  the  authorities 
would  refuse  to  give  a  license  to  marry.  This  custom  led  to  much 
illegitimacy  and  it  has  been  abolished  by  modern  legislation.  Article 
54  of  the  federal  constitution  guarantees  freedom  of  marriage  to 
all  citizens. 

A  federal  law  of  1875  regulates  inter-cantonal  poor-relief  by 
requiring  a  canton  to  assist  citizens  of  another  canton  who  fall  sick 
or  cannot  be  returned  to  the  place  of  settlement  without  injury  to 
health.  The  relief  must  include  care,  medical  treatment  and,  in 
case  of  death,  a  decent  burial.  A  repayment  of  expenditures  is  made 
only  when  the  needy  person  or  his  relatives  have  means ;  but  the 
funds  and  institutions  of  the  place  of  settlement  are  not  liable.  The 
same  obligation  rests  on  the  cantons  in  relation  to  the  case  of  for- 
eigners, whenever  the  Federation  has  treaties  of  reciprocity,  as  with 
Austria-Hungary,  Germany,  Italy,  France  and  Belgium. 

Direct  aid  from  the  Federation  is  unimportant.  In  the  Swiss  sta- 
tistics of  relief  given,  under  a  law  of  1874,  to  invalid  soldiers,  or 
those  left  by  them  dependent,  the  aid  given  is  something  half-way 
between  a  state  pension  and  poor-relief.  In  1890,  41  transient  and 
225  permanent  indigents  received  about  70,000  fr.  in  this  way.  The 
Federation  also  expends  upon  benevolent  societies  in  other  countries 
about  23,600  fr.,  in  addition  to  20,500  fr.  from  the  cantons.  The  aid 
societies  supported  in  1890  altogether  27,260  persons,  at  a  cost  of 
245,220  fr.  The  Federation  places  at  the  disposal  of  the  cantons 
financial  means  in  the  so-called  "alcohol  tithe,"  which  in  part  goes  to 
poor-relief. 

Reforms  of  Poor  Lazvs. — Christinger,  in  a  report  to  the  Benevo- 
lent Society  in  1899  spoke  of  the  prospects  for  changes  in  the  law : 
"The  hour  for  a  Swiss  poor  law  has  not  yet  arrived.  Other  legis- 
lative tasks  occupy  the  attention  of  the  Federation  and  will  do  so  for  a 


SWITZERLAND  145 

long  time.  The  constitution  must  be  changed  to  enable  the  legis- 
lature to  act  in  this  field.  The  cantons  must  continue  to  go  forward 
independently  in  this  matter,  so  far  as  they  are  not  restricted  by  fed- 
eral laws  already  enacted.  It  is  not  necessary  that  they  shall  pro- 
ceed in  exactly  the  same  manner,  but  it  is  desirable  that  they  make 
progress  and  meet  the  needs  of  the  time  and,  naturally,  they  will  ap- 
proach the  same  forms."  As  progressive  and  suitable  measures  he 
mentions :  Guaranty  of  relief  as  in  the  German  poor  law,  not  on 
complaint  of  the  party,  but  by  administrative  action ;  the  obligation 
of  the  place  of  residence  to  furnish  relief  provisionally  until  a  reckon- 
ing can  be  made  with  the  place  of  legal  settlement;  the  equalization 
of  the  burden  by  means  of  state  contributions ;  the  authorization  of 
the  communes  to  cover  deficits  by  taxes ;  and  a  voluntary  charity  so 
organized  as  to  meet  the  defects  of  the  regular  poor-relief. 

B.  Administration. — Switzerland  is  a  federation  of  cantons, 
each  of  which  retains  a  high  degree  of  independence  in  legislation, 
and  there  is  naturally  a  great  variety  of  methods  and  regulations  not 
only  of  cantons  but  also  of  different  localities  in  the  same  canton. 
The  measures  used  in  rural  neighborhoods  differ  from  those  found 
suitable  for  cities  and  towns. 

The  Canton. — There  is  a  tendency  to  equalize  the  burden  of 
relief  by  the  aid  given  to  poorer  communes  from  the  larger  area  of 
cantons.  In  Bern,  Zurich,  Aargau,  Thurgau  and  lately  in  Basel 
the  subsidies  of  the  cantons  are  considerable,  while  in  Zug,  St.  Gall 
and  elsewhere  they  are  limited  in  amount,  and  in  Geneva  and  Ap- 
penzell  entirely  wanting.  In  some  cases  the  state  aids  certain 
charitable  societies  or  supports  institutions,  as  those  for  the  insane, 
hospitals,  and  asylums  in  which  the  indigent  of  the  canton  are  re- 
ceived gratuitously  or  at  low  cost.  Sometimes  direct  aid  is  given 
to  particular  forms  of  relief,  as  for  the  blind,  deaf  mutes,  insane, 
feeble  minded,  and  dependent  children. 

The  canton  of  Aargau  contributed  in  1896  the  sum  of  53,523  fr., 
of  which  13,762  fr.  were  for  needy  communes,  8,960  fr.  for  direct 
poor-relief,  and  30,800  fr.  for  benevolent  societies  and  institutions. 
The  cantonal  institutions  and  poor-relief  gave  56,959  fr.  The  canton 
also  pays  physicians  of  the  poor,  and  subsidizes  institutions  for  the 
insane  and  deaf  mutes,  and  the  work-house. 

Neuenburg  (law  of  1889)  aids  the  communes  when  the  burden 
is  unduly  heavy.     Cantonal  institutions  are  supplied  for  the  sick; 

10 


146  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

but  those  for  the  defectives  are  inadequate.  When  special  technical 
considerations  enter  or  a  large  outlay  is  necessary  the  cantons  gen- 
erally assume  the  task. 

The  local  assembly  (Amtsvcrsammlung)  constitutes  a  medium 
between  the  commune  and  the  administration.  Poor-inspectors  are 
appointed  for  larger  areas,  but  their  activity  is  not  a  part  of  a  regu- 
lar function. 

Relatively  severe  penalties  are  provided  for  certain  transfers  and 
neglect  of  the  duty  of  relief,  and  the  grant  of  state  subsidies  is  con- 
ditioned on  the  observance  of  legal  requirements  on  the  part  of  the 
local  officials.  In  addition  to  the  relief  of  residents  that  of  citizens 
of  the  commune  is  retained  in  so  far  as  the  commune  can  show  that 
it  can  support  all  its  poor  who  live  outside  its  bounds.  Practically 
this  requirement  is  significant  for  the  city  of  Bern  and  also  for 
Jura. 

Outside  of  Bern  the  only  canton  which  has  introduced  the  ter- 
ritorial principle  and  obligatory  poor-relief  is  the  canton  of  Neuen- 
burg  (law  of  1888).  The  duty  of  relief  is  extended  to  cover  all 
citizens  of  the  commune  who  reside  in  the  commune,  and  all  who  are 
of  the  same  canton  in  other  communes.  The  principle  of  local  com- 
munity obligation  is  only  so  far  retained  as  that  relief  of  citizens  who 
dwell  outside  the  canton  remains  a  duty  of  the  home  commune ;  but 
in  this  case  obligation  is  limited  to  receiving  back  their  poor  who  be- 
come a  charge  elsewhere.  In  this  canton  obligatory  relief  applies 
only  to  permanent  paupers,  with  whom  the  sick  are  counted. 

Method  and  Measure  of  Relief. — While  free  play  is  given  by  the 
law  to  the  authorities  in  respect  to  the  limits  of  their  activities,  yet  as  a 
rule  in  practice  these  boards  have  restricted  their  aid  to  the  regular 
paupers  (Notarmen),  i.  e.,  those  who  are  for  the  time  or  permanently 
incapable  of  labor  (orphans  and  dependent  children,  old  people,  in- 
valids, defectives,  sick)  ;  and  during  the  last  ten  years  this  limitation 
has  been  formulated  in  rules.  This  does  not  entirely  exclude  assist- 
ance to  persons  able  to  work  if  they  have  become  dependent  from 
any  cause ;  but  such  aid  is  not  ordinarily  regarded  as  obligatory.  If 
the  person  aided  comes  into  possession  of  means  he  is  expected  to 
repay  what  has  been  given  him ;  and  relatives  who  are  able  to  assist 
are  first  called  upon  to  bear  the  burden ;  although  the  rules  vary  in 
the  different  cantons.  The  chief  form  of  affording  help  is  that  of 
assistance  to  needy  families  in  their  homes ;  but  it  is  becoming  very 


SWITZERLAND  I47 

common  to  help  orphans  by  boarding  them  in  famiHes,  Care  by 
means  of  boarding  around  is  in  some  cantons  employed  and  in 
others  forbidden.  The  care  of  children  called  farm  care  is  dimin- 
ishing. Relief  in  institutions  is  most  common  in  case  of  the  insane, 
sick,  orphans,  and  also  very  generally  with  the  aged,  invalid  and 
feeble  minded.  Communal  poorhouses  are  more  common  in  the 
northeast  part  of  Switzerland.  Regulations  in  respect  to  compulsory 
measures  against  paupers  who  refuse  to  submit  to  the  requirements 
of  the  poor  law,  and  against  persons  who  decline  to  help  their  poor 
relations,  or  who  make  themselves  dependent  through  frivolity  or 
vice,  are  made  in  most  of  the  cantons ;  and  as  a  rule  these  compulsory 
means  may  go  as  far  as  confinement  in  the  work-house,  house  of  cor- 
rection or  prison,  so  that  their  required  labor  may  be  utilized ;  and 
temporary  loss  of  civil  rights  may  be  added.  In  particular  points 
the  laws  in  respect  to  the  range  and  order  of  compulsory  measures 
and  the  procedure  differ  widely  from  each  other.  Several  com- 
munes, including  Bern  itself,  the  principal  city,  have  made  use  of 
the  provision  of  the  new  law  to  free  themselves  from  the  legal  public 
relief  obligations.  This  is  allowed  on  condition  that  the  commune 
supports  its  own  dependent  citizens  at  home  or  elsewhere  out  of  its 
own  means.  The  entire  income  of  the  Poor  Property  in  the  com- 
munes of  the  old  part  of  the  canton  was  19,500,000  fr.,  of  the  new 
part  of  the  canton  4,000,000  fr.,  of  which  Bern  city  had  15,500,000 
fr,,  Burgdorf  2,100,000  and  Thun  1,350,000  fr.  The  total  number 
of  persons  aided  in  the  canton  of  Bern  in  1899  was  16,840,  of  whom 
7,258  were  children  and  9,582  adults.  The  cost  for  them  was  1,700,- 
000  fr.,  of  which  two-thirds  went  to  adults  and  one-third  to  children. 
The  voluntary  contributions  were  366,000  fr.  The  communes  gave 
550,000  fr.  and  the  state  gave  826,000  fr.  or  nearly  one-half.  In  the 
case  of  the  temporary  dependents,  who  numbered  over  6,000,  the 
aid  given  was  438,400  fr.,  and  the  state  added  161,000  fr.  The  re- 
lief of  settled  citizens  (burgerliche  Armenpflege)  was  given  to  2,550 
permanent  and  2,159  temporary  indigents,  in  all  4,709,  at  a  cost  of 
632,020  fr.  In  addition  the  state  gave  out  of  the  product  of  the 
alcohol  monopoly  tithe  40,000  fr.  for  the  support  of  benevolent  in- 
stitutions, chiefly  for  the  care  and  education  of  children. 

The  results  of  the  new  poor  law,  which  had  to  reckon  with  a  great 
increase  of  indigents  entitled  to  relief  in  other  communes  or  cantons, 
were  apparent  in  the  increase  of  expense  for  poor-relief  outside. 


148  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

Those  who  were  sent  back  to  their  homes  must  be  aided  in  institu- 
tions, which  costs  double  what  it  would  to  aid  them  in  their  homes. 
In  1897  the  expense  for  3,143  indigents  was  211,000  fr.,  and  in  1899 
the  figures  rose  to  295,570  fr.  for  3,543  paupers.  The  average  ex- 
pense rose  from  60  fr.  in  1895  to  83.40  fr.  in  1899. 

Inspectors. — Of  special  importance  is  the  "Inspectorate,"  to 
which  great  significance  was  attached  from  the  beginning  in  intro- 
ducing and  carrying  through  the  law.  A  distinction  is  made  between 
the  cantonal  poor  inspector  and  the  district  inspector.  The  principal 
duties  of  the  cantonal  inspector  are  to  carefully  follow  all  events  in 
the  field  of  poor-relief  and  direct  his  attention  to  all  which  gives 
promise  of  improvement  or  the  removal  of  defects  and  evils  and  to 
make  proposals  for  betterment  in  the  various  localities.  Such  inspec- 
tion had  already  been  made  here  and  there  in  the  case  of  non-resident 
paupers  who  were  aided  by  the  state,  especially  in  the  cantons  of 
Solothurn  and  Zurich,  and  to  some  extent  in  Zug  and  Lucerne.  The 
official  made  it  his  task  to  examine  carefully  to  see  whether  the  aid 
given  was  in  harmony  with  the  needs  of  the  indigents.  This  was 
not  always  found  to  be  true.  Not  seldom  the  circumstances  of  an 
assisted  family  had  become  more  easy  in  the  course  of  time,  so  that 
a  reduction  or  an  entire  withdrawal  of  the  relief  could  be  made.  On 
the  other  side  the  inspector  found  cases  where  the  family  had  come 
into  a  harder  condition,  and  the  former  aid  was  not  adequate  and 
should  be  raised.  The  inspector  gave  a  brief  report  to  the  di- 
rectory of  each  case  and  made  such  suggestions  of  change  as  he 
thought  to  be  wise.  In  the  report  a  long  series  of  examples  are 
given  of  instances  in  which  the  intervention  of  the  inspector  was  use- 
ful. The  district  inspectors  are  required  to  consider  the  formation 
of  the  budget  and  by  inspection  of  individual  cases  at  home  to  sat- 
isfy themselves  that  the  law  is  properly  applied  and  the  aid  given  is 
suitable.  In  the  report  for  1899  the  inspectors  for  the  first  time  gave 
in  their  report  of  this  house  inspection  and  their  account  to  the  di- 
rectory of  poor-relief.  The  report  was  to  cover  cases  of  those  who 
were  boarded  out  or  cared  for  themselves.  A  book  had  to  be  kept 
for  each  person.  In  order  to  make  this  easier  for  the  inspector  an 
extra  inspection  book  was  furnished  for  each  one  in  which  the  local 
clerks  wrote  down  the  names  of  each  pauper  and  the  name  of  the 
almoner  and  the  place  of  relief. 

Zurich. — An  illustration  of  an  evil  felt  in  many  countries  may  be 


SWITZERLAND  I^g 

taken  from  a  case  in  Zurich,  in  a  case  of  removal  of  a  pauper.  A 
poor  woman  was  refused  help  in  the  commune  and  went  to  a  com- 
mune where  she  had  formerly  resided.  This  commune  gave  the 
woman  20  fr.  and  sent  her  to  Zurich  and  advised  her  to  try  her  for- 
tune there  once  more.  In  Zurich  the  woman  appeared  before  the 
agents  of  voluntary  charity  for  residents,  was  a  second  time  sent  to 
her  place  of  residence,  and  was  immediately  returned  for  the  third 
time  to  Zurich.  The  importance  of  having  the  help  come  from  the 
place  of  residence  is  keenly  felt.  When  this  principle  is  carried  out 
the  locality  is  more  inclined  to  enter  upon  improvements  and  meas- 
ures, as,  for  example,  the  greatest  possible  restriction  of  aid  to  out- 
siders, the  abolition  of  abuses,  the  restoration  of  personal  relations 
between  boards  and  paupers,  better  education  of  children,  and  unity 
in  the  plans  of  support.  When  paupers  are  aided  outside  the  place 
of  actual  residence  it  is  very  difficult  to  maintain  personal  oversight 
of  them,  but  when  they  are  aided  where  they  reside  the  task  becomes 
more  comprehensive  and  grateful.  Money  is  no  longer  regarded  as 
the  sole  means  of  assistance.  Encouragement,  counsel,  preventive 
and  temporary  measures,  adapted  and  timely  help,  guidance  into  self- 
help  are  possible,  and  action  in  view  of  circumstances  rigorous  or 
protective  is  practicable  without  too  great  expense.  The  coopera- 
tion of  women  in  poor-relief,  on  which  great  emphasis  is  laid,  and 
rightly,  can  be  employed  only  in  local  relief  where  all  have  access  to 
the  means  of  help.  It  is  not  a  woman's  disposition  to  inquire  for  a 
certificate  of  citizenship  ;  she  sees  need  and  misery  and  gives  aid. 

C.  Private  Charity. — It  is  not  possible  sharply  to  separate 
private  from  public  relief  in  Switzerland.  The  commune  has  many 
of  the  features  of  an  overgrown  household,  and  mutual  help  better 
designates  relief  than  does  a  poor  tax.  The  income  from  ancient 
domains,  common  property  of  the  civil  corporation,  is  an  important 
source  of  income,  available  for  the  needy.  Thus  in  1895  out  of  276 
districts  (Ortsbiirgergemeinde)  of  the  canton  of  Aargau,  115  did 
not  need  to  levy  a  poor  tax.  Sometimes  when  voluntary  gifts  are 
inadequate  they  are  supplemented  by  a  subsidy  from  the  funds  of  the 
commune,  as,  under  the  law  of  1857,  was  the  case  in  the  canton  of 
Bern.  Even  when,  as  in  Geneva  and  the  City  of  Basel,  there  is  no 
tax,  there  are  sources  of  public  income  available  for  relief. 

By  the  law  of  1897  in  Basel  the  bureau  of  alms,  the  asylum  and 
the  orphanage  are  reserved  for  relief  of  citizens.     Transients  from 


ISO 


MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 


abroad  are  helped  by  voluntary  contributions.  Owing  to  the 
acknowledged  inadequacy  of  voluntary  gifts,  the  tendency  is  to  ex- 
tend state  subsidies  to  private  charities  and  to  help  non-residents. 
Citizens  who  are  permanently  dependent  are  assisted  by  the  civil 
officers ;  non-residents  and  aliens,  in  certain  cases,  are  thus  aided 
only  after  a  residence  of  two  years  in  the  commune,  but  the  authori- 
ties of  their  former  home  must  contribute.  The  state  grants  a  sub- 
sidy not  to  exceed  one-third  of  the  year's  expenditure.  The  state 
provides  for  persons  who  are  over  60  years  of  age,  who  have  for 
twenty-five  years  resided  in  the  canton,  of  which  five  years  immedi- 
ately precede  the  application. 

Relief  is  given  in  an  institution  or  otherwise.  Burial  funds  are 
provided,  and  the  sick  are  given  treatment  (laws  of  1885  and  1891). 
Even  in  voluntary  charity  residents  may  be  legally  required,  under 
penalty  for  refusal,  to  act  as  visitors.  Women  may  perform  this 
duty. 

Benevolent  Societies. — The  principal  organization  is  the  Swiss 
Benevolent  Society  which  grew  out  of  the  Zurich  Aid  Society  founded 
in  1799,  and  it  includes  all  cantons  of  the  Federation.  The  primary 
inspiration  and  direction  came  from  the  philanthropical  sentiments 
of  the  Illumination  (Aufkldning),  and  educational  methods  were 
emphasized,  since  the  philanthropists  expected  the  removal  of  all 
evils  from  education.  Of  late  the  society  has  entered  into  the  field 
of  preventive  philanthropy  and  social  legislation.  The  organ  of  the 
movement  is  the  Swiss  Journal  of  Beneficence,  now  over  40  years 
old.  Hunziker,  the  historian  of  the  society,  informs  us  that  the  topics 
chiefly  discussed  by  it  are  such  as  these :  Work-houses  and  poor- 
houses,  care  of  children,  local  and  territorial  poor-relief,  shelter  for 
wanderers.  Red  Cross  Society,  etc.  Only  three  small  cantons  are 
without  organization  of  benevolent  agencies.  In  Aargau,  Solothurn 
and  Zurich  the  district  societies  are  affiliated  with  a  central  society. 
In  the  French  cantons  there  are  similar  associations  to  promote  econo- 
my and  public  utility.  The  association  of  Basel  is  famous.  These 
societies  interest  themselves  in  care  of  poor  school  children,  infir- 
maries, feeding  and  clothing  poor  school  children,  care  of  inebriates 
and  medical  supervision  of  schools. 

There  is  an  important  auxiliary  society  of  women  which  has 
established  a  school  for  nurses  at  Zurich  in  connection  with  a  women's 
hospital.     The  nurses  are  to  be  independent  and  not  bound,  as  dea- 


SWITZERLAND 


ISI 


conesses  are,  to  a  mother-house.  The  prospectus  announces  the  pur- 
pose to  give  women  easier  access  to  a  useful  profession :  "We  Hve 
in  an  age  when  women  strive  and  are  often  compelled  to  open  up  new 
ways  of  earning  a  living.  It  seems  proper  to  make  it  possible  for 
women  to  enter  that  calling  for  which  they  are  fitted  by  nature,  and 
which  secures  the  fullest  satisfaction  and  the  widest  development  of 
feminine  gifts.  Not  every  young  woman  who  likes  nursing  can  enter 
an  order,  it  may  be  for  confessional  reasons  or  because  they  cannot 
release  themselves  from  prior  family  claims  so  long  as  the  orders 
require."  The  prospectus  speaks  with  regret  of  the  necessity  of 
sending  women  to  other  countries,  as  to  England,  for  technical  train- 
ing; and  the  purpose  is  declared  to  provide  at  home  for  their  profes- 
sional instruction. 

The  city  of  Zurich  assists  only  persons  with  legal  claims  of  settle- 
ment, and  therefore  indigent  persons  from  other  places  must  be 
helped  from  a  different  source. 

Here  enters  the  "Voluntary  and  Resident  Relief,"  which  is  some- 
thing more  than  a  private  benevolent  society  and  fully  performs  the 
function  of  an  agency  for  relief  of  transient  indigents.  Its  expendi- 
tures in  1898  were  260,000  fr.  for  2,082  temporary  and  384  perma- 
nent paupers,  of  whom  2,100  were  Swiss  and  the  others  from  foreign 
countries ;  citizens  of  the  city  260,  of  the  canton  888,  and  other  Swiss 
citizens  865.  The  expenditures  on  the  members  of  other  Swiss  com- 
munes are  largely  repaid;  in  1898  the  sum  of  nearly  150,000  fr.  were 
thus  repaid,  so  that  the  "territorial  principle"  here  is  closely  approx- 
imated. 

E.      Co-OPERATION 

Directory  of  Charities  (Zurich). — Apart  from  official  tasks  there 
is  a  tendency  of  poor-relief  to  foster  a  closer  union  between  institu- 
tions of  voluntary  charity  in  order  to  prevent  the  professional  ex- 
ploitation of  charity.  This  task  is  greatly  lightened  by  the  publica- 
tion of  a  charity  directory  of  the  entire  benevolent  agencies  of  Zurich, 
which  bears  the  title  "Zurich,  deine  Wohlthaten  erhalten  dich,"  which 
appeared  in  July,  1900.  This  beautifully  written  and  illustrated  vol- 
ume furnishes  a  history  of  Zurich  benevolence.  It  deals  with  167 
benevolent  institutions  and  associations  of  the  city  of  Zurich  whose 
annual  expenditures  are  5  2-3  millions  of  francs ;  the  divisions  being, 
for: 


1^2  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

A.  Poor-relief  (round  numbers) 545,000  fr. 

B.  Medical  relief 2,835,000  fr. 

C.  Care  of  children 320,000  fr. 

D.  Care  of  aged 40,000  fr. 

E.  Social  amelioration 1,500,000  fr. 

F.  Endowments  and  funds 320,000  fr. 

G.  Beautifying  Zurich 105,000  fr. 

The  editor  of  the  book  calls  attention  to  the  fact  that  relatively  too 
little  is  given  for  care  of  children  and  urges  contributions  for  this 
purpose.  The  detailed  descriptions  of  organs  of  beneficence  reveal 
to  the  prosperous  citizens  the  agencies  by  which,  through  gift  or 
legacy,  they  can  practically  express  their  sympathy,  A  charity  di- 
rectory of  this  kind  has  high  value  in  stimulating  and  guiding  benefi- 
cence, as  in  Berlin,  London,  Paris,  New  York,  Boston,  etc. 

G.  Homeless  Dependents,  Vagrants  and  Stations  for 
Help. — The  gaps  left  by  the  restriction  of  local  relief  to  citizens  of 
the  place  (Ortsbiirger)  are  enlarged  by  the  fact  that  assistance  is 
legally  provided  only  for  regular  paupers.  Thus  it  happened  that 
the  temporarily  unemployed  who  were  unable  to  work  and  the  im- 
migrants who  were  excluded  from  local  relief  were  referred  to  vol- 
untary charity.  The  disadvantages  of  doles  and  indiscriminate  alms- 
giving were  most  apparent  at  the  centers  of  population.  Between 
1870  and  1880  various  societies  were  founded  for  the  purpose  of 
dealing  with  mendicancy  by  aiding  wanderers  with  money  or  food, 
etc.,  by  regular  methods.  More  and  more  the  methods  were  brought 
into  line  with  the  German  methods  {N aturalverpfle gungsstationen) , 
and  in  December,  1887,  the  intercantonal  union  for  stations  of  assist- 
ance was  founded.  The  task  of  this  union  is  to  establish  a  network 
of  stations  and  at  these  to  give  needed  help  to  wanderers  in  the  form 
of  shelter  and  food.  The  eflfort  is  made  so  far  as  possible  to  require 
the  possession  of  satisfactory  certificates  {Ausweisschriften)  and  a 
permit  to  travel  and  receive  help,  and  also  to  demand  labor  in  return 
for  relief  (law  of  July,  1893,  which  supersedes  that  of  1887).  Ac- 
cording to  the  report  for  1896  eleven  cantons  belonged  to  the  Union. 
In  Aargau,  Thurgau,  SchafFhausen,  Lucerne  and  St.  Gall  the  station 
system  is  legally  established,  in  Zurich,  Bern,  Glarus,  Solothurn, 
Basel-Land  and  Zug  it  rests  on  voluntary  action.  The  Union  in- 
cludes chiefly  northeast  Switzerland,  which,  on  account  of  its  prox- 
imity to  Germany  and  Austria,  has  most  need  of  such  an  arrange- 


SWITZERLAND  j^^ 

ment.  While  a  still  closer  connection  is  sought  with  Wurttemburg 
and  Austria,  it  has  already  been  made  with  Baden,  the  annual  assem- 
blies of  the  Union  being  held  alternately  in  Baden  and  in  Switzer- 
land. The  employment  bureau  feature  at  the  stations  is  fostered 
as  far  as  practicable,  but  has  not  extended  beyond  modest  beginnings. 
The  number  of  wanderers  reached  a  total  of  129,234  persons  in  the 
year  1896-7,  of  whom  70,463  were  Swiss  and  41,703  were  Germans. 
The  entire  expenditure  was  112,305  fr.,  of  which  about  half  was  paid 
by  the  states.  To  the  head  of  population  the  expense  reached  8  fr., 
against  12.5  fr.  in  the  former  years.  A  marked  diminution  of  the 
number  of  wanderers  is  noticeable,  being  44,000  in  the  year  of  the 
report  as  compared  with  47,000  of  the  previous  year. 

The  whole  number  assisted  in  1900  was  147,583,  of  whom  40,000 
received  mid-day  and  107,000  night  care ;  Swiss  persons,  59  per 
cent. ;  Germans,  28.5  per  cent.  Expenses  of  all  countries  in  the 
Union  were  136,560  fr. ;  28,000  for  administration,  91,800  fr.  for 
relief  at  night,  57,178  fr.  state  subsidy. 

H.  Care  of  the  Sick  Poor. — Switzerland  originated  and  de- 
veloped a  useful  form  of  charity,  magazines  for  appliances  for  the 
sick.  Reitzenstein  mentioned  them  in  1893.  In  1885  there  were  18 
in  all  Switzerland;  in  1895  there  were  119  communes  in  the  canton 
of  Zurich  alone  which  had  them.  They  have  extended  to  the  north- 
ern cantons,  as  especially  in  Aargau,  Solothurn,  Basel  and  Thurgau. 
The  magazine  in  Zurich  is  a  municipal  institution  and  is  under  the 
supervision  of  the  city  council  and  particularly  under  the  board  of 
health.  The  appliances  are  furnished  on  the  order  of  authorized  phy- 
sicians, and,  in  case  of  necessity,  without  such  order.  After  a  period 
of  use  of  three  months  the  administration  decides  whether  the  holder 
of  the  appliances  has  any  further  need  of  them.  Persons  who  are 
able  must  pay  a  moderate  sum  according  to  a  schedule  of  fees  for 
their  use ;  destitute  persons  and  benevolent  societies  use  them  without 
pay.  Forty-seven  kinds  of  appliances  were  held  for  use  in  Zurich, 
63  in  Bern,  and  in  smaller  places  fewer.  Among  the  appliances  are 
named  bath  apparatus,  thermometer,  bedding,  ice  bags,  rolling  chairs, 
inhalation  apparatus,  sick  chairs,  night  chairs,  crutches,  etc. 

Tuberculosis. — The  recent  movement  to  contend  with  consump- 
tion is  very  earnestly  pressed.  At  present  Switzerland  possesses 
three  large  and  four  smaller  hospitals  with  about  400  beds ;  Bern 
having  400  beds,  Basel  86  beds,  the  Sanatorium  at  Braunweld  29, 


154 


MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 


Zurich  88,  and  some  smaller  ones  15  to  20  beds.  New  hospitals 
are  founded  in  the  cantons  of  Geneva,  Aargau,  Waadt,  Graubiinden, 
St.  Gall,  Lucerne  and  others.  The  hospitals  serve  for  treatment  of 
those  who  are  beginning  to  suffer  from  lung  tuberculosis,  while  ad- 
vanced cases  are  treated  in  ordinary  hospitals. 

Two  new  sanatoria  were  reported  as  opened  in  1902-3.  The 
principal  advance  in  legislation  has  been  the  law  adopted  by  the  peo- 
ple of  Grisons  in  1902.  This  law  prescribes  compulsory  registra- 
tion and  disinfection,  creates  a  laboratory  for  the  examination  of 
sputum,  provides  for  the  special  investigation  of  localities  which 
show  an  undue  number  of  deaths  from  consumption,  and  recommends 
to  neighboring  communes  the  adoption  of  regulations  about  expec- 
toration and  the  disinfection  of  railway  carriages  and  public  places. 
A  movement  has  been  started  in  Bern  for  providing  open-air  resorts 
for  persons  who  from  weakness  or  incomplete  recovery  from  some 
other  illness  or  from  any  predisposing  cause  are  candidates  for  tuber- 
culosis.^ 

Inebriate  Asylums. — Switzerland  is  in  advance  of  other  countries 
in  this  form  of  relief.  It  has  ten  of  these  institutions,  most  of  them 
securely  established.  In  1898,  165  persons  were  cared  for.  Between 
10  and  20  are  accommodated  at  a  time  in  each  establishment.  The 
most  important  is  that  of  Ellikon,  near  Zurich,  founded  in  1889.  The 
medical  measures  employed  are  :  Entire  abstinence,  good  food,  work 
and  moral  and  religious  influences.  On  the  basis  of  experiments 
the  unshaken  judgment  is  held  that  the  instantaneous  removal  of 
liquor,  even  if  at  the  time  it  seems  intolerable  to  the  patient,  never 
has  serious  consequences.  Agricultural  work  is  given  the  prefer- 
ence. The  cases  of  cure  are  not  comparatively  great.  Of  the  pa- 
tients thus  far  treated  846  may  be  described  as  cured,  while  1.346 
were  not  cured,  died,  became  insane  or  are  unknown,  a  ratio  of  39 
to  61  per  cent. ;  while  if  the  insane  and  dead  are  excluded  the  ratio 
is  about  one-half. 
J.     Care  of  Defectives. — 

The  Blind. — In  1895-6  was  taken  a  census  of  the  blind  in  Switzer- 
land, whose  results  have  a  value  for  all  countries.  The  investigation 
was  conducted  by  a  private  committee  aided  by  physicians  in  all  thd 
cantons.  The  federal  government  assisted  the  committee  by  grant- 
ing free  postage  and  paying  the  cost  of  circulars  and  schedules. 

^  Charities,  August  29,  1903. 


SWITZERLAND  1 55 

Certain  difficulties  were  encountered  by  the  investigators ;  it  was 
found  that  the  blind  were  often  averse  to  revealing  their  condition, 
and  that  some  of  the  agents  were  not  sufficiently  careful.  But  the 
results  are  regarded  as  trustworthy  in  all  essential  particulars. 

The  census  of  1895  gave  in  all  2,107  blind  persons,  or  7.22  in 
10,000  of  population,  as  against  2,032  or  7.61  in  10,000  shown  in  the 
census  of  1870.  Switzerland  seems  to  be  about  on  a  level  with  Ger- 
many, and  inferior  only  to  the  Netherlands  and  Denmark  in  European 
countries.  More  males  than  females  are  afflicted.  Blindness  occurs 
frequently  in  the  first  five  years  of  life,  diminishes  with  maturity, 
and  increases  again  in  old  age.  In  respect  to  ownership  of  property 
and  means  of  support  it  appears  that  of  all  the  blind  there  are  only  350 
(16.6  per  cent.)  cared  for  in  institutions;  937  are  employed,  88  per 
cent,  in  private  places  and  11.2  per  cent,  in  institutions ;  1,162  are  un- 
employed, of  whom  917  are  in  private  care,  and  the  others  are  in  insti- 
tutions, and  most  of  them  have  other  defects.  Of  the  unemployed 
755  (35-8  per  cent.)  were  without  means  and  dependent.  The  ratios 
of  those  with  means,  those  earning  incomes  and  those  dependent  were 
33,  10,  55  per  cent.  It  is  not  definitely  known  how  many  of  those 
aided  are  adequately  provided  for  and  how  many  should  be  sent  to 
asylums. 

The  committee  suggests  these  directions  for  future  effort :  No 
blind  child  should  grow  up  without  school  instruction ;  none  should 
be  left  to  suffer  from  want ;  private  charity  should  increasingly  enter 
this  field  to  help;  preventive  measures  should  be  employed  in  dis- 
pensaries and  otherwise ;  and  medical  men  generally  should  under- 
stand the  causes  and  proper  treatment  of  common  diseases  of  the 
eye  and  not  depend  too  much  on  specialists. 

The  Deaf. — The  first  school  for  the  deaf  was  established  in  181 1 
by  J.  K.  Naf,  a  pupil  of  Pestalozzi.  There  are  now  16  institutions, 
with  723  pupils  (May,  1901 ).  There  are  no  continuation  schools,  but 
the  youth  after  the  ordinary  course  of  instruction  go  to  industrial 
schools.^ 

Feeble-Minded. — In  1897  an  enumeration  of  feeble-minded  chil- 
dren of  school  age  was  taken  by  the  federal  statistical  bureau,  with 
the  assistance  of  local  school  boards  and  teachers.  The  results  of 
the  census  in  all  cantons,  published  in  March,  1897,  was : 

*Zeit.  f.  d.  Armenwesen,  1903,  p.  170. 


IS6 


MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 


Children      Per  cent. 

I.  Feeble-minded  of  low  grade 5»052  or  39 

11.  Feeble-minded  of  higher  grade 2,615  or  20 

III.  Enfeebled  in  body  only 1,848  or  14 

IV.  Idiots,  deaf  mutes,  blind 2,405  or  18 

V.  Neglected  alone 1,235  o^  9 

Totals 13,155     or  100 

There  are  many  who  are  in  some  measure  feeble-minded  but  still 
capable  of  intellectual  development.  Of  470,000  children  in  the  pri- 
mary schools  of  Switzerland  in  1900,  16.3  are  more  or  less  affected. 
As  to  the  method  of  dealing  with  them,  actual  or  desirable : 

557  children  are  taught  in  a  special  class ; 

411  children  are  placed  in  an  institution  for  feeble-minded; 

104  children  are  in  orphanages,  etc. ; 

5,585  children  require  special  treatment  in  separate  classes  or 
institutions ; 

534  children,  a  special  treatment  not  required; 

566  children,  no  information  or  advice. 

Total  7,667  children. 

A  comparison  of  different  communities  shows  interesting  results. 
Thus  the  city  of  Basel  may  serve  as  a  model,  for  there  it  is  shown 
how  the  state  may  cooperate  with  private  instruction  in  order  to 
render  practical  aid.  Of  241  children  thus  treated  139  were  cared 
for  in  special  classes,  73  in  institutions,  li  were  excluded  from  the 
schools  and  only  in  10  cases  was  individual  treatment  desirable. 

In  May,  1900,  the  second  part  of  the  census  appeared;  this  pub- 
lication deals  exclusively  with  those  children  whose  mental  or  physical 
condition  did  not  permit  admission  to  public  primary  instruction,  and 
who  therefore  must  be  recommended  for  special  care.  The  defects 
were  distributed  as  follows  : 

No.     Per  cent. 

I.  Children,  low  grade  of  feeble-mindedness 920  32.2 

II.  Children,  affected  with  cretinism 1 56  6.5 

III.  Children,  hard  of  hearing,  dumb  or  deaf  mutes.  .  889  37 -O 

IV.  Children,  partly  or  entirely  blind 108  4.5 

V.  Children,  affected  with  epilepsy 129  5.4 

VI.  Children,  with  other  defects 203         8.4 

Totals 2,405     100. o 


SWITZERLAND  ^ry 

In  1898  the  Central  Teachers'  Association  urged  the  Federal 
Council  to  secure  further  investigation  of  the  nature  of  the  defect, 
its  causes  and  remedies;  and  to  consider  the  methods  of  securing 
trained  teachers  for  the  care  of  the  feeble-minded.  The  federal  sta- 
tistical bureau  has  begun  to  make  annual  examinations  of  school 
children  at  entrance,  if  they  manifest  physical  or  mental  defects. 

In  1899  a  training  course  for  teachers  of  the  feeble-minded  was 
given  at  Zurich  under  the  auspices  of  the  Swiss  Benevolent  Union 
and  the  central  school  board  of  the  city  of  Zurich.  This  course  lasted 
ten  weeks  and  was  attended  by  13  teachers.  The  course  included  a 
theoretical  and  a  practical  part;  the  theoretical  aimed  to  give  an 
introduction  to  the  study  of  the  principles  of  physiology,  psychology 
and  pedagogy  especially  involved;  and  the  practical  part  gave  in- 
struction in  methods  of  dealing  with  feeble-minded  pupils  in  institu- 
tions and  schools. 

K.  Care  of  Neglected  Children. — Switzerland,  as  well  as 
Germany,  has  come  frankly  to  accept  the  principle  that  the  state 
must  take  a  parent's  place  in  the  life  of  a  neglected  child  and  not 
wait  for  it  to  commit  an  offense  before  care  begins. 

The  government  of  Bern  has  adopted  progressive  measures  in 
this  field.  In  December,  1900,  a  regulation  was  issued  on  the  sub- 
ject. Children  are  received  in  institutions  for  boys  and  girls,  be- 
tween the  ages  of  8  and  16  years,  when  charged  with  a  penal  offense 
or  are  neglected  without  having  committed  a  punishable  act.  If  par- 
ents or  local  authorities  think  it  necessary  a  child  may  be  placed 
under  compulsory  training,  without  complicated  legal  process.  The 
expense  of  maintenance  is  between  150  and  400  fr.  In  the  institu- 
tions the  ideal  of  family  life  is  realized  as  far  as  possible.  Not  more 
than  12  to  15  children  are  kept  in  a  group  under  one  man  or  woman. 
Work  in  school,  household,  garden  and  field  is  the  principal  means 
of  training.  All  the  family  groups  form  a  community  under  the 
direction  of  a  superintendent. 

Children's  vacation  outings  {Ferien-Kolonien  or  Colonies  de  va- 
cances)  are  worthy  of  notice.  Children  belonging  to  the  primary 
schools  are  sent  to  suitable  places  under  the  care  of  teachers,  and  live 
in  plain  wooden  shelters  or  in  huts.  They  go  in  companies  of  20  to 
50  persons,  for  about  two  weeks.  The  support  comes  from  volun- 
tary subscriptions  and  occasional  contributions  of  city  administra- 
tions.    St.  Gall  supports  its  colonies  from  the  educational  funds.     In 


158 


MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 


Zurich  there  is  an  association  which  owns  a  convalescent  station  in 
an  elevated  and  healthy  site  near  Gais  (Appenccll),  which  receives 
patients  during  the  entire  year,  and  has  a  capacity  for  lOO  children 
and  30  boarders.  Poor  and  feeble  children  are  selected  by  teachers 
for  a  period  of  recuperation  at  this  colony. 

L.  Care  of  Youth. — In  the  ordinances  of  Bern  are  very  inter- 
esting provisions  for  youth.  Stipends  are  given  to  young  people  of 
both  sexes,  who  are  without  means  or  friends,  to  enable  them  to  learn 
trades,  when  they  give  evidence  of  adequate  ability,  industry  at  school 
and  good  behavior.  The  inspector  of  the  poor  is  charged  with  car- 
ing for  these  youths ;  he  must  know  them  personally  and  give  them 
counsel.  He  must  confer  with  children  in  institutions  during  the 
months  next  preceding  the  time  when  they  are  to  pass  the  school  age 
and  go  out;  give  them  advice  as  to  selecting  a  calling;  and  advise 
with  the  foster  parents.  Patrons  are  selected  to  have  oversight  of 
such  youths  and  are  required  to  keep  a  record  of  all  that  happens 
to  them ;  with  responsibility  to  the  poor-relief  authorities. 
M.     Preventive  Measures. — 

The  Alcohol  Tenth. — The  Federation  of  Switzerland  has  sought 
to  restrict  and  control  the  distilled  liquor  traffic  and  compel  consumers 
of  alcohol  to  bear  part  of  the  social  burden  incident  to  that  traffic 
by  assuming  a  monopoly  of  the  business  and  using  a  part  of  the 
profits  for  charitable  purposes.  The  law  was  enacted  in  1886- 1887. 
The  Federation  bought  up  the  distilleries  and  required  a  fee  from 
importers  of  fine  liquors.  The  minor  distilleries  were  destroyed 
and  about  60  to  70  places  of  moderate  size  in  the  country  were  per- 
mitted to  produce.  One-tenth  of  the  value  of  the  product  is  devoted 
to  such  establishments  as  hospitals  for  inebriates,  work-houses,  in- 
stitutions for  the  insane,  for  the  feeble-minded  and  for  young  of- 
fenders. The  cantons  receive  annually  about  450,000  fr.  for  such 
objects. 

In  the  administration  of  this  tithe  it  appears  that  the  cantons 
have  employed  their  shares  in  the  following  ways :  Inebriate  asy- 
lums, workhouses  and  reformatories,  insane  asylums,  asylums  for 
epileptics,  deaf  mutes  and  the  blind,  aid  of  the  sick,  aid  for  poor, 
feeble-minded  and  abandoned  children,  and  for  youthful  oflfenders, 
school  kitchens  and  vacation  colonies,  improvement  of  the  popular 
diet,  aid  to  transient  laborers  who  are  poor,  aid  to  discharged  pris- 


SWITZERLAND  l^g 

oners  and  the  unemployed,  popular  education  and  professional  train- 
ing, encouragement  of  temperance. 

The  total  amount  of  the  tithe  for  1902  was  581,879  fr.  Much  of 
the  money  is  spent  on  objects  which  ordinarily  are  supported  by  taxa- 
tion, and  only  a  small  part  for  the  specific  purpose  named  in  the  con- 
stitution. Thus  in  1902  the  prisons  and  asylums  received  226,239  fr. 
and  neglected  children  236,440  fr.,  while  inebriate  asylums  received 
only  41,693  fr.  and  general  temperance  work  52,331  fr. 

It  is  too  early  to  form  a  settled  judgment  as  to  the  social  tendency 
of  this  legislation.  Swiss  authorities  themselves  differ  widely  on  the 
subject.  Many  competent  persons  declare  that  instead  of  a  "whiskey- 
plague"  a  "beer-plague"  has  invaded  the  land. 

Thoughtful  people  are  looking  to  more  effective  and  radical  meas- 
ures. The  strict  abstinence  movement  is  significant,  and  has  in 
Switzerland  350  societies,  with  8,500  members  and  5,900  associates, 
a  relatively  higher  number  than  shown  by  surrounding  countries. 

Accident  and  Sickness  Insurance. — The  administrative  authori- 
ties, who  best  understand  the  needs  of  the  poor,  made  careful  prepara- 
tions and  calculations  for  submitting  a  system  of  insurance  of  wage 
earners.  The  plan  was  rejected  by  a  referendum  vote  in  May,  1900, 
337,000  to  147,000.  Therefore  for  some  years  this  form  of  substi- 
tute for  poor-relief  must  be  deferred.  In  October,  1900,  a  new 
article  was  introduced  into  the  federal  constitution  by  a  vote  of 
283,000  to  92,000  which  requires  the  establishment  of  sick  and  ac- 
cident insurance.  It  is  said  that  the  defeat  of  the  proposed  law  was 
due  to  the  opposition  of  the  peasant  voters,  who  fear  that  their  little 
properties  may  be  taxed  for  the  advantage  of  the  urban  workingmen. 

Insurance  Against  Unemployment. — Switzerland  has  had  the 
courage  to  act  as  the  pioneer  of  modern  society  in  making  experi- 
mental provision  for  the  support  of  men  out  of  work.  The  schemes 
have  not  succeeded,  but  the  experience  gained  may  be  utilized  in 
future  efforts  on  some  modified  plan.^ 

Beginning  with  the  city  of  Bern,  the  main  facts  in  the  matter  are 
these :  After  prolonged  calculations  and  certain  voluntary  experi- 
ments, the  municipal  council  of  Bern  in  1895  adopted  regulations, 
according  to  which  every  working  man  sojourning  or  settled  there 
might  join  the  fund.     A  man  could  become  a  member  by  giving  his 

^  Ref.   W.   H.   Dawson:     Social   Switzerland,  p.   167;   Willoughby:     Working- 
men's    Insurance. 


l6o  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

name  to  his  employer,  the  trade  union  or  the  director  of  the  fund. 
The  sources  of  the  fund  were  to  be  contributions  of  members  and 
employers,  private  gifts  and  municipal  subsidies.  The  rate  of  pre- 
miums was  about  lo  cents  monthly.  The  municipal  subsidy  at  first 
was  to  be  7,000  fr.  per  year.  Members  who  had  paid  contributions 
regularly  were  entitled  in  event  of  being  out  of  employment,  during 
the  months  of  December,  January,  and  February  only,  to  receive 
benefits  not  more  than  two  months  during  the  severe  winter.  Mem- 
bers must  be  insured  six  months  before  they  could  receive 
benefits.  Benefits  paid  weekly,  were :  For  the  first  30  days  out  of 
work  pay  of  1.50  fr.  to  unmarried  members,  and  2  fr.  to  married 
members  and  others  having  persons  dependent  on  them.  Members 
who  refused  to  work,  who  were  lawless  or  on  a  strike  might  not  re- 
ceive help.  At  first  the  administrators  expressed  great  hopes  of  suc- 
cess in  diminishing  the  need  of  resort  to  public  charity  on  account  of 
unemployment.  But  there  were  serious  defects  in  the  scheme  and  the 
hopes  have  not  been  realized.  It  was  a  plan  for  voluntary  member- 
ship and  no  person  was  obliged  to  belong  to  the  association,  whereas 
in  the  successful  method  of  Germany  membership  is  legally  required. 
Professor  Adler  says  that  in  the  course  of  the  first  year  only  404 
members  were  admitted  and  of  these  50  lost  their  rights  by  non- 
payment of  dues.  Of  the  354  active  members  216  in  winter  an- 
nounced themselves  as  unemployed;  50  were  set  to  work  and  166 
were  paid  daily  allowances.  The  total  indemnity  paid  was  6,835  ^^-y 
while  only  1,124  ^^-  were  paid  in  dues.  The  deficit  was  covered  by 
gifts  and  a  state  subsidy  of  4,735  fr.  In  the  second  year,  the  mem- 
bership fell  to  333 ;  the  number  of  unemployed  rose  to  226,  of  whom 
7  were  set  to  work  and  219  received  daily  allowances.  Some  of  the 
men  were  given  work  on  a  prison  wall  and  in  clearing  away  snow, 
but  gifts  and  subsidies  were  still  necessary. 

There  was  a  similar  result  in  St.  Gall. 

The  city  of  Basel  sought  to  profit  by  the  mistakes  of  Bern  and 
St.  Gall.  On  November  23,  1899,  after  long  discussions,  a  plan 
worked  out  by  Professor  Adler  was  accepted  by  the  Greater  Council 
and  proposed  to  the  people  for  a  referendum  vote.  The  law  required 
that  in  the  canton  of  the  city  of  Basel  all  resident  persons  capable  of 
work,  who  are  employed  in  factories  or  building  or  on  earth  works, 
after  the  14th  year  of  age  shall  be  insured  against  unemployment, 
when  it  is  not  from  their  own  fault.     In  the  nature  of  the  case  some 


SWITZERLAND  jgl 

exceptions  are  made,  as  when  one  is  already  adequately  insured  in 
an  association  for  this  purpose.  The  insured  fall  into  four  groups : 
(i)  Workmen  least  exposed  to  being  out  of  employment,  in  occupa- 
tions protected  by  factory  laws,  not  in  the  building  trades;  (2)  the 
other  workmen  not  in  building  trades  and  under  factory  law  protec- 
tion;  (3)  building  workmen  least  exposed  to  unemployment;  (4) 
other  building  and  earth  workers  who  live  chiefly  outdoors  and  who 
suffer  from  the  vicissitudes  of  weather.  The  groups  are  further  di- 
vided into  wage  classes  according  to  the  amount  of  their  weekly 
wages,  beginning  with  12  fr.  or  less  up  to  more  than  24  fr.  The 
weekly  contributions  of  the  insured  are : 

In  wage  classes :                    I  234 

For  the  first  group 2^  centimes  5  ct.     10  ct.     15  ct. 

For  the  second  group 5  centimes  10  ct.     15  ct,     20  ct. 

For  the  third  group 10  centimes  20  ct.     30  ct.     40  ct. 

For  the  fourth  group 15  centimes  25  ct.     40  ct.     50  ct. 

The  contribution  of  the  employer  for  each  of  his  insured  work- 
men of  the  first  and  second  groups  is  10  ct.,  and  for  each  of  the  third 
and  fourth  groups  20  ct.  weekly.  The  state  pays  the  cost  of  admin- 
istration, and  gives  a  subsidy  of  30,000  francs  annually.  Every 
member  of  the  insurance  association  has  a  right  to  indemnity  when 
he  is  not  employed.  This  claim  is  not  valid  when:  (a)  The  un- 
employment is  the  result  of  a  strike;  (b)  when  the  unemployment  is 
the  result  of  abandoning  a  place,  unless  there  is  good  ground  for  the 
act;  (c)  when  the  unemployment  is  the  consequence  of  conduct 
which  justifies  the  discharge  of  the  person  according  to  the  ordi- 
nances of  the  factory  laws ;  (d)  when  the  unemployment  is  the  result 
of  accident  or  sickness,  during  the  period  of  incapacity ;  (e)  when  the 
person  at  the  time  of  beginning  of  unemployment  has  not  fulfilled  the 
requirements;  (f)  when  the  person  refuses  to  accept  employment 
without  satisfactory  reasons.  The  insurance  association  may  not 
offer  places  to  the  unemployed  which  have  become  vacant  on  account 
of  a  strike  or  a  lockout.  The  amount  of  the  indemnity  is  graduated 
according  to  the  wage  class  to  which  the  person  belonged  for  26 
weeks  just  preceding  the  unemployment  and  paid  the  contribution. 
The  indemnities  are  0.70  to  1.30  fr.  in  the  first  and  i  to  1.50  fr.  in 
the  fourth  wage  class,  according  as  the  workmen  are  single,  married 
or  head  of  a  family.  A  member  has  claim  in  the  course  of  a  fiscal 
II 


l62  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

year  to  70  days  of  indemnity  at  the  most.  A  member  who  in  the 
course  of  a  fiscal  year  has  received  indemnity  for  50  days,  in  the  next 
year  has  a  claim  only  when,  reckoning  from  the  last  day  of  indemnity, 
he  has  worked  at  least  26  weeks  and  paid  his  contributions  to  the 
treasury  of  the  insurance  association.  The  law  contains  detailed 
regulations  in  respect  to  administration  of  the  funds,  the  gathering 
of  a  reserve  fund,  penalties  for  violation  of  the  law,  etc.  Careful 
calculations  gave  an  estimate  that  the  number  of  the  unemployed 
would  be  18  per  cent,  of  the  insured  and  that  about  one-half  of  them 
would  be  married.  It  was  supposed  that  of  10,000  insured  in  Basel 
annually  1,800,  and  that  on  the  average  about  60  days,  would  receive 
indemnities.  The  expenditure  was  reckoned  at  137,000  fr.  annually 
and  the  income  45,000  fr. 

This  law,  prepared  with  great  care,  after  it  was  accepted  by  the 
Greater  Council,  by  the  help  of  the  workmen's  party  who  secured  the 
necessary  1,000  signatures  to  their  petition,  was  submitted  to  the 
popular  referendum  and  rejected  (February,  1900)  by  a  vote  of  5,458 
to  1,119.  The  most  weighty  reason  urged  against  the  law  was  that 
the  regular  and  industrious  workmen  who  ordinarly  have  employ- 
ment and  wages  would  have  to  pay  for  the  idle  and  inefficient  work- 
men. 

The  defeat  of  the  law  of  Basel  and  the  discouraging  experiences 
in  Bern  and  St.  Gall  have  made  the  solution  of  the  problem  in 
Switzerland  impossible  for  many  years,  even  if  there  is  a  purpose  to 
carry  out  the  idea  on  the  basis  of  the  experience  already  had.  The 
administration  of  Basel  has  taken  pains  to  assist  in  other  ways,  by 
undertaking  public  works  which  might  otherwise  have  been  delayed 
longer.  The  state  also  gave  a  subsidy  to  the  general  poor-relief  of 
3,000  fr.,  to  aid  the  unemployed  with  money.  It  also  provided  coal 
and  coke  for  needy  persons  at  low  prices,  which  was  rather  of  the 
nature  of  poor-relief  than  care  for  the  unemployed.  But  this  same 
character  was  borne  by  the  attempts  at  insurance  against  unemploy- 
ment, which  counted  on  a  subsidy  from  the  state  and  on  voluntary 
gifts,  while  a  genuine  insurance  by  its  very  nature  must  be  paid  for 
out  of  wages.  In  Zurich  a  similar  attempt  was  made.  The  Greater 
Council  of  the  city  (July  9,  1898)  rejected  the  proposition  by  54  to 
42  votes.  The  experience  of  St.  Gall,  as  told  by  the  secretary  of 
poor-relief,  was  a  decisive  argument  in  this  discussion.  It  had  been 
found  impossible  to  induce  all  the  insurable  persons  to  join  the  asso- 


SWITZERLAND 


163 


ciation  and  the  disposition  to  labor  was  diminished.  It  even  hap- 
pened that  workmen  received  indemnities  while  they  were  at  work. 
It  was  difficult  to  determine  who  was  employed  and  who  unemployed. 
Women  came  with  the  complaint  that  their  husbands,  since  they  drew 
indemnities,  would  not  come  home,  while  before  they  had  helped  in 
the  household.  When  the  St.  Gall  association  went  into  liquidation 
2,500  persons  were  in  arrears  with  dues.  The  reporter  came  to  the 
conclusion  that  it  is  impossible  to  introduce  a  genuine  insurance 
against  unemployment.  It  was  said  in  the  discussion  that  the  plan 
could  be  carried  out  in  connection  with  the  trade  unions,  but  the  sug- 
gestion was  regarded  as  of  doubtful  value. 

Care  for  the  Wandering  Unemployed. — The  Swiss  cantons  have 
followed  the  models  set  by  Germany  in  the  stations  for  help  (Ver- 
pfte gimgsstationen)  and  hospices  for  shelter,  and  they  have  developed 
an  even  more  adequate  system  and  network  of  agencies  under  police 
control. 

In  Bern  wanderers  who  should  not  go  to  the  poorhouse,  work- 
house or  police  quarters  are  sent  to  emergency  rooms  or  to  the 
burghers'  almshouse. 

In  the  city  of  Basel  is  established  a  "writing  room  for  the  unem- 
ployed" as  a  means  of  helping  persons  who  have  some  commercial 
education  and  are  temporarily  out  of  work,  by  giving  them  copying, 
folding,  picking  coffee,  etc.,  to  do.  In  one  year  271  men  were  as- 
sisted 9,853  work  days,  and  21,800  fr.  were  paid  them,  an  average 
3.33  fr.  per  day ;  on  an  average  32  men  per  day.  First  of  all  citizens 
and  residents  of  Basel  are  helped ;  only  exceptionally  are  outsiders 
so  aided,  and  usually  with  discouraging  results. 

In  the  eighth  report,  1902,  it  is  said  that  2^^"/  men  were  aided; 
11,754  days'  work;  33,189  fr.  paid  in  wages,  an  average  of  3.16  fr., 
per  day  for  writing.  Writing  machines  have  been  introduced  with 
success. 

In  1903  a  similar  society  was  formed  in  Zurich.  The  city  fur- 
nished a  room.  In  the  first  year  there  were  445  applicants,  of  whom 
179  were  employed.  On  an  average  19  men  were  employed  at  a 
time,  with  a  total  of  5,053  days.  The  pay  was  2.30  to  4  fr.  for 
writing  done  in  the  rooms  of  the  bureau  and  3.84  to  4.27  fr.  for  work 
done  in  the  home  of  the  employer. 

The  book  of  Mr.  W.  H.  Dawson  ("Social  Switzerland")  describes 
the  social  legislation  of  Switzerland  and  the  cooperation  of  private 


l64  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

agencies  with  the  state  in  the  effort  to  ameliorate  economic  conditions. 
Under  the  head  of  organization  and  protection  of  labor  he  describes 
the  federal  factory  laws,  the  labor  laws  of  the  cantons,  the  industrial 
colonies.  Under  the  subject  of  industrial  peace  he  writes  of  the 
courts  of  industry,  the  conscUs  de  priid'hommes,  and  the  societies 
of  public  utility.  We  have  drawn  upon  his  account  of  the  case  of  the 
unemployed.  He  tells  what  Switzerland  has  done  in  technical  edu- 
cation of  the  people,  and  for  the  control  of  the  drink  traffic.^ 

*  On  insurance  of  unemployed,  Rep.  Industrial  Commission  (U.   S.)   Vol.  XVI, 
1901,  p.  226. — U.  S.  Labor  Bulletin,  Vol.  2,  pp.  169-172. 


CHAPTER  IV 
THE  BRITISH  EMPIRE 

SECTION  I.— PUBLIC  RELIEF  AND  PRIVATE  CHARITY  IN 

ENGLAND 

CHARLES    A.    ELLWOOD,    PH.  D. 

Historical  Introduction. — In  no  other  country  is  the  history 
of  poor-reHef  so  instructive  and  valuable  to  the  student  of  modern 
philanthropic  problems  as  in  England.  For  the  history  of  poor-relief 
in  England  presents  a  continuous  evolution  whose  successive  phases 
exhibit  at  work  all  the  forces  and  principles  to  which  the  modern 
science  of  philanthropy  has  given  a  theoretic  formulation.  Moreover, 
in  England  poor-relief  has  been  organized  and  supervised  by  the 
central  authorities  of  government  now  for  nearly  three-quarters  of 
a  century  to  an  extent  scarcely  equalled  in  any  other  country.  On 
this  account,  the  administrative  problems  which  necessarily  arise 
through  governmental  interference  with  the  relief  of  the  poor  are 
perhaps  most  advantageously  studied  in  English  experience.  But 
as  the  main  object  of  this  article  is  to  present  the  existing  system  of 
public  and  private  relief  in  England,  our  chief  reason  for  reviewing 
the  historical  development  is  to  throw  light  on  the  present  system. 
The  present  complex  organization  of  public  relief  in  England,  with 
the  supporting  legislation,  can  not  easily  be  understood  without  some 
knowledge  of  its  evolution.  Accordingly,  as  an  introduction  to  the 
study  of  the  present  system  of  public  relief,  we  shall  present  a  brief 
resume  of  its  historical  development.  Only  a  few  of  the  numerous 
enactments  which  have  constituted  the  Poor  Law  at  different  periods 
can  be  noticed — enough  merely  to  indicate  the  various  stages  of  its 
evolution. 

I,  Poor-Relief  in  the  Medieval  Period. — While  feudalism 
flourished  there  was  comparatively  little  need  of  public  relief.  The 
mass  of  the  people  were  serfs,  bound  to  the  soil,  and  were  looked 

i6s 


l66  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

after  by  their  feudal  lords  quite  as  slaves  by  their  masters.  What 
little  destitution  there  was,  which  was  mainly  in  the  towns,  was  re- 
lieved by  the  Church,^  chiefly  through  two  institutions,  the  monastery 
and  the  hospital.  With  the  decay  of  feudalism  the  burden  of  the 
Church  in  caring  for  the  poor  became  vastly  increased,  but  it  con- 
tinued to  fulfill  its  function  as  the  public  relief  agency  more  or  less 
satisfactorily  until  the  Reformation.  The  methods  which  the  Church 
employed  in  relieving  destitution  were,  however,  such  that  they  often 
aggravated  rather  than  remedied  the  evil.  Around  the  monasteries 
and  throughout  the  country  there  gradually  grew  up  a  large  de- 
pendent class  who  looked  to  those  institutions  for  their  support. 
Fuller's  remarks  in  this  connection  are  abundantly  justified  by  his- 
torical research :-  "Yea,  those  abbeys  did  but  maintain  the  poor 
which  they  made.  For  some  vagrants,  accounting  the  abbey  alms 
their  own  inheritance,  served  an  apprenticeship  and  afterwards 
wrought  journey  work  to  no  other  trade  than  begging."  As  for  the 
hospitals,  which  were  in  the  Middle  Ages  but  little  more  than  en- 
dowed ecclesiastical  almshouses,  for  the  reception  of  both  the  desti- 
tute sick  and  the  aged,  they  multiplied  in  number,  so  that  before  the 
Reformation  there  were  some  four  hundred  and  sixty  of  these  char- 
itable institutions  in  England,  many  of  them  exceedingly  wealthy.^ 
Thus  the  Church  was  caring  for  no  inconsiderable  proportion  of  the 

^  Originally  in  England  as  on  the  Continent  a  part  of  the  tithes  (one-third 
or  one-fourth)  was  regularly  devoted  to  the  relief  of  the  poor.  But  this  custom 
seems  early  to  have  been  departed  from,  though  a  law  of  Ethelred  attempted  to 
enforce  it  as  late  as  the  Eleventh  century.  Thus  the  relief  of  the  poor  became 
mainly  the  work  of  the  monasteries  and  hospitals.  See  Ratzinger's  Geschichte 
der  kirchlichen  Armenpflege ;  Uhlhorn's  Christian  Charity  in  the  Early  Church  ; 
and  Ashley's  English  Economic  History. 

^  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  indiscriminate  charity  practiced  by  both  the 
monasteries  and  hospitals  was  directly  responsible  for  the  production  of  a  large 
class  of  vagrants  and  mendicants  both  in  England  and  on  the  Continent.  The 
apologists  of  the  system  of  church  charity  have  often  denied  this,  pointing  out 
other  causes  that  co-operated  in  the  production  of  this  class.  The  existence  of 
other  causes  may  be  admitted,  of  course,  without  giving  up  the  position  of  the 
text,  that  the  indiscriminate  methods  of  relief  employed  by  the  Church  were  evil 
in  their  consequences,  increasing  rather  than  lessening  the  class  of  dependents. 
In  this  connection  consult  Ashley's  English  Economic  History,  pp.  307-324,  vol. 
n  ;  for  the  Catholic  point  of  view,  see  Ratzinger's  Geschichte  der  kirchlichen 
Armenpflege. 

^Ashley,  English  Economic  History,  p.  318,  vol.  H. 


THE  BRITISH  EMPIRE  167 

population  of  England  at  the  beginning  of  the  Reformation.  It  is 
not  surprising,  therefore,  that  the  dissolution  of  the  monasteries 
under  Henry  VIII.,  revealed^  such  a  mass  of  pauperism  and  vagrancy 
that  to  deal  with  it  became  one  of  the  first  problems  of  the  statesmen 
of  the  sixteenth  century. 

Other  methods  of  caring  for  the  poor  in  later  medieval  times  can 
be  merely  mentioned.  One  was  the  help  given  by  the  Guilds  to  their 
poorer  members.-  Another  was  of  course  through  the  private 
charity  of  the  rich,  especially  of  the  nobles.  This  became  consider- 
able in  later  times,  and,  like  the  charity  of  the  Church,  was  wholly 
indiscriminating  and,  therefore,  evil  in  its  consequences.  Practically, 
indeed,  it  may  be  regarded  as  but  one  phase  of  the  charity  of  the 
Church ;  for  the  motive  of  such  giving  was  the  Church's  inculcation 
of  the  doctrine  that  almsgiving  was  a  means  of  grace  to  the  giver.^ 

2.  The  Period  of  Repression. — The  beginning  of  this  period 
may  be  dated  as  early  as  the  middle  of  the  fourteenth  century,  when 
the  decay  of  feudalism  first  began  to  be  manifest.  Nothing  was  more 
natural  than  that  laws  should  be  passed  to  keep  the  laborer  in  the 
state  of  servitude  from  which  he  was  just  emerging  Accordingly, 
during  the  fourteenth  and  fifteenth  centuries  we  find  numerous 
labor  statutes*  enacted  to  fix  the  rate  of  wages  and  to  prevent  labor- 
ers from  moving  about  in  search  of  better  pay.  This  legislation  re- 
garding the  laboring  classes  involved  as  one  of  its  necessary  phases 
repressive  measures  against  vagrancy;  and  these  measures  mark  the 
first  steps  in  governmental  interference  in  the  relief  of  the  poor. 

Thus,  the  labor  statute  of  1388  (12  Richard  II.),  after  providing 

'^  "Revealed,"  not  "caused,"  as  Ashley  points  out.  The  causes  lay  in  the  social 
conditions  of  the  time  and  in  the  indiscriminate  charity  so  long  practiced  by  the 
Church. 

'^  See  Ashley,  English  Economic  History,  pp.  324-328,  vol.  II. 

^  That  the  Church  encouraged  indiscriminate  private  charity  has  been  denied 
by  some  recent  Catholic  scholars.  It  is  true  that  many  theologians  of  the  Church 
taught  the  duty  of  investigation  and  that  indiscriminate  charity  was  evil.  But 
the  enlightened  views  of  these  few  did  not  affect  the  belief  or  the  practice  of 
the  masses  of  the  Church.  With  these,  as  Uhlhorn  remarks,  "the  principal  aim 
[in  giving]  remained  to  win  for  themselves  the  favor  of  God,  not  to  combat  or 
mitigate  poverty." 

*  The  first  of  these  statutes  was  the  so-called  "Statute  of  Laborers,"  enacted 
in  1349.  It  forbade  the  giving  of  alms  to  "valiant  beggars,"  but  made  no  ref- 
erence to  the  impotent  poor.  See  NichoU's  History  of  the  English  Poor  Law, 
PP-  36,  37,  vol.  I. 


l68  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

for  persons  able  to  work,  enacted,  "that  beggars  impotent  to  serve 
shall  abide  in  the  cities  and  towns  where  they  be  dwelling  at  the 
time  of  the  proclamation  of  this  statute."  This  is  the  first  mention 
we  find  in  legislation  of  the  impotent  poor  as  a  distinct  class.  No 
provision  is  made  for  their  relief,  but  the  principle  of  local  responsi- 
bility for  their  care  seems  to  be  recognized.  The  same  act  provided 
that  vagrants  "able  to  serve  or  labor"  were  to  be  put  in  the  stocks 
and  kept  there  until  they  could  give  surety  of  returning  to  service 
or  to  their  own  neighborhood.  Other  enactments  of  a  similar  nature 
were  made  in  the  fifteenth  century,  but  vagrancy,  as  the  laws  them- 
selves show,  continued  to  flourish. 

With  the  dissolution  of  the  monasteries  in  the  reign  of  Henry 
VIII. ,  the  evil  became  greatly  aggravated.  Severe  vagrancy  laws 
were  enacted,  and  at  the  same  time  the  distinction  between  the  "im- 
potent poor,"  those  unable  to  work,  and  the  "sturdy  beggars,"  was 
more  clearly  drawn.  Even  earlier  than  this,  however,  the  system 
of  ecclesiastical  poor-relief  had  broken  down,  so  that  in  legislating 
against  vagabondage  and  vagrancy  some  provision  for  the  relief  of 
the  impotent  poor  was  made  necessary.  Thus  the  elaborate  act  of 
1 53 1  "concerning  the  punishment  of  beggars  and  vagabonds"  {^22 
Henry  VIII.), ^  provided  that  the  justices  of  the  peace  should  give  a 
kind  of  certificate  or  license  to  such  impotent  poor  as  could  go  beg- 
ging, by  which  they  were  allowed  to  beg  within  a  certain  prescribed 
area,  but  if  caught  begging  without  a  license,  or  outside  these  limits, 
they  were  to  be  whipped.  This  attempt  to  provide  for  the  impotent 
poor,  through  tolerating  their  begging  upon  certain  conditions,  shows 
not  only  a  greater  tendency  to  discriminate  and  a  more  humane  spirit, 
but  also  that  the  charity  of  the  Church  was  regarded  as  insufficient 
for  the  relief  of  this  class.  Able-bodied  persons  if  caught  begging, 
on  the  other  hand,  were  to  be  whipped  and  returned  to  their  place 
of  birth,  or  where  they  had  last  lived  for  three  years.  For  a  second 
offense  they  were  to  have  their  ears  cropped,  and  if  caught  begging 
a  third  time  they  were  to  be  tried  as  felons  and,  if  convicted,  hanged. 
Moreover,  any  person  who  harbored  or  gave  money  to  an  able-bodied 
beggar  was  to  be  fined  by  the  justices. 

This  act  of  1531  was,  then,  almost  wholly  repressive  in  its  fea- 
tures; its  sole  object  was  to  limit  begging  as  much  as  possible,  while 
recognizing  that  the  charity  of  the  Church  was  insufficient  for  the 

^  See  Nicholl's  History  of  the  English  Poor  Law,  pp.  115-120,  vol.  i. 


THE  BRITISH  EMPIRE  169 

relief  of  the  impotent  poor.  Positive  measures  for  the  relief  of  the 
poor  are  found  first  in  an  act  passed  some  five  years  later  (27  Henry 
VIII.  )-^  This  act  provided  that  T'l-  mayor  of  every  town,  and  the 
churchwardens  of  every  parish,  were  to  collect  alms  every  Sunday, 
so  that  "the  poor,  impotent,  sick,  and  diseased  people,  being  not  able 
to  work,  may  be  provided,  holpen  and  relieved ;  and  that  such  as 
be  lusty,  having  their  limbs  strong  enough  to  labor,  may  be  daily 
kept  in  continual  labor."  In  other  words,  the  impotent  poor  were  to 
be  relieved  by  voluntary  alms  collected  by  the  civil  authorities  of 
the  towns,  and  the  churchwardens  of  the  parishes,  while  the  able- 
bodied  poor  were  to  be  set  at  work  with  funds  secured  in  the  same 
way.  Moreover,  an  account  was  to  be  kept  by  the  parish  authorities 
of  the  sums  collected  and  of  the  way  in  which  the  money  was  spent. 
It  was  expressly  declared  that  the  alms  were  not  compulsory,  but  the 
giving  of  private  alms  by  an  individual  was  forbidden  upon  pain  of 
forfeiting  ten  times  the  amount  given. ^  The  whole  tenor  of  the  act^ 
was  to  revitalize  the  system  of  church  charity.  It  in  no  way  secular- 
ized relief.  The  exhortations  of  the  clergy  were  to  secure  the  funds 
for  relief ;  the  collectors  of  the  funds  were  mainly  church  officers ; 
and  they  were  also  the  dispensers  of  relief.  However,  in  this  statute 
the  State  for  the  first  time  undertakes  to  direct  how  the  relief  of  the 
poor  shall  be  administered  and  how  the  funds  for  relief  shall  be 
raised ;  it  further  establishes  the  responsibility  of  the  parish  for  the 
relief  of  its  own  poor.  The  act,  therefore,  marks  the  transition  from 
an  ecclesiastical  to  a  secular  system  of  poor-relief.  While  it  rec- 
ognized the  Church  as  the  established  relief  agency,  it  attempted  to 
direct  and  aid  the  Church  in  the  performance  of  its  duty. 

Again  in  the  reign  of  Edward  VI.  the  vagrancy  laws  were  made 
more  cruel  than  ever,^  and  provision  was  made  for  the  compulsory 
removal  of  beggars  from  all  parts  of  the  kingdom  to  the  parishes 
where  they  had  legal  residence.  A  further  amelioration  in  the  laws 
dealing  with  the  helpless  poor,  however,  is  marked  by  the  Act  of 
1 55 1.     This  act  directed  that  in  order  to  provide  for  "the  impotent, 

*  For  this  reason  Ashley  calls  this  act  the  "real  commencement"  of  the  Poor 
Law.     See  Ashley's  Economic  History,  pp.  333,  337,  vol.  II. 

"  Nobles,  prelates  and  friars,  however,  were  exempt  from  this  prohibition  of 
private  almsgiving.  For  the  provisions  of  the  act  as  a  whole  see  Nicholl's  History 
of  the  English  Poor  Law,  pp.  121-125,  vol.  I. 

'In  1547  it  was  enacted  that  a  sturdy  beggar  might  be  made  a  slave  for  two 
years,  and  if  he  ran  away  a  slave  for  life. 


I/O 


MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 


feeble,  and  lame,  who  are  poor  in  very  deed,"  two  or  more  collectors 
of  alms  were  to  be  appointed  in  each  parish,  who  were  to  make  lists 
of  the  poor  to  whom  grants  were  to  be  made.  These  collectors  as 
well  as  the  clergy  of  the  parish  were  to  "gently  exhort  and  admon- 
ish," all  parishioners  to  contribute  according  to  their  means.  If  any 
parishioner  refused  to  pay  what  was  expected  of  him,  the  bishop  of 
the  diocese  was  to  exhort  and  reprove  him. 

It  is  evident  that  throughout  this  period  the  relief  of  the  poor  was 
still  considered  a  function  of  the  Church.  The  interferences  of  the 
Government  in  poor-relief  were  mainly  on  the  side  of  the  repression 
of  vagrancy  and  mendicity,  which  were  considered  civil  matters. 
Other  interferences  were  designed  largely  to  aid  and  guide  the 
Church  in  the  performance  of  its  important  function.  But  the  civil 
authority  was  not  used  to  enforce  this  part  of  the  legislation  save  in 
rare  instances ;  thus  the  amounts  assessed  for  the  support  of  the  poor 
by  the  collectors  mentioned  in  the  last  paragraph,  could  not  be  en- 
forced except  by  ecclesiastical  censure.^ 

3.  The  Poor  Laws  of  Elizabeth. — Early  in  the  reign  of  Eliza- 
beth (1563)  an  attempt  was  made  to  increase  the  amount  of  the 
funds  raised  for  relief,  by  directing  the  bishops  to  bind  over  all 
who  refused  to  pay  the  amounts  assessed  by  the  parish  collectors 
to  appear  before  the  justices  at  quarter  sessions,  who  should  assess 
their  contributions  at  such  sums  as  they  thought  reasonable.  This 
is  the  first  instance  in  which  we  have  the  authority  of  the  Govern- 
ment used  to  enforce  the  collection  of  alms,  and  so  an  approach  to 
a  compulsory  poor  rate  levied  by  civil  authorities. 

It  soon  became  evident  that  the  Church  could  no  longer  satis- 
factorily perform  its  ancient  function  of  collector  and  dispenser  of 
relief.  Gradually,  through  numerous  acts,  the  whole  system  of  relief 
was  transferred  from  the  ecclesiastical  to  the  civil  authorities.  In 
1572  an  act"  was  passed  to  appoint  collectors  and  also  overseers  of 
the  poor  in  each  parish  who  should  tax  the  inhabitants  "to  such 
weekly  charge"  as  there  was  need.  In  1576  it  was  enacted  that  a 
stock  of  wool,  flax,  iron,  and  other  stuff  should  be  kept  in  each  town 
by  the  collectors  and  governors  of  the  poor,  on  which  they  might  be 
set  at  work.     If  any  poor  person,  who  was  able-bodied,  refused  to 

*  The  best  work  on  this  period  as  well  as  on  the  Elizabethan  period  of  Poor 
Law  History  is  Miss  E.  M.  Leonard's  Early  History  of  English  Poor-Relief. 
'  14  Elizabeth. 


THE  BRITISH  EMPIRE 


171 


work,  he  was  to  be  sent  to  a  house  of  correction.  And  the  act 
further  provided  that  the  funds  necessary  for  all  these  purposes 
should  be  raised  by  taxation.  Other  enactments  followed,  and  in 
1597  something  like  an  organic  poor  law  was  attempted.  The  ap- 
pointment of  overseers  of  the  poor  in  each  parish  was  provided  for, 
who  were  to  have  charge  of  relief  and  raise  by  taxation  the  sums  nec- 
essary for  relief  or  the  purchase  of  material  for  labor,  while  begging 
either  by  license  or  without  was  forbidden. 

These  acts  culminated  in  the  famous  statute  of  1601  (43  Eliza- 
beth), which  has  remained  to  this  day  the  foundation  of  English 
Poor  Law.  This  great  act  was  but  an  elaboration  of  the  principles 
and  machinery  worked  out  in  the  experience  of  the  preceding  forty 
years.  Indeed,  the  Act  of  1597^  contained  all  of  the  essential  pro- 
visions of  the  statute  of  1601,  which,  nevertheless,  deserves  the  promi- 
nence given  to  it  by  all  writers  upon  the  Poor  Law,  as  it  represents 
the  final  form  given  the  Poor  Law  by  Elizabethan  legislation. 

From  the  standpoint  of  our  much  more  complex  social  evolution, 
the  main  provisions  of  the  law  of  1601  seem  exceedingly  simple. 
It  divided  the  recipients  of  relief  into  three  classes :  the  able-bodied, 
those  unable  to  work,  and  children.  For  the  first,  work  was  to  be 
furnished,  and  to  this  end  stores  of  flax,  hemp,  wool,  iron,  and  other 
stuff  were  to  be  provided  by  the  overseers.  Refusal  to  work  on  the 
part  of  an  able-bodied  person  was  to  be  punished  by  the  stocks  or  im- 
prisonment. For  those  unable  to  work,  necessary  relief  was  to  be 
provided,  but  only  one  sort  of  relief  is  commended,  namely,  main- 
tenance in  almshouses.  Children,  parents,  and  grandparents  were 
also  made  liable  for  the  support  of  this  class.  Dependent  children 
were  to  be  cared  for  by  apprenticing  them  out — the  boys  till  they 
were  twenty-four  and  the  girls  till  they  were  twenty-one,  or  married. 

The  funds  for  poor-relief  were  to  be  raised  by  a  tax,  which  the 
overseers  were  to  levy  and  collect  weekly,  or  otherwise,  from  every 
possessor  of  lands,  houses,  or  tithes  in  the  parish  "in  such  competent 
sums  as  they  shall  think  fit."  If  a  parish  were  overburdened  by  its 
poor  rate,  the  other  parishes  of  the  same  hundred  or  county  were  to 
"rate  in  aid."" 

^  See  Miss  Leonard's  comparison  between  the  two  acts,  Early  History  of  Eng- 
lish Poor-Relief,  pp.  134,  135. 

^  That  is,  wealthy  parishes  vvere  to  tax  themselves  to  aid  the  poorer  parishes 
of  tha  same  county  or  hundred. 


172  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

The  administration  of  the  poor-relief,  as  before,  was  left  to  the 
parish  and  was  managed  by  two  or  more  overseers  of  the  poor  who 
were  to  be  nominated  in  every  parish  by  the  justices  of  the  peace 
in  Easter  week.  The  supervision  of  the  administration  of  the  Poor 
Law  was  left  to  the  justices  of  the  peace. 

Concerning  the  Poor  Law  of  Elizabeth,  there  have  been  many 
opinions.  Some  have  considered  it  to  be  "a  perfect  model  of  what 
all  Poor  Laws  ought  to  be;"^  others  have  thought  it  a  failure.  A 
saner  judgment  would  seem  to  be  that  it  was  adapted  to  the  situation 
of  the  time,  though  by  no  means  a  model  for  all  time.  That  it  was 
admirably  fitted  to  the  then  existing  social  and  political  condition  of 
England,  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  it  worked  well  with  few  altera- 
tions for  over  a  century  and  a  half.  Being  the  outcome  of  long 
experience,  it  necessarily  rested  upon  some  principles  of  universal 
validity ;  and  these  principles  were  rightly  emphasized  by  the  reform- 
ers of  1834.  But  to  recognize  this  is  different  from  finding  in  it  a 
model  for  all  time ;  it  rather  accords  with  the  view  that  the  law  of 
1601  marks  but  one  stage,  and  that  an  early  one,  of  a  process  of 
evolution  still  incomplete. 

4.  The  Settlement  Law  of  Charles  IL — By  the  laws  of 
Elizabeth  the  parish  was  made  responsible  practically  for  all  who 
became  destitute  within  its  borders.  But,  as  Aschrott  remarks,-  the 
time  was  not  ripe  for  this  provision,  and,  hence,  it  was  the  first  in  the 
law  of  1601  to  be  altered.  This  alteration  came  in  the  year  1662 
in  what  is  known  as  the  Settlement  Act.  This  act  restricted  the  ob- 
ligation of  the  parish  to  relieve  destitution  to  those  who  had  a  legal 
domicile  within  its  borders.  As  title  for  the  acquisition  of  a  legal 
domicile  were  named  birth,  proprietorship  of  land  or  industry,  so- 
journ, service,  or  apprenticeship.  Aloreover,  at  the  complaint  of  the 
overseers,  the  justices  might  within  forty  days  of  any  person's  com- 
ing to  live  in  a  strange  parish,  order  him  to  be  removed  back  to  his 
own  place  of  settlement,  unless  he  could  give  security  to  the  new 
parish  that  he  would  not  become  a  charge  upon  it ;  that  is,  those  who 
had  no  legal  settlement  in  a  parish  might  be  removed  from  it,  not  only 
in  case  of  indigence,  but  also  if  there  were  a  probability  of  their  be- 
coming indigent. 

^  See  The  English  Poor  Laws,  by  Miss  Sophia  Lonsdale. 

^  Art.  Armengesetzgebung  in  Grossbritannien  in  Handworterbuch  der  Staats- 
wissenschaftcn.     Zweite  Auflage,  1898. 


THE  BRITISH  EMPIRE  173 

The  effect  of  this  act  was  practically  to  bind  the  laboring  classes 
to  the  soil.  First  passed  by  the  reactionary  cavalier  Parliament  of 
Charles  11.  and  reenacted  by  succeeding  Parliaments,  it  harked  back 
to  the  efforts  made  after  the  freeing  of  the  serfs  to  confine  the  laborer 
to  the  place  of  his  birth.  The  motive  of  the  act  was,  of  course,  to 
protect  rich  parishes  from  the  influx  of  the  poor  from  the  poorer 
parishes.  But  all  parishes  made  equally  selfish  use  of  it  to  hinder 
all  migration  of  those  without  means,  through  vigorous  exercise  of 
the  power  of  expulsion.  The  mobility  of  labor  being  thus  destroyed, 
the  growth  of  industry  was  stopped,  the  laboring  classes  impov- 
erished by  lack  of  employment,  and  the  poor  rates  consequently  in- 
creased. Thus  the  results  of  the  law  were  disastrous  to  rich  and  poor 
alike.  Nevertheless,  subsequent  legislation  aggravated  these  condi- 
tions by  making  the  acquisition  of  a  new  domicile  still  more  difficult. 
Birth  and  apprenticeship  were  made  practically  the  only  way  in 
which  a  settlement  could  be  acquired.  Not  until  the  year  1795  did 
any  substantial  amelioration  of  the  settlement  law  come  about.  Then 
expulsion  from  the  parish  was  made  permissible  only  when  the  person 
in  question  was  actually  dependent,  and  not  then  if  a  justice  judged 
the  person  unfit  to  travel. 

5.  The  Rise  of  the  Workhouse. — In  1691  an  act  was  passed 
to  secure  a  better  administration  of  relief  funds.  It  had  been  found 
that  the  overseers  were  often  careless,  if  not  partial,  in  their  adminis- 
tration of  the  funds.  It  was  therefore  ordered  that  a  register  should 
be  kept  of  the  paupers  in  each  parish,  with  the  amount  of  relief  given ; 
that  this  list  should  be  publicly  examined  at  a  vestry  meeting  once 
each  year ;  that  no  person's  name  could  be  added  to  it  except  at  that 
time ;  and  that  no  one  else  should  receive  relief  during  the  year  except 
by  the  authority  of  one  or  more  justices.^  This  exceptional  clause, 
which  was  evidently  designed  to  cover  emergencies,  practically  placed 
the  supreme  power  in  the  dispensing  of  relief  in  the  hands  of  the 
justices.  The  result  was  the  opposite  of  that  which  was  intended. 
The  administration  of  relief  was  more  lax  than  before,  and  the  poor 
rates  rapidly  increased. 

In  consequence  of  the  increase  of  expenditure  from  this  and  other 
causes,  the  idea  of  building  poorhouses  in  which  to  care  for  the 
poor,  which  we  have  seen  was  commended  in  the  law  of  Elizabeth, 
became  again  popular.     Coupled  with  the  idea  of  providing  indoor 

^  See  Fowle,  The  Poor  Law,  pp.  60,  61. 


174 


MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 


maintenance  only  for  paupers,  was  the  notion  that  they  could  and 
should  be  put  at  remunerative  labor  in  such  houses.  In  other  words, 
it  was  the  workhouse  rather  than  the  poorhouse  idea  which  began 
to  be  advocated. 

The  first  experiment  was  tried  at  Bristol,  where  by  special  act  of 
Parliament  a  workhouse  was  erected  in  1697.  The  result  was  so  sat- 
isfactory that  the  example  was  soon  followed  by  many  other  places. 
In  1723  an  act  was  passed  which  provided  that  parishes  might,  either 
singly  or  in  unions  of  two  or  more,  erect,  buy  or  rent  workhouses, 
and  ordered  "that  no  poor  who  refused  to  be  lodged  and  kept  in  such 
houses  should  be  entitled  to  ask  for  parochial  relief."  Thus  was  in- 
stituted, though  wholly  at  the  option  of  the  parishes  adopting  it,  the 
"workhouse  test,"  which  was  to  become  so  famous  through  the  re- 
forms of  a  century  later.  The  efifect  in  the  parishes  where  it  was 
adopted  was  an  immediate  decrease  in  the  amount  expended  for  poor- 
relief.  The  system  was  never  generally  adopted,  however,  and  as 
it  lacked  central  supervision  it  soon  fell  into  decay. 

The  same  act  (9  George  I.)  which  made  it  possible  for  parishes 
to  institute  the  "workhouse  test"  also  introduced  the  vicious  system 
of  "farming  out"  the  poor.  Parishes  were  authorized  "to  contract 
with  any  person  or  persons  for  the  lodging,  keeping,  employing,  any 
or  all  such  poor  in  the  parish."  From  this  farming  of  the  poor  the 
gravest  abuses  sprang  up  in  the  poorhouses  and  workhouses.  In- 
human barbarities  were  perpetrated  by  the  contractors  on  the  help- 
less inmates,  especially  on  the  sick  and  the  insane,  and  these  were  not 
entirely  checked,  though  legislative  restrictions  were  attempted,  until 
the  last  remnants  of  the  contract  system  were  finally  abolished  after 
the  reforms  of  1834. 

To  correct  these  abuses  and  to  introduce  some  other  reforms, 
the  important  act  known  as  Gilbert's  Act  was  passed  in  1782,  This 
act  extended  the  right  of  parishes  to  form  unions  for  purposes  of 
poor-relief  administration.  Not  only  were  adjacent  parishes  em- 
powered to  unite  for  the  erection  of  a  common  poorhouse,  or  work- 
house, but  also  for  the  common  administration  of  relief.  In  these 
unions,  called  "Gilbert's  Incorporations,"  the  farming  out  of  the 
poor  was  definitely  abolished;  and  relief,  both  indoor  and  outdoor, 
was  to  be  administered  by  paid  officers,  called  guardians,  to  be  ap- 
pointed by  the  justices,  while  to  the  overseers  was  left  merely  the 
assessment  and  collection  of  the  poor  rates.     The  justices  also  were 


THE  BRITISH  EMPIRE  175 

to  appoint  visitors  who,  as  honorary  officials,  were  to  be  associated 
with  them  in  exercising  supervision  over  the  administration  of  reh'ef. 
Unfortunately,  the  adoption  of  these  reforms  depended  upon  their 
acceptance  by  a  two-thirds  vote  of  the  property  owners  of  the  differ- 
ent parishes.  The  system  never  became  widespread,  though  sixty- 
seven  such  incorporations  were  formed,  some  of  which  in  form  per- 
sist down  to  the  present  day. 

6.  The  Allowance  System. — Along  with  these  foreshadow- 
ings  of  a  better  system,  Gilbert's  Act  contained  a  menacing  departure 
from  sound  principles,  in  that  it  expressly  stipulated  that  none  but 
the  old  and  infirm  poor,  the  mothers  of  illegitimates  and  children 
yet  unable  to  work,  should  be  sent  to  the  poorhouse.  The  able-bodied 
poor  were  to  be  found  work  near  their  own  homes  by  the  guardians, 
who  were  to  collect  their  wages  for  them  and  apply  the  same  toward 
their  maintenance,  supplementing  any  deficiency  by  a  grant  from  the 
relief  funds. 

This  is  the  beginning  of  that  system  of  wage-subsidies,  or  relief 
in  aid  of  wages,  known  as  the  "allowance  system,"  which  for  a  time 
threatened  to  pauperize  England's  laboring  classes  and  ruin  her 
commercial  and  industrial  supremacy.  Its  origin  was  undoubtedly 
in  the  humanitarian  tendencies  of  the  time ;  but  it  represented  a 
natural  reaction  from  the  barbarities  connected  with  the  farming  out 
of  the  poor  in  the  poorhouses  and  the  cruelties  connected  with  the 
enforcement  of  the  law  of  settlement.  It  may  seem  now  to  us  a  false 
humanitarianism  which  would  dictate  that  the  State  find  employment 
for  those  who  were  out  of  work  and  supplement  low  wages  by  a 
grant  from  the  public  funds ;  but  to  those  who  were  then  interested  in 
the  elevation  of  the  laboring  classes,  the  liberalization  of  the  Poor 
Law  seemed  the  natural  way  of  accomplishing  their  end.  They 
could  hardly  have  foreseen  the  disaster. 

The  system  of  allowances  reached  its  culmination  in  1795  when 
the  Berkshire  magistrates  inaugurated  a  plan  of  relieving,  out  of  the 
poor  funds,  all  poor  and  industrious  families  whose  income  was 
judged  insufficient,  the  amount  of  the  allowance  to  be  regulated  by 
the  price  of  wheat  and  the  size  of  the  family.^  Though  never  ex- 
pressly sanctioned  by  specific  legislation,  the  example  of  Berkshire 
was  quickly  followed  by  the  whole  country.  The  rapid  spread  of 
the  Berkshire  plan  shows  the  temper  of  the  time ;  but  it  was  certainly 

^  See  Fowle,  The  Poor  Law,  pp.  65,  66. 


176  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

facilitated  by  Parliament  legalizing,  the  next  year,  outdoor  relief  to 
the  able-bodied,  and  that  in  aid  of  wages.  The  Act  of  1723  which 
permitted  parishes  to  establish  the  "workhouse  test"  in  giving  relief, 
was  formally  rescinded,  and  it  was  expressly  stipulated  that  refusal 
to  enter  a  workhouse  should  not  be  a  ground  for  withholding  relief. 
The  only  test  of  destitution  was  the  opinion  of  the  justices  as  to 
whether  the  income  of  the  family  was  sufficient  or  not ;  and  what  was 
not  earned  in  wages  the  justices  usually  made  up  in  relief.  The 
country  could  hardly  have  gone  further  in  making  the  obtaining  of 
relief  easy  and  its  administration  totally  indiscriminating. 

Meanwhile,  pauperism  increased  enormously  and  the  poor  rates 
even  more  rapidly.  In  1783  the  amount  expended  for  poor-relief 
was  £2,004,238;  in  1803  it  was  £4,267,965;  and  in  1818  it  reached 
its  maximum  in  the  sum  of  £7,870,801,  the  population  of  the  country 
being  about  11,000,000.^  The  per  capita  taxation  for  poor-relief 
in  1818  (13s.  4d.)  was  six  times  as  great  as  it  had  been  in  1750 
(2s.  2d.).  Moreover,  the  material  condition  of  the  poor  was  not  bet- 
tered, for  wages  fell  rapidly,  inasmuch  as  the  pauperized  laborer  de- 
pending for  his  support  upon  public  relief,  could  afford  to  underbid 
the  independent  laborer.  Most  of  all  were  the  poor  affected  morally. 
The  laboring  classes,  if  we  can  believe  the  witnesses  of  the  time,  lost 
their  independence,  and  with  it  their  efficiency,  self-respect,  and  self- 
control. 

Just  what  proportion  of  the  enormous  increase  of  pauperism, 
which  took  place  in  England  between  1780  and  1820,  must  be  as- 
cribed to  unwise  methods  of  relief  and  what  to  the  industrial  and 
political  changes  of  the  time,  including  the  Napoleonic  wars,  it  is 
impossible  to  say.  But  that  lavish  relief  unwisely  administered  was 
the  principal  cause  of  this  increase  was  the  belief  of  those  who,  like 
Malthus,  investigated  the  actual  conditions  at  the  time ;  and  this  view 
has  never  been  successfully  controverted.  It  may  at  least  be  ac- 
cepted as  certain  that  the  vicious  system  of  public  relief  immensely 
facilitated  the  pauperization  of  England's  working  classes  at  a  time 
when  their  economic  situation  was  least  fortunate. 

The  attacks  of  the  economists,  led  by  Malthus,  upon  the  system 
gradually  aroused  England  to  the  danger  of  the  situation  and  slowly 
prepared  the  way  for  the  sweeping  reform  of  1834.  Feeble  efforts 
at  reform  were,  however,  made  before  this.     In  1817  a  committee 

^  See  Fowle,  The  Poor  Law,  p.  7^. 


THE  BRITISH  EMPIRE  1 77 

was  appointed  by  Parliament  for  the  investigation  of  the  Poor  Laws. 
An  able  report  was  made;  but  all  that  came  of  it  was  the  passage 
of  the  Select  Vestries  Act  (1819).  This  introduced  the  innovation 
of  associating  with  the  Poor  Law  officers  a  local  elective  body  which 
had  the  decisive  voice  in  the  administration  of  relief.  Further  fa- 
cilities also  were  provided  for  the  building  of  workhouses,  and  more 
discrimination  was  urged  upon  local  authorities  in  the  giving  of 
relief.  Such  was  the  state  of  affairs  when  in  February,  1832,  a 
second  royal  commission  was  appointed  to  investigate  the  practical 
workings  of  the  Poor  Law. 

7.  The  Poor  Law  of  1834. — The  report  of  this  commission  was 
published  in  February,  1834,  and  contained  the  most  startling  dis- 
closures regarding  the  abuses  connected  with  the  whole  system  of 
relief.  Into  the  evidence  cited  by  this  deservedly  famous  document, 
which  still  merits  the  attention  of  students  of  poor-relief,  we  can  not 
enter ;  but  it  gave  ample  proof  of  an  almost  unbelievable  state  of  cor- 
ruption on  the  part  of  both  the  recipients  and  the  givers  of  relief. 
The  report  had  a  profound  influence  upon  Parliament,  and  a  bill  em- 
bodying practically  all  its  recommendations  known  as  the  "Poor 
Law  Amendment  Act,"  was  passed  by  an  immense  majority. 

The  report  of  the  commission  advocated  no  new  principles  of 
relief.  Its  famous  formula,  "that  the  condition  of  the  pauper  ought 
to  be,  on  the  whole,  less  eligible  than  that  of  the  independent  laborer," 
which  it  declared  must  be  the  fundamental  principle  in  a  system  of 
legal  relief,  was  new  in  language  only.  The  spirit  of  this  principle 
was  embodied  in  the  Poor  Law  of  Elizabeth,  to  which  the  report  con- 
stantly refers  as  "the  foundation  and  text-book  of  the  English  Poor 
Law."  Consequently,  the  Law  of  1834  was  concerned  chiefly  with 
the  organization  of  the  administration  of  relief  rather  than  with  the 
introduction  of  new  principles  of  relief. 

The  main  provisions  of  the  new  law  may  be  summed  up  con- 
veniently under  three  heads  :  ( i )  A  central  authority  was  created 
in  a  board  of  three  Poor  Law  Commissioners,  who  had  extensive 
powers  over  local  authorities.  Not  only  could  this  board  issue 
orders  and  enforce  regulations  as  to  the  giving  of  relief,  but  it  ex- 
ercised also  minute  supervision  over  local  administration  through 
inspectors^  who  visited  the  workhouses  and  investigated  complaints, 
and  through  auditors,  who  audited  the  accounts  of  all  local  officials 
^At  first  called  Assistant  Commissioners. 
12 


178  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

every  half  year,  (2)  The  board  of  commissioners  was  to  divide  the 
country  into  districts  of  convenient  size,  to  take  the  place  of  the 
15,000  parishes,  as  the  administrative  units  of  the  rehef  system. 
Each  district,  or  Poor  Law  union,  as  it  was  called,  had  an  elective 
board  of  guardians  who  were  the  responsible  local  authorities  in  the 
administration  of  relief;  and  as  executive  organs  each  board  had 
one  or  more  salaried  relieving  officers.  (3)  The  guardians  of  each 
union  were  required  to  provide  and  build  at  least  one  workhouse, 
and  all  relief  to  the  able-bodied  outside  was  declared  illegal,  though 
this  provision  was  only  gradually  enforced.  Thus  was  reestablished 
the  "workhouse  test,"  the  corner-stone  of  every  wise  system  of 
public  relief. 

This  resume  of  the  main  provisions  of  the  Poor  Law  Amendment 
Act  of  1834  shows  that  it  was  essentially  a  centralizing  measure ;  that, 
aside  from  the  illegalizing  of  outdoor  relief  for  the  able-bodied,  it 
accomplished  the  reform  of  the  relief  system  by  providing  a  central 
authority  which,  through  supervision,  could  secure  uniformity  and 
efficiency  in  local  administration. 

8.  Legislation  Since  1834. — The  board  of  Poor  Law  commis- 
sioners, established  by  the  law  of  1834,  was  limited  in  duration  to  five 
years.  From  the  first  a  bitter  fight  was  waged  upon  the  unlimited 
powers  and  authority  of  this  central  board,  and,  indeed,  by  the  labor- 
ing classes  upon  the  whole  reformed  system  of  relief.  But  the 
board  was  continued  by  Parliament  in  practically  its  original  form 
until  1847,  when  it  was  transformed  into  a  ministerial  department 
responsible  to  Parliament.  The  desirability  of  consolidating  vari- 
ous branches  of  local  government  into  one  department  led  again,  in 
1871,  to  a  further  change,  the  establishment  of  the  Local  Government 
Board,  which  has  general  supervision  of  all  such  matters  as  public 
sanitation,  public  works,  and  poor-relief,  and  which  has  become  now 
one  of  the  most  important  departments  of  the  Government. 

The  powers  and  functions  of  the  central  board  have  remained  the 
same,  save  for  gradual  enlargement.  Among  these  powers  is  that 
of  issuing  orders  for  the  carrying  out  of  the  intentions  of  legisla- 
tion. These  orders  have  the  force  of  law,  and,  hence,  are  hardly 
less  worthy  of  note  than  acts  of  Parliament.  Among  the  more  im- 
portant of  them  have  been,  the  "Outdoor  Relief  Prohibitory  Order" 
of  1844,  which  forbade  relief  to  the  able-bodied  outside  of  the  work- 
house, save  in  exceptional  cases ;  the  "General  Consolidated  Order" 


THE  BRITISH  EMPIRE  I^g 

of  1847,  giving  exhaustive  directions  as  to  the  administration  of 
relief,  the  management  of  workhouses,  the  meetings  of  guardians, 
and  the  duties  of  officers ;  and  the  "Outdoor  ReHef  Regulation 
Order,"  regulating  the  giving  of  outdoor  relief  in  cases  where  per- 
mitted, especially  in  large  cities. 

Through  the  influence  of  Sir  Robert  Peel,  in  1846,  the  law  of 
settlement  was  further  modified  by  what  is  known  as  the  "Irremov- 
able Poor  Act."  This  act  forbade  removal  in  cases  of  indigency, 
if  the  person  in  question  had  dwelt  five  years  in  the  parish.  Later 
acts  reduced  the  period  to  one  year  of  residence  within  the  union  and 
so  increased  the  number  of  cases  of  "irremovability"  that  relief  in  the 
place  of  sojourn  is  now  the  rule. 

In  the  law  of  1834  each  parish  was  to  pay  for  the  relief  of  its  own 
poor,  while  the  common  expenses  of  the  union  were  to  be  borne  by 
the  parishes  in  proportion  to  the  cost  of  their  own  paupers.  It  soon 
became  manifest,  however,  that  this  was  a  clumsy  arrangement  and 
unjust  to  the  poorer  parishes  of  a  union.  After  several  half-way 
measures  the  "Union  Chargeability  Act"  was  finally  passed  in  1865, 
making  the  Poor  Law  union  instead  of  the  parish  the  bearer  of  the 
poor  rate. 

For  the  performance  of  certain  functions  of  relief,  as,  e.  g.,  the 
care  of  children,  the  Poor  Law  union  had  been  found  to  be  too  small. 
Accordingly  in  1879  power  was  given  the  central  authorities  to  unite 
two  or  more  unions  for  any  purpose  connected  with  poor-relief. 
Thus  many  unions  have  been  formed  into  districts  for  the  erection  of 
the  so-called  "District  Schools,"  where  large  numbers  of  pauper  chil- 
dren are  educated  together.  The  tendency  is  to  transfer  the  costlier 
branches  of  public  relief  to  these  large  administrative  districts ;  and 
when  this  is  not  done,  subsidies  from  general  public  funds,  as  in  the 
care  of  the  indigent  insane,  are  given  local  authorities  for  the  more 
expensive  forms  of  relief. 

It  is  impossible  in  this  brief  sketch  to  notice  the  many  philan- 
thropic movements  during  the  latter  half  of  the  nineteenth  century, 
which  have  brought  about  so  many  improvements  in  the  administra- 
tion of  public  relief  in  the  case  of  the  most  helpless  classes,  as,  e.  g., 
the  agitations  for  the  better  care  of  the  sick  poor,  for  the  removal 
of  the  insane  from  the  workhouses,  and  for  the  better  education  of 
pauper  children.  These  will,  however,  be  noticed  briefly  in  the  sec- 
tions which  deal  with  the  present  methods  of  caring  for  these  classes. 


igo  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

By  the  Local  Government  Act  of  1894  the  local  administration 
of  relief  was,  so  to  speak,  completely  democratized.  Previous  to 
that  date  the  boards  of  guardians  had  been  elected  by  a  classified 
franchise  which  granted  the  propertied  classes  as  high  as  six  votes. 
Now  equal  franchise  is  given  to  all  adult  persons,  without  distinc- 
tion of  sex,  who  have  resided  in  the  union  for  one  year  or  longer, 
provided  they  have  paid  poor-rate  and  have  their  names  enrolled  on 
the  register  of  parochial  electors.  As  a  consequence  many  laboring 
men  have  been  elected  to  the  boards.  Women,  also,  can  serve  as 
guardians,  and  a  large  number  have  been  elected.  One  result  of 
this  democratization  of  the  local  administration  has  been  that  in  some 
unions  there  has  been  a  large  increase  in  the  giving  of  outdoor  relief, 
as  the  labor  leaders  favor  greater  liberality,  in  this  respect.  But  this 
can  hardly  be  counted  a  serious  danger,  so  long  as  the  check  of  a 
supreme  central  authority  remains. 

The  Present  English  System  of  Public  Relief. — Aschrott 
has  called  England  "the  classical  land  of  State  poor-relief."^  As  we 
have  seen,  it  is  only  in  the  broad  sense  of  the  word  "State"  that  this 
epithet  is  historically  deserved.  Originally  the  relief  was  communal 
or  parish  relief,  which  perhaps  may  be  traced  back  to  the  clan  system 
of  social  organization,  but  which  was  given  definite  form  during  the 
Middle  Ages  by  the  fact  that  the  Church  was  the  sole  agent  of  public 
relief.  So  the  duty  of  giving  relief  became  attached  to  the  parish; 
and  it  remained  so  down  to  1834.  Even  now  the  bulk  of  relief  does 
not  come  from  general  public  funds,  raised  by  taxing  equitably  the 
whole  country,  but  from  local  funds  raised  by  the  taxation  of  a  com- 
paratively small  area,  the  Poor  Law  union.  However,  the  act  of 
1834  did  transform  the  relief  system  from  a  local  into  a  State  system. 
It  supplied  what  had  hitherto  been  lacking — a  central  authority  which 
could  secure  uniformity  of  administration  throughout  the  kingdom. 
Accordingly,  local  administration  has  now  the  character  of  appear- 
ing derived  from  a  central  authority.  The  system  is  a  State  system ; 
but  the  carrying  out  of  details  is  left  to  local  authorities  upon  grounds 
of  expediency.  The  recognition  of  the  right  of  relief  as  a  civil  right 
is  further  evidence  of  the  State  character  of  the  system ;  but  most 
of  all  does  this  appear  in  the  highly  centralized  organization  of  the 
Poor  Law  administration.     Let  us  see  what  this  organization  is : 

^  Art.  Armengesetzgebung  in  Grossbritannien  in  Handworterbuch  der  Staats- 
wissenschaften.     Zweite  Auflage,  1898. 


THE  BRITISH  EMPIRE  l8i 

I.  The  Organization  of  Poor  Law  Administration.^ 
(a)  The  Central  Authority. — The  existing  central  authority  in 
Poor  Law  administration  is,  as  we  have  seen,  the  Local  Government 
Board.  The  Local  Government  Board  is  composed  of  a  president, 
who  is  the  responsible  cabinet  minister,-  of  a  permanent  and  a  parlia- 
mentary secretary,  of  several  assistant  secretaries,  of  a  general  inspec- 
tor, and  a  legal  adviser.  In  addition  several  other  important  ofificers 
of  the  Government  are  nominally  ex-officio  members.  The  powers  of 
this  central  board  over  local  administration,  as  has  already  been  said, 
are  of  the  most  extensive  character.  These  powers  are  exercised 
chiefly  in  four  ways :  through  the  issuing  of  orders,  through  inspec- 
tion and  supervision,  through  the  auditing  of  accounts,  and  through 
power  of  dismissal. 

The  power  to  issue  orders  and  regulations  to  secure  the  carrying 
out  of  the  intentions  of  legislation,  is  among  the  most  important 
functions  of  the  central  board.  These  orders,  known  as  Poor  Law 
orders,  have  become  of  greater  practical  importance  than  the  Poor 
Law  itself,  since  they  cover  the  whole  field  of  administration  down 
even  to  the  smallest  details.  Thus,  after  the  local  authorities  have 
decided  that  relief  shall  be  given  and  what  kind  of  relief,  the  method 
or  manner  of  giving  the  relief  is  rigidly  prescribed.  No  important 
step  can  be  taken  by  the  local  authorities,  such  as  the  building  of  a 
workhouse,  or  the  formation  of  a  new  union,  except  it  is  sanctioned 
by  a  special  order  of  the  board.  Moreover,  the  board  issues,  besides 
these  orders,  which  are  mandatory,  letters  of  instruction  and  circu- 
lars, which  are  in  the  way  of  explanation  and  suggestion,  but  are 
of  great  influence. 

The  power  to  inspect  and  supervise  local  administration  is  an- 
other important  function  of  the  central  board.  For  this  purpose  ihe 
whole  country  is  divided  into  fourteen  inspection  districts.  Each 
district  is  under  a  general  inspector.  London,  in  addition,  has 
three  assistant  inspectors.  These  inspectors  are  specialists,  and  usu- 
ally highly  educated  men.^     Their  duties  are  to  visit  the  workhouses, 

^  The  best  authorities  here  are  Aschrott,  The  English  Poor  Law  System,  Past 
and  Present ;  the  article  by  Aschrott  noted  above ;  Fowle,  The  Poor  Law ;  and 
C.  S.  Loch,  Introduction  to  Annual  Charities  Register  and  Digest. 

^  The  president  of  the  local  Government  Board  does  not  always  have  a  seat 
in  the  cabinet ;  but  of  late  years  this  has  been  the  practice. 

^  Their  salary  is  usually  high,  being  generally  about    £1,000,  with  allowances 


l82  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

to  attend,  occasionally,  meetings  of  boards  of  guardians,  to  hear  com- 
plaints, and  otherwise  to  supervise  the  relief  administration  of  their 
districts.  Once  a  year  they  hand  in  a  somewhat  elaborate  report  to 
the  central  authorities. 

An  efficient  means  of  control  over  local  authorities  is  through 
the  power  of  auditing  accounts.  There  are  fifty  district  auditors  who 
examine,  every  half-year,  the  accounts  of  all  officials,  and  who  have 
power  to  disallow  any  item  therein  which  is  at  variance  with  the 
orders  of  the  central  board.  Every  such  disallowed  item  becomes  a 
personal  charge  upon  the  board  of  guardians,  though  the  Local  Gov- 
ernment Board  has  discretionary  power  to  remit  the  disallowance. 

Finally,  the  central  board  has  power  to  discharge  all  officials  em- 
ployed by  the  local  authorities,  though  these  latter  may  neither  ap- 
point nor  remove  any  officer  without  the  consent  of  the  board.  This 
makes  the  administrative  officers  in  the  relief  system,  such  as  the 
masters  of  workhouses  and  the  relieving  officers,  independent  of 
local  political  influences,  and  secures  efficiency  by  making  sure  the 
dismissal  of  incompetents. 

(&)  The  Local  Authorities. — For  the  purposes  of  local  adminis- 
tration, the  country  is  divided  (1900)  into  649  Poor  Law  unions,  new 
unions  being  formed  from  time  to  time  as  the  population  increases. 
For  each  of  these  unions  there  is  a  board  of  guardians,  who  are 
the  responsible  local  authorities  charged  with  the  carrying  out  of 
the  Poor  Law  and  the  orders  of  the  central  board.  The  guardians 
are  unpaid  honor  officers  who  are  elected  for  three  years  from  the 
voters  of  the  union,  one-third  of  their  number  retiring  each  year. 
The  elected  guardians,  however,  are  entitled  to  choose,  in  addition, 
their  chairman  and  vice-chairman,  and  two  other  members  from  out- 
side their  own  body,  provided  such  persons  are  qualified  to  be  guard- 
ians of  the  union. 

All  persons,  both  men  and  women,  are  eligible  for  service  as 
guardians  who  are  either  parochial  electors  or  have  lived  in  the 
union  for  the  twelve  months  preceding.  Nearly  every  person  of 
full  age  resident  in  the  union  at  least  one  year  is  entitled  to  vote 
for  guardians,  if  his  rates  have  been  paid,  unless  he  has  within  the 
previous  twelve  months  received  relief  of  any  sort  except  certain 
forms  of  medical  relief.     The  number  of  guardians  elected  in  each 

for  traveling  expenses  and  clerical  assistance.  See  Aschrott's  English  Poor  Law 
System. 


THE  BRITISH  EMPIRE  183 

union  is  fixed  by  the  central  board,  but  there  is  always  one  or  more 
for  each  parish  or  city  ward.  In  rural  districts  the  guardians  are 
the  district  councilors,  but  as  guardians  they  are  an  administrative 
body  separate  and  distinct  from  the  district  council. 

The  board  of  guardians  is  aided  by  paid  officers,  a  clerk  and  one 
or  more  relieving  officers.  These  are  elected  by  the  board,  but  their 
election  must  be  confirmed  by  the  Local  Government  Board,  which 
also  has  the  decisive  voice  regarding  their  salary  or  any  later  increase 
in  salary.  Moreover,  as  already  noted,  they  can  be  dismissed  only 
by  the  central  authorities  if  guilty  of  any  neglect  of  duty.  The 
clerk  keeps  all  records  of  the  board,  gives  legal  advice,  and  looks 
after  many  matters  of  detail ;  hence,  he  may  have  a  great  deal  to  do 
with  shaping  the  policy  of  the  board.  The  relieving  officers  receive 
and  are  supposed  to  investigate  all  applications  for  relief,  to  report 
on  the  same  to  the  board,  and  to  distribute  "duly  and  punctually" 
the  relief  granted  by  the  board. 

The  boards  of  guardians  hold  regular  meetings,  usually  fort- 
nightly, at  stated  times  and  places.  At  these  meetings  a  regular 
order  of  business,  prescribed  by  the  central  board,  is  gone  through 
with,  including  reports  from  the  master  of  the  workhouse  and  the 
relieving  officers.  For  the  purpose  of  expediting  business,  in  the 
larger  unions  the  board  has  numerous  standing  committees,  such  as 
the  workhouse  committee,  the  finance  committee,  and  the  relief  com- 
mittee. 

2.  The  Raising  of  the  Funds  for  Relief. — The  funds  for 
poor-relief  are  obtained  chiefly  through  the  poor  rate.  But  certain 
"grants"  from  the  Local  Government  Board,  taken  from  the  county 
funds,  now  also  form  no  inconsiderable  part  of  the  poor  funds. 
These  grants  are  now  given  for  the  keeping  of  the  indigent  insane 
in  the  county  or  borough  asylums  to  the  extent  of  four  shillings 
per  head  weekly ;  also  in  London  to  the  amount  of  five  pence  daily 
for  every  poor  person  taken  care  of  in  an  institution ;  and  finally, 
for  the  salaries  and  pensions  of  Poor  Law  officers.  The  amount  of 
these  contributions  in  the  year  1896-97  was  £2,034,171  out  of  a  total 
expenditure,  for  all  purposes  connected  with  the  public  poor-relief, 
of  £10,215,974.1 

Apart  from  these  contributions,  each  union  must  bear  the  ex- 
pense of  relieving  its  own  poor  through  the  local  tax,  known  as  "the 

^  See  Aschrott,  Armengesetzgebung  in  Grossbritannien. 


184  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

poor  rate."  The  assessment  and  levying  of  this  tax  is  the  business 
of  the  overseers,  who  are  still  appointed  in  some  urban  parishes 
according  to  the  terms  of  the  Poor  Law  of  Elizabeth ;  but  by  the 
Local  Government  Act  of  1894  the  appointment  of  overseers  in 
rural  parishes  was  transferred  to  the  parish  council  or  parish  meet- 
ing. The  overseers  are  unpaid  honor  officers,  and  their  work  is 
largely  done  by  paid  underofficers,  known  as  assistant  overseers  and 
collectors. 

Besides  these  funds,  local  authorities  are  permitted,  under  the 
approval  and  supervision  of  the  central  authorities,  to  borrow  for 
certain  purposes,  such  as  the  erection  of  workhouses  and  other  insti- 
tutions. The  amount  of  these  loans  in  the  year  1896  aggregated 
ii,68i,o8i. 

Of  the  total  expenditures  for  all  purposes  connected  with  the 
public  poor-relief  for  the  year  ended  Lady  Day,  1899 — which  were 
£11,286,973 — £8,161,532  were  obtained  from  the  poor  rate.  This 
made  the  amount  of  the  poor  rate  per  capita  of  the  population  for 
that  year  7s.  2^d.  In  1834  the  amount  per  capita  was  8s.  9/^d. ; 
in  1880  it  was  6s.  4d. ;  in  1890,  5s.  ii}4d.  Thus  the  amount  of  taxa- 
tion for  the  relief  of  the  poor  per  capita  gradually  decreased,  though 
with  many  fluctuations,  down  to  about  1890;  since  then  it  has  been 
rapidly  increasing.  This  is  due,  however,  largely  to  the  better  care 
of  the  poor.  Thus  in  1885-86  the  amount  expended  annually  per 
capita  of  those  relieved  was  iio  lo^^d. ;  while  in  1896-97  it  had 
increased  to  £12  los.  4^d. 

3.  The  Right  to  Relief  and  the  Law  of  Settlement. — 
Every  fully  destitute  person  is  entitled  to  receive  relief.  The  refusal 
of  the  local  poor  officials  to  relieve  such  a  person  is  a  punishable 
offense.  Moreover,  in  extreme  cases  the  courts  would  issue  a  man- 
damus to  compel  relief  to  be  granted.  The  possibility  of  punishment, 
or  of  summary  proceedings,  however,  is  sufficient  to  prevent  any  neg- 
lect of  duty  on  the  part  of  officials.  It  is  also  to  be  noted  that  neg- 
lect to  procure  relief  for  a  child,  a  sick  or  other  helpless  person,  by 
a  private  individual  who  knows  that  such  person  is  in  need  of  relief, 
is  a  punishable  offense. 

On  the  other  hand,  persons  who  are  possessed  of  money  or  prop- 
erty, and  who  make  false  statements  in  applying  for  public  relief, 
may  be  punished  as  idle  and  disorderly  persons.  The  poor  officials 
have,  besides,  a  legal  claim  upon  the  present  or  later-acquired  prop- 


THE  BRITISH  EMPIRE  185 

erty  of  a  person  relieved  for  any  relief  granted  within  the  last  twelve 
months. 

The  duty  of  giving  relief  rests  in  the  first  instance  upon  the  Poor 
Law  union  in  which  the  poor  person  happens  to  be  found.  In  case 
the  person  has  not  a  legal  settlement  in  any  parish  of  the  union  he 
may  be  removed  to  his  home,  provided  the  removal  is  not  excluded 
through  special  legal  regulations.  These  cases  of  so-called  "irre- 
movability" are  numerous.  The  more  important  of  them  are:  (i) 
if  the  person  in  question  has  resided  in  the  union  a  full  year  without 
relief;  (2)  if  the  person  is  a  child  under  sixteen,  living  with  a  parent; 
(3)  if  the  person  is  a  widow  during  the  first  twelve  months  of  her 
widowhood;  (4)  if  the  indigency  is  a  result  of  sickness,  misfortune. 
or  accident,  unless  in  the  opinion  of  the  justices  permanent  and  com- 
plete incapacity  for  work  is  likely  to  result  therefrom.^ 

In  case  the  person  has  no  settlement  and  is  "removable,"  removal 
may  take  place,  if  there  is  no  dispute,  without  form ;  but  if  there  is 
dispute  the  guardians  must  secure  a  removal  order  from  two  justices 
of  the  peace.  A  pauper  so  removed  from  a  union  by  a  formal  order 
of  the  justices  cannot  return  without  rendering  himself  liable  to 
arrest  as  an  idle  and  disorderly  person.  The  number  of  removal 
orders  issued  has  from  year  to  year  decreased. 

A  person  has  a  settlement  in  a  parish  (i)  if  he  has  resided  in  it 
for  three  years  "in  such  manner  and  under  such  circumstances  as 
would  render  him  irremovable;"  (2)  if  he  occupies  for  one  year 
a  dwelling  house,  whose  annual  rental  is  not  less  than  £10,  and  has 
paid  poor-rate;  (3)  if  he  owns  an  estate  of  land,  however  small 
in  value,  and  resides  in  the  parish  forty  days.  Besides  these  "origi- 
nal" settlements,  acquired  by  the  person  himself,  there  are  "deriva- 
tive" settlements,  acquired  in  virtue  of  relationship  to  another  per- 
son. Thus  a  wife  on  marriage  acquires  the  settlement  of  her  hus- 
band, and  a  child  under  sixteen  takes  the  settlement  of  its  father 
or  widowed  mother.- 

It  is  evident  from  what  has  been  said  that  settlement  and  the 
right  to  relief  do  not  coincide.  The  matter  of  settlement  is  still 
connected  with  the  parish,  while  the  giving  of  relief  is  the  duty  of 
the  union.     And  relief  cannot  be  refused  if  the  applicant  is  fully  des- 

^  See  Introduction  to  Annuo'.  Charities  Register  and  Digest,  1902,  p.  xlix. 
^  Ibid.,  p.  1. 


l86  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

titute,  and  has  a  settlement  in  one  of  the  parishes  of  the  union  or  is 
irremovable  from  other  causes. 

4.  The  Procedure  in  the  Granting  of  Relief. — Save  in 
exceptional  circumstances,  all  applications  for  relief  must  be  made  to 
the  relieving  officer  of  the  needy  person's  district.  The  relieving 
officer  must  at  once  make  an  investigation  at  the  house  of  the  ap- 
plicant, examining  carefully  into  the  circumstances  of  the  case.  He 
enters  the  information  thus  obtained  in  an  "Application  and  Report 
Book,"  and  at  the  next  meeting  of  the  board  of  guardians  he  makes 
a  personal  report  upon  the  case.  To  this  meeting  the  applicant  also 
is  regularly  invited,  in  order  that  he  may  be  given  a  personal  hear- 
ing. After  listening  to  the  report  and,  perhaps,  questioning  the  ap- 
plicant, the  board  decides,  first,  concerning  the  granting  of  relief,  and, 
if  granted,  then  concerning  the  sort  of  relief  to  be  given.  This  de- 
cision is  entered  in  a  book,  the  "Relief  Order  Book,"  by  the  clerk, 
and  must  be  carried  out  by  the  relieving  officer. 

Over  those  indigent  whose  permanent  relief  is  undertaken  con- 
tinuous oversight  is  exercised  by  a  committee  of  the  board  of  guard- 
ians. Standing  committees  exist  for  several  classes  of  the  desti- 
tute, such  as  children,  the  sick,  those  relieved  with  money,  and  those 
relieved  in  the  workhouse.  These  committees,  usually  composed  of 
both  men  and  women,  make  regular  reports  to  the  board,  so  that  from 
time  to  time  all  cases  are  reviewed  by  the  board. 

In  emergencies  the  relieving  officer  has  the  right  to  give  imme- 
diate relief  in  kind  or  an  order  for  the  workhouse.  At  the  next 
meeting  of  the  board  of  guardians,  however,  he  must  report  the 
case,  which  is  then  taken  up  in  the  regular  way  for  a  definite  decision. 
The  overseers  and  justices  of  the  peace  can  also  give  an  order  for 
relief  in  any  sudden  or  urgent  necessity.  This  is  a  remnant  of  their 
old  power,  and  is  rarely  used  by  them.  Ultimately  all  cases  must 
come  before  the  board  of  guardians  for  decision. 

The  above  description  of  the  procedure  in  granting  relief  in  any 
particular  case  represents  the  spirit  of  the  law.  Unfortunately  it  is 
not  always  possible  to  carry  out  this  procedure  fully.  The  im- 
mense amount  of  business  which  comes  before  some  boards  of  guard- 
ians leads  to  undue  haste  in  the  disposition  of  cases.  Thus  one  in- 
spector reports  that  as  many  as  eleven  cases  were  disposed  of  in  four 
minutes  by  one  London  board  of  guardians.  Again,  the  duties  of 
the  relieving  officer  are  often  so  heavy  that  he  cannot  give  proper 


THE  BRITISH  EMPIRE  187 

attention  to  the  investigation  of  cases.  Instead  of  having  from  one 
hundred  to  two  hundred  cases  to  look  after,  he  often  has  from  four 
to  five  hundred.  Thus  investigation  is  often  neglected  or  degenerates 
into  a  mere  form.  Indeed,  just  here  is  one  of  the  great  weaknesses 
of  the  English  system  of  poor-relief — that  it  gives  no  adequate  rec- 
ognition to  the  value  of  the  principle  of  investigation,  but  upon  ma- 
chinery and  routine  to  take  its  place. 

5.  Outdoor  Relief. — The  relief  of  the  poor  falls  into  two  main 
divisions,  indoor  and  outdoor  relief.  As  these  terms  are  used  in 
England,  indoor  relief  comprehends  practically  all  relief  given  inside 
of  institutions.  It  covers,  in  particular,  the  relief  given  in  work- 
houses, infirmaries,  schools,  asylums,  and  other  institutions  under  the 
control  of  the  guardians.  Outdoor  relief  is  relief  given  to  the  poor 
in  their  own  homes ;  but  it  also  includes  in  England  the  relief  of  the 
indigent  insane  in  county  and  borough  asylums,  private  asylums,  and 
licensed  houses.  But  this  exceptional  use  of  the  term  is  of  no  great 
importance ;  and  practically  the  terms  indoor  and  outdoor  relief  are 
used  to  designate,  respectively,  relief  inside  and  outside  of  the  work- 
house. 

As  we  have  seen,  one  of  the  most  important  duties  of  the  board 
of  guardians  is  to  decide  upon  the  kind  of  relief.  For  their  guidance 
in  this  matter  there  exist  the  two  great  ordinances  of  the  central 
board,  already  mentioned,  the  Outdoor  Relief  Prohibitory  Order  of 
1844,  and  the  Outdoor  Relief  Regulation  Order  of  1852.  The  Pro- 
hibitory Order,  which  holds  in  most  districts  of  England,  forbids  the 
granting  of  outdoor  relief  to  the  able-bodied,  both  male  and  female, 
save  under  the  following  exceptional  circumstances :  ( i)  sudden  or 
urgent  necessity;  (2)  sickness,  accident,  bodily  or  mental  infirmity 
affecting  the  applicant  or  his  or  her  family;  (3)  defraying  the  ex- 
penses of  burial;  (4)  in  the  case  of  a  widow  in  the  first  six  months 
of  her  widowhood;  (5)  in  the  case  of  a  widow  with  legitimate  chil- 
dren only,  who  is  unable  to  earn  her  own  livlihood ;  (6)  when  the 
head  of  the  family  is  in  prison  or  in  an  asylum ;  (7)  when  the  head  of 
the  family  is  absent  in  the  service  of  His  Majesty,  as  a  soldier,  sailor, 
or  marine;  (8)  in  cases  of  desertion  of  husband  when  there  are  chil- 
dren resident  with  the  mother  under  seven  years. ^  In  exceptions 
(6)   to   (8),  relief  shall  be  given  in  the  same  manner  and  subject 

^  See  Introduction  to  Annual  Charities  Register  and  Digest,  1902,  pp.  xxxvi- 
xxxviii. 


l88  MODERxN  .METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

to  the  same  conditions  as  to  a  woman  in  widowhood.  Moreover, 
these  exceptions  apply  only  in  the  case  of  residents.  In  the  case 
of  non-residents  the  regulations  are  somewhat  stricter.  But  out- 
door relief  may  be  given  to  them  under  practically  the  same  circum- 
stances as  are  named  in  exceptions  (i),  (2),  (4),  and  (5)  above. 

Outdoor  relief  may  also  be  given  in  many  of  the  unions  in  which 
the  Prohibitory  Order  is  ordinarily  in  force  under  what  is  known 
as  the  Outdoor  Labor  Test  Order  (1842).  This  requires  the  guard- 
ians if  they  depart  from  instructions  and  relieve  the  able-bodied  out 
of  the  workhouse:  (i)  to  give  half  the  relief  in  food,  fuel  or  other 
articles  of  necessity;  (2)  to  give  no  relief  while  the  able-bodied  per- 
son is  employed  for  wages  or  hire;  (3)  to  set  every  such  pauper  at 
work.  This  labor  test  order  can  only  come  into  force  in  circum- 
stances of  peculiar  necessity,  and  report  must  be  made  to  the  Local 
Government  Board  within  fourteen  days  after  it  has  been  declared 
in  force. 

In  London,  Liverpool,  Manchester,  and  other  large  cities  where 
it  seemed  impossible  to  enforce  the  strict  provisions  of  the  prohibi- 
tory order  because  of  the  large  number  of  the  unemployed  and  the 
small  capacity  of  the  workhouses,  the  outdoor  relief  regulation  order 
is  permanently  in  force.  This  order  permits  the  granting  of  outdoor 
relief  to  persons  of  the  female  sex  without  limitation ;  and  to  able- 
bodied  male  persons  under  the  following  restrictions:  (i)  one-half 
at  least  of  the  relief  shall  be  given  in  food,  fuel,  or  other  articles  of 
absolute  necessity;  (2)  no  relief  shall  be  given  in  aid  of  wages;  (3) 
relief  is  only  to  be  granted  on  condition  of  the  performance  of  a 
task  prescribed  by  the  guardians.  Further,  the  guardians  are  abso- 
lutely prohibited  from  using  the  poor  funds  to  establish  any  applicant 
in  business  or  trade ;  for  the  payment  of  rent ;  or  for  defraying  trav- 
eling expenses.  The  exceptional  cases  in  which  outdoor  relief  can 
be  granted  under  the  prohibitory  order  are  also  valid  under  the  regu- 
lation order,  and  the  rules  in  regard  to  non-residents  are  the  same 
in  both  orders. 

These  orders,  it  will  be  noted,  neither  prohibit  nor  regulate  out- 
door relief  to  those  who  are  not  able-bodied,  such  as  children,  the 
aged,  and  the  infirm.  On  the  other  hand,  they  do  not  prevent  the 
guardians  of  any  union  from  abolishing  outdoor  relief  if  they  see 
fit ;  and  they  especially  emphasize  that  indoor  relief  is  always  to  be 
preferred  for  the  able-bodied.     Any  violation  of  these  regulations, 


THE  BRITISH  EMPIRE 


189 


regarding  the  granting  of  outdoor  relief,  will  at  the  auditing  of 
accounts  be  declared  illegal,  and  the  amount,  as  already  noted,  will 
be  charged  personally  to  the  guardians  or  relieving  officer. 

Such  are  the  regulations  under  which  outdoor  relief  must  be 
given.  The  modes  in  which  it  may  be  given  remain  to  be  briefly 
noticed.  It  may  be  given  either  (i)  in  kind,  or  (2)  in  money. 
Relief  in  kind  is  supposed  to  be  the  safer  way,  and  is  commended  by 
the  central  authorities ;  but  relief  in  money  is  so  much  more  easily 
distributed  that  practically  all  outdoor  relief,  which  is  not  required 
to  be  in  kind,  is  now  given  in  money.  The  allowances  are  usually 
paid  weekly  at  some  stated  time  and  place — a  practice  which  is  now 
generally  condemned  by  the  government  inspectors  as  being  degrad- 
ing to  the  poor  on  account  of  its  publicity.  Outdoor  relief  may  be 
given  (3)  in  the  form  of  employment.  Under  the  outdoor  relief 
regulation  order  the  work  usually  furnished  is  breaking  stone  in 
the  stoneyard,  but  other  sorts  of  work  may  be  furnished.  In  most 
city  unions,  boards  of  guardians  have  the  right  in  times  of  distress 
to  open  labor  yards  under  the  regulations  of  the  outdoor  labor  test 
order.  Finally,  outdoor  relief  may  be  given  (4)  in  the  form  of 
medical  attendance.  Each  union  must  have  at  least  one  medical 
officer  for  every  15,000  persons,  or  15,000  acres  in  extent.  The  med- 
ical officer  is  bound  to  attend  any  person  upon  receipt  of  an  order 
from  the  guardians,  a  relieving  officer,  or  an  overseer.  He  must 
furnish  the  needed  medicines  and  attention,  but  cannot  order  articles 
of  food ;  and  he  must  report  his  visits  to  the  board  of  guardians, 
giving  them  such  information  as  they  may  require.  If  a  person  is 
not  already  a  pauper,  relief  through  medical  attendance  does  not 
legally  pauperize,  in  the  sense  of  entailing  disfranchisement. 

It  was  the  purpose  of  the  reformers  of  1834  to  put  an  end  to 
outdoor  relief,  and  especially  that  given  to  the  able-bodied.  As  re-  V]^. 
gards  the  able-bodied,  this  purpose  has  nearly  been  realized.  In  1849 
the  number  of  adult  able-bodied  paupers  who  received  outdoor  relief 
was  still  202,265.  Since  then  the  number  has  steadily  dimin- 
ished, until  in  1900  it  was  only  59,268.  Meanwhile,  the  number 
of  able-bodied  adults  relieved  in  the  workhouse  had  only  slightly 
increased — from  26,558  in  1849,  to  34,387  in  1900,  not  keeping 
pace  with  the  increase  of  population.  However,  the  vast  bulk  of 
English  pauperism  still  remains  outdoor  pauperism.  In  1900,  out 
of  a  total  of  792,367  who  received  public  relief,  577,122  were  "out- 


igo 


MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 


door  paupers ;"  and  in  spite  of  the  costliness  of  indoor  maintenance, 
the  amount  paid  for  outdoor  reHef  was  still  larger.  But  the  decrease 
in  outdoor  pauperism  during  the  half-century  has  been  marked. 
Thus  in  1849  the  number  of  outdoor  paupers  was  955,146,  or  55  in 
every  1,000  of  the  population;  while  in  1900  it  was  577,122,  or  only 
18.2  in  every  1,000  of  the  population;  and,  as  we  have  seen,  only  a 
small  fraction  of  these  can  in  any  sense  be  called  able-bodied.^ 

6.  Indoor  Relief. — The  workhouse  is  the  fundamental  institu- 
tion of  the  English  public  relief  system.  It  is  such  by  the  law  of 
1834  which  established  the  "workhouse  test,"  and  such  also  by  his- 
torical evolution :  by  the  fact  that  it  is  the  successor  of  the  Eliza- 
bethan poorhouse;  and  by  the  fact  that  from  it  all  other  public 
relief  institutions  have  been  derived.  Moreover,  it  is  still  the  chief 
institution  concerned  with  the  indoor  relief  of  the  poor.  This  sec- 
tion will  be  accordingly  devoted  to  a  consideration  of  relief  in  the 
workhouse  as  practically  synonymous  with  indoor  relief.  In  later 
sections  the  institutions  for  special  classes  of  dependents  will  be  con- 
sidered. 

Each  union  must  have  at  least  one  workhouse,  which  is  under 
the  control  of  the  board  of  guardians.  A  special  committee  of  the 
board  exercises  constant  supervision  over  its  management,  visiting 
it  as  often  at  least  as  once  a  week.  It  is,  in  addition,  visited  and 
inspected  by  the  inspectors  of  the  central  board  and  frequently  by  a 
committee  of  lady  visitors  appointed  by  the  guardians.  Its  organiza- 
tion and  management,  moreover,  are  regulated  by  the  elaborate  rules 
of  the  Orders  of  the  Central  Board,  especially  of  the  General  Con- 
solidated Order  of  1847. 

Admission  to  the  workhouse  may  take  place  in  three  ways :  upon 
written  order  from  the  guardians ;  upon  provisional  order  from  the 
relieving  officer ;  or  by  the  master  of  the  workhouse  in  cases  of 


^  The  average  number  of  outdoor  and  indoor  paupers  in  England  and  Wales 
at  different  decades  since  1849  is  as  follows: 


Year 

Mean  No.  of 

Mean  No.  of 

Mean  No.  of 

Per  Cent,  of  Esti- 

Indoor Paupers 

Outdoor  Paupers 

Total  Paupers 

mated  Population 

1849 

133.S13 

955.146 

1,088,659 

6.27 

i860 

113.507 

731.126 

844,634 

4.29 

1870 

156,880 

876,000 

1,032.880 

4.6s 

J  880 

180.817 

627.213 

808,030 

3.18 

1890 

187,921 

587.296 

775. 217 

2.73 

1900 

215.377 

577.122 

792.367 

2.50 

THE  BRITISH  EMPIRE 


igi 


sudden  and  urgent  necessity.  The  pauper  is  first  taken  to  the  receiv- 
ing ward,  where  he  is  examined  by  the  medical  officer,  thoroughly 
cleansed,  and  clothed  in  the  workhouse  dress.  If  found  suffering 
from  an  infectious  or  contagious  disease,  he  is  placed  in  a  special 
ward. 

There  must  be  at  least  seven  distinct  wards  for  the  classification 
of  inmates:  (i)  for  aged  and  infirm  men;  (2)  for  able-bodied  men 
above  fifteen  years;  (3)  for  boys  between  seven  and  fifteen;  (4) 
for  aged  and  infirm  women;  (5)  for  able-bodied  women  above  fif- 
teen; (6)  for  girls  between  seven  and  fifteen;  (7)  for  children  under 
seven.  These  wards  are  entirely  separate  from  one  another,  and  be- 
tween the  inmates  of  different  wards  there  is  no  communication,  save 
that  which  takes  place  under  official  supervision.  Children  under 
seven,  however,  may  be  left  with  their  mothers,  and  above  that  age 
parents  have  a  right  to  see  their  children  at  least  once  a  day.  Further 
classification  according  to  moral  character  is  recommended  in  order 
to  prevent  moral  contamination,  but  this  is  carried  out  only  in  the 
larger  urban  workhouses.  Married  couples  above  the  age  of  sixty, 
who  may  wish  to  live  together,  must  be  provided  with  a  separate 
room,  should  they  ask  for  it;  but  it  is  said  that  this  privilege  is 
seldom  claimed. 

The  official  stafif  of  each  workhouse  consists  of  the  master  and 
matron,  the  chaplain,  the  medical  officer,  and  the  porter.  The  mas- 
ter is  responsible  for  the  whole  administration  of  the  workhouse,  and 
has,  accordingly,  a  great  deal  of  power.  The  matron,  who  is  usually 
his  wife,  assists  him  in  the  supervision  of  the  female  wards.  It  is 
the  master's  duty  to  look  after  the  classification  of  the  inmates,  their 
employment,  and  their  food.  He  must  enforce  order,  industry  and 
cleanliness.  He  must  visit  the  wards  twice  daily.  He  must  see 
to  it  t!iat  the  daily  routine  as  regards  meals,  hours  of  rising  and 
retiring,  is  observed  by  all ;  and,  in  a  word,  that  none  of  the  numerous 
rules  established  by  the  central  authority  for  the  guidance  of  inmates 
and  officials  are  violated. 

A  special  chaplain  is  appointed  for  every  workhouse.  His  duties 
are  to  hold  services  for  the  inmates  every  Sunday,  to  give  religious 
instruction  to  the  children  who  belong  to  the  Church  of  England, 
to  visit  the  sick,  and  to  minister  to  the  dying.  The  ministers  of  other 
denominations,  however,  have  free  access  to  the  workhouse  to  visit 
inmates  of  their  own  denomination. 


<y 


ig2  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

The  medical  officer  has  to  attend  to  the  sick,  to  see  that  their 
diet  and  that  of  the  children  is  suitable,  to  report  to  the  guardians 
concerning  sanitary  conditions,  and  to  examine  the  newly  admitted. 

The  porter  keeps  the  gate  and  allows  no  one  to  go  in  or  out  with- 
out leave.  It  is  also  his  duty  to  prevent  intoxicants  and  other  for- 
bidden articles  from  being  brought  into  the  workhouse. 

From  this  brief  description  of  the  duties  of  the  officers  it  will 
be  seen  that  the  regime  of  the  workhouse  is  more  like  that  of  a  prison 
than  of  a  home.  Indeed,  the  distinctive  feature  of  workhouse  ad- 
ministration is  supposed  to  be  the  compulsion  to  labor.  The  cen- 
tral authorities  have  taken  strong  ground  against  the  conversion  of 
the  workhouse  into  an  almshouse,  and  have  insisted  that  work  of 
some  sort  be  furnished  for  all  who  are  able  to  work,  and  that  no  one 
w4io  can  work  be  allowed  to  be  idle.  No  remuneration  is  to  be 
given  for  this  work,  and  its  character  is  determined  by  the  local 
board  of  guardians.^  However,  on  account  of  the  rigor  with  which 
this  labor  test  has  been  applied,  more  and  more  the  workhouse  popu- 
lation has  come  to  be  made  up  of  the  aged  and  infirm,  and  other 
helpless  elements,  who  are  capable  of  performing  little  or  no  labor. 
Thus  the  workhouse  has  come,  in  spite  of  the  law,  to  be  practically 
an  infirmary  or  almshouse,  though  its  discipline  remains  a  sufficient 
deterrent  to  accepting  its  relief. 

The  life  of  the  inmates  is  monotonous  if  not  severe.  They  rise 
at  a  fixed  hour,  respond  to  roll-call,  meet  for  meals,  go  to  work,  leave 
ofif  work,  and  go  to  bed,  all  according  to  a  fixed  schedule.  Their 
fare  is  of  the  plainest,  being,  it  is  supposed,  no  better  than  that  of 
the  lowest  class  of  independent  laborers.  The  aged  and  infirm,  how- 
ever, have  a  slightly  more  generous  diet,  while  that  of  the  sick  and 
of  the  younger  children  is  regulated  by  the  house  physician.  Intoxi- 
cating drinks  are  strictly  forbidden,  but  smoking  and  games  of  chance 
are  permitted  under  certain  circumstances.  Food  may  not  be  brought 
to  the  inmates  by  friends  from  outside,  and  all  books  and  papers 
brought  in  are  strictly  censored.  The  guardians,  however,  are  sup- 
posed to  supply  books  and  newspapers.     Friends  of  inmates  may 

^  No  feature  of  English  workhouse  administration  has  been  more  sharply 
criticised  than  the  character  of  the  employment  furnished  the  inmates.  The 
work  has  usually  been  of  a  semi-mechanical  kind,  such  as  picking  oakum  or 
breaking  stone,  no  attempt  being  made  to  furnish  work  of  a  reformative  or  edu- 
cational value.     See  Aschrott,  The  English  Poor  Law  System, 


THE  BRITISH  EMPIRE  ig3 

visit  them  in  the  workhouse  at  any  time  by  permission  of  the  master, 
and  there  is  generally  a  fixed  day  for  visitors  once  a  week. 

To  maintain  discipline  there  is  a  system  of  penalties  for  the  vio- 
lation of  rules.  The  punishment  consists  in  a  reduction  of  food 
for  periods  of  less  than  forty-eight  hours.  Not  less  than  thirteen 
offenses  are  so  punishable.  If  the  offense  is  repeated,  or  is  one 
of  eight  grave  offenses,  there  may  be  solitary  confinement  and  re- 
duction of  diet  up  to  twenty-four  hours.  Corporal  punishment  is 
not  allowed,  save  in  the  case  of  boys  under  fifteen  years. 

If  an  inmate  wishes  to  leave  the  workhouse,  he  must  be  allowed 
to  do  so  after  he  has  given  reasonable  notice  of  his  intention.  The 
notice  required  is  usually  one  of  twenty-four  hours,  but  if  he  has 
discharged  himself  previously  during  the  month  he  may  be  detained 
forty-eight  hours ;  and  if  he  has  discharged  himself  frequently  with- 
out sufficient  reason,  he  may  be  detained  a  full  week.  When  a 
pauper  leaves  the  workhouse,  he  must  take  all  his  family  with  him, 
unless  some  of  them  are  sick  or  detained  by  the  authorities  for 
special  reasons. 

Such  is  the  English  workhouse  system  of  the  present.  Certain 
tendencies  are,  however,  slowly  modifying  it,  and  these  require  to 
be  noted  from  their  inception  in  order  that  the  present  situation  and 
probable  developments  may  be  clearly  grasped.  After  the  reform 
of  1834,  all  indoor  relief  was  concentrated  in  the  workhouse.  But 
in  spite  of  system  and  classification  it  soon  became  evident  that  cer- 
tain classes  of  dependents  could  not  be  properly  cared  for  in  the 
workhouse.  The  children  were  the  first  to  be  partially  removed. 
Already,  in  1844,  separate  schools  were  authorized  for  the  education^ 
of  pauper  children.  But  even  yet,  as  we  have  seen,  a  large  number 
of  children  remain  in  the  workhouses ;  and  in  spite  of  the  admirable 
arrangements  made  for  them  in  the  workhouses,  there  is  a  growing 
number  of  philanthropic  workers  who  think  that  all  children  should 
be  removed  from  the  workhouse.  Again  there  was  early  an  agita- 
tion for  the  removal  of  the  sick  poor  and  the  indigent  insane  from 
the  workhouses.  This  resulted  in  the  establishment  of  county  and 
borough  asylums  for  the  insane,  and  in  the  cities  of  large  infirmaries 
for  the  care  of  sick  paupers.  However,  there  still  remains  a  con- 
siderable number  of  the  harmless  insane  in  the  workhouses,  whiles 
in  country  unions  the  only  provision  yet  for  the  sick  is  a  separate 
sick  ward  in  the  workhouse.     Again,  the  perception  has  gradually 

13 


194 


MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 


grown  upon  the  authorities  that  the  semi-criminal  class,  known  as 
"tramps"  or  "vagrants,"  could  not  be  properly  dealt  with  in  an  ordi- 
nary workhouse.  Hence,  in  the  workhouses  in  towns  there  have 
been  established  so-called  "casual  wards"  for  vagrants,  entirely  sep- 
arate from  the  rest  of  the  workhouse,  and  sometimes  these  are  sep- 
arate institutions.  Finally,  the  difficulties  of  furnishing  occupation 
for  all  of  the  workhouse  inmates  has  led  to  a  still  further  differentia- 
tion. In  several  instances  two  or  more  unions  have  united  to  erect 
a  common  special  institution  for  the  able-bodied,  where  a  vigorous 
compulsion  to  work  can  be  enforced;  while  there  has  been  a  tendency 
at  the  same  time  to  furnish  recently  erected  workhouses  with  a  cer- 
tain grade  of  comfort  which  gives  them  more  the  appearance  of 
homes  for  the  aged  and  infirm.^ 

It  is  evident,  then,  that  changes  are  now  going  on  which  will 
soon  alter  the  present  organization  of  the  workhouse,  and  that  we 
must  therefore,  regard  it  as  an  institution  whose  development  is  still 
incomplete.  The  future  development  will  be  sufficiently  evident 
when  we  have  considered  the  specialized  institutions  which  already 
exist  for  the  care  of  special  classes  of  dependents. 

7.  The  Treatment  of  Vagrants.^ — As  we  have  already  noted, 
there  are  now  "casual  wards"  connected  with  nearly  all  workhouses 
for  the  relief  of  so-called  "casual  paupers,"  or  vagrants.  These  are 
usually  merely  separate  departments  of  the  workhouses,  but  in  Lon- 
don and  other  large  cities  they  are  often  distinct  institutions  with 
superintendents  of  their  own.  Casual  wards  are  of  two  types,  open 
or  "associated,"  and  "separate."  The  former  are  merely  large  rooms 
with  plank  beds,  the  only  separation  being  that  of  the  sexes.  In 
the  latter  there  are  separate  cells  or  compartments  for  each  individual, 
both  for  sleeping  and  for  the  performance  of  work.  Thus,  under 
this  system  there  can  be  no  communication  between  vagrants,  and, 
hence,  no  moral  contamination,  as  there  can  be  in  the  "associated" 
wards.  Wards  constructed  on  the  "associated"  plan,  however,  are 
much  more  common  than  those  on  the  "separate"  plan.  Casual 
wards  are  inspected  regularly  by  the  inspectors  of  the  Local  Gov- 

'Aschrott,  Armengesetzgebung  in  Grossbritannien. 

*  Under  this  head  see  besides  the  Annual  Charities  Register  and  Digest  the 
U.  S.  Consular  Report  on  Vagrancy  and  Public  Charities  in  Foreign  Countries 
(1893)  ;  and  Aschrott,  The  English  Poor  Law  System. 


THE  BRITISH  EAIPIRE  igg 

ernment  Board,  and  are  of  course  under  the  control  of  the  board  of 
guardians  of  the  union  in  which  they  are  situated. 

Admission  to  the  casual  ward  is  usually  by  an  order  from  a  re- 
lieving officer,  which  is  good  only  for  the  night  issued.  But  the 
master  of  the  workhouse  or  the  superintendent  of  the  ward  may 
admit,  without  order,  cases  of  urgent  necessity.  Usually  cases 
which  are  brought  by  a  constable  or  a  policeman  are  received.  The 
wards  are  open  for  admission  from  October  to  March,  inclusive,  after 
6  p.  m. ;  and  from  April  to  September  after  8  p.  m. 

On  admission  the  vagrant  is  searched,  bathed,  and  dressed  in 
clean  clothing,  while  his  own  is  disinfected.  If  money  is  found  on  n;^ 
him  it  may  be  retained  for  his  lodging.  He  is  given  a  supper  and 
breakfast  of  bread  and  gruel.  Work  is  given  him  the  morning  after 
his  admission,  which  usually  consists  of  breaking  stone  or  picking 
oakum.  There  is  a  definite  task  for  each  night  or  day  of  detention, 
and  this  the  vagrant  must  perform  before  he  can  leave.  For  dis- 
orderly or  refractory  conduct  the  master  of  the  workhouse  can  take 
the  vagrant,  without  a  warrant,  before  a  magistrate  who  can  send 
him  to  jail  for  one  month  at  hard  labor. 

The  vagrant  is  not  allowed  to  discharge  himself  before  nine 
o'clock  in  the  morning  of  the  second  day  following  his  admission. 
But  discretion  is  allowed  the  guardians  in  the  application  of  this 
rule,  and  if  there  are  special  circumstances  justifying  it  the  vagrant 
is  discharged  the  day  following  his  admission,  provided  he  has  per- 
formed the  prescribed  work.  If  the  vagrant,  however,  has  already 
been  admitted  to  the  vagrant  ward  once  before  during  the  month, 
he  is  not  entitled  to  discharge  himself  before  9  a.  m.  on  the  fourth 
day  after  his  admission. 

Besides  relief  in  the  workhouse  or  casual  ward,  the  vagrant  may, 
as  we  have  seen,  receive  outdoor  relief  from  the  relieving  officer  in 
cases  of  sickness,  accident,  or  other  "sudden  or  urgent  necessity." 
But  relief  in  such  cases  must  not  be  in  money.  In  cases  of  sick- 
ness or  accident  the  vagrant  may,  of  course,  be  taken  to  the  infirmary, 
the  expense  being  borne  by  the  union  in  which  he  happens  to  be,  sub- 
ject to  reimbursement  from  the  union  in  which  he  belongs. 

To  overcome  the  evils  of  indiscriminate  private  relief  to  this 
class,  the  guardians  in  one  or  two  counties  have  adopted  the  plan 
of  distributing  bread-tickets  among  the  residents  of  the  county. 
These  tickets  when  given  to  the  vagrant  in  lieu  of  alms  are  exchange- 


ig6  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

able  for  bread  at  certain  shops,  so  that  the  giver  may  feel  that  there 
is  no  danger  of  starvation.  No  matter  how  many  tickets  the  vagrant 
may  have  in  his  possession,  he  can  only  be  supplied  with  a  fixed 
amount  of  bread  in  return  for  them.  The  object  of  this  system  is  to 
discourage  private  relief  to  vagrants,  in  order  that  they  may  be  dealt 
with  more  effectively  by  the  public  authorities.  However,  it  is  only 
partially  successful  in  preventing  the  giving  of  alms  to  this  class. 

The  numerous  attempts  to  deal  with  the  vagrant  class  through 
private  charity,  such  as  that  of  the  Salvation  Army,  will  be  noticed 
later.  It  remains  here  only  to  note  the  repressive  features  of  the 
criminal  law  for  the  correction  and  punishment  of  this  class.  If  any 
person  is  found  begging  or  soliciting  alms  in  the  streets  or  at  houses, 
he  can  be  convicted  as  an  "idle  and  disorderly  person"  and  sentenced 
to  hard  labor  for  not  longer  than  one  month.  If,  after  having  been 
convicted  once,  he  is  again  caught  begging,  he  may  be  sentenced 
to  hard  labor  for  not  more  than  three  months  as  a  "rogue  and  vaga- 
bond." A  third  conviction  brings  committal  to  a  house  of  correction 
and  imprisonment  with  hard  labor  for  not  more  than  one  year  as 
an  "incorrigible  rogue  and  vagabond." 

The  number  of  vagrants  in  England  seems  to  be  increasing,  if 
one  may  judge  from  the  number  relieved  in  the  workhouses  and 
casual  wards  in  different  years  since  i860.  In  i860  the  average 
nightly  number  relieved  was  1,905;  in  1880  it  was  6.709;  in  1890, 
4,929;  and  in  1900,  9,400.  This  increase,  however,  is  probably  in 
part  apparent  rather  than  real,  and  is  not  greatly  out  of  proportion 
to  the  increase  of  population. 

8.  The  Care  of  the  Sick.^ — Up  to  1867  the  only  provision  for 
the  public  care  of  the  sick  poor  was  the  sick  wards  of  the  workhouses. 
In  that  year  the  Metropolitan  Poor  Act  authorized  the  establishment 
of  sick  asylums  and  infirmaries  in  London  for  the  reception  of  the 
sick  poor.  Since  then  the  system  of  separate  infirmaries  for  the 
care  of  the  destitute  sick  has  spread  to  nearly  all  urban  unions ;  but 
in  the  country  unions  the  sick  wards  of  the  workhouses  are  still  the 
only  public  provision  for  the  sick. 

The  Poor  Law  infirmaries  are  equipped  like  ordinary  hospitals. 
In  construction  and  in  skill  of  medical  staff  they  are  not  inferior  to 
the  best  private  institutions.     Moreover,  the  poor  do  not  look  upon 

^  See  Annual  Charities  Register  and  Digest,  Introduction  ;  and  Aschrott,  The 
English  Poor  Law  System. 


THE  BRITISH  EMPIRE  ig7 

it  as  a  disgrace  to  enter  the  infirmary,  as  they  do  to  enter  the  work' 
house,  since  the  care  received  is  the  best  and  the  acceptance  of  such 
relief  does  not  disenfranchise.  In  consequence,  the  infirmaries  are  one 
of  the  most  popular  features  of  the  Poor  Law  system  and  are  well 
patronized.  In  London  alone  there  are  twenty-eight  of  these  insti- 
tutions, with  an  average  daily  number  treated  (1899)  of  over  12,000. 
In  addition  to  the  infirmaries,  there  are  maintained  out  of  the  poor 
funds  in  several  of  the  large  cities,  hospitals  for  various  kinds  of 
contagious  diseases,  such  as  fever  and  smallpox. 

Admission  to  an  infirmary  or  other  Poor  Law  hospital  is  on  the 
same  general  conditions  as  to  the  workhouse,  plus  the  requisites 
for  admission  to  such  a  hospital.  The  medical  superintendent,  how- 
ever, has  the  right  to  admit  any  person  who  presents  himself,  if  he 
sees  fit.  The  guardians  may  recover  the  amount  incurred  by  the 
treatment  of  any  person  not  destitute. 

The  infirmary  is  directly  in  charge  of  a  medical  superintendent, 
and  under  the  general  control  of  the  board  of  guardians  of  the  union. 
However,  in  London  there  is  a  Metropolitan  Asylums  Board  which 
has  general  charge  of  the  indoor  accommodations  for  the  sick 
poor,  and  so  has  the  supervision  of  all  Poor  Law  hospitals  in  the 
metropolis. 

The  infirmaries  may  be  used  as  training  schools  for  nurses. 
This  is  now  the  more  necessary  on  account  of  an  order  of  the  cen- 
tral board  in  1897  which  forbade  the  employment  of  pauper  nurses 
in  sick  wards  and  infirmaries.  There  is  consequently  a  great  de- 
mand for  nurses  in  rural  workhouses  and  great  difficulty  in  obtain- 
ing a  sufficient  supply.  While  the  standards  of  nursing  in  the  Lon- 
don infirmaries  have  long  been  those  of  the  best  private  hospitals, 
the  nursing  in  provincial  workhouses  and  infirmaries  has  until  re- 
cently been  on  a  lower  plane.  But,  through  the  strict  regulations 
of  the  Local  Government  Board,  the  conditions  are  now  being  rap- 
idly improved. 

In  case  there  is  not  sufficient  accommodation  for  the  sick  in  any 
Poor  Law  union,  the  guardians  may,  with  the  consent  of  the  Local 
Government  Board,  pay  annual  subscriptions  toward  the  support 
of  any  hospital  for  the  reception  of  the  sick  poor  of  the  union.  In 
a  similar  way  they  may  also  subscribe  towards  any  association  for 
providing  nurses. 

The  outdoor  medical  relief  of  the  poor  has  already  been  described 


iqS 


MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 


under  the  heading-  of  Outdoor  Relief.  But  in  addition  to  the  pro- 
visions described,  there  are  in  London  and  other  large  cities  Poor 
Law  dispensaries  under  the  control  of  the  guardians.  Medical  relief 
is  given  at  these  upon  order  from  the  relieving  officers  or  the  guard- 
ians. Drugs,  medicines,  and  medical  appliances  are  supplied,  and 
some  of  the  medical  officers  of  the  union  are  in  daily  attendance 
except  Sundays. 

There  remains  only  to  notice  the  public  provision  for  vaccination 
connected  with  the  relief  system.  This  is  in  the  way  of  prevention 
of  sickness,  rather  than  of  relief,  but  it  is  nevertheless  a  phase  of 
medical  relief.  Unions  or  parishes  are  divided  into  vaccination  dis- 
tricts. These  are  in  charge  of  vaccination  officers,  and  in  each  dis- 
trict there  is  a  public  vaccinator  appointed  and  paid  by  the  guardians. 
Every  child  who  is  not  unfit  for  it,  or  whose  parents  do  not  conscien- 
tiously object,  must  be  vaccinated  within  six  months  after  the  regis- 
tration of  its  birth.  Vaccination  is  free  and  is  not  considered 
parochial  relief. 

9.     The  Care  of  Defeciives^ 

(i)  The  Blind. — As  the  blind  are  classed  among  the  not-able- 
bodied,  the  guardians  can  give  outdoor  relief  to  them  irrespective 
of  age.  Moreover,  relief  may  be  given  to  a  blind  wife  or  to  blind 
children  without  thereby  rendering  the  husband  or  father  legally  a 
pauper.  Indoor  relief  for  the  blind  is,  of  course,  provided  by  the 
workhouse ;  but  in  addition  the  guardians  may  provide  for  the  re- 
ception, maintenance,  and  instruction  of  any  adult  blind  pauper  in  a 
hospital  or  any  institution  established  for  the  care  of  the  blind. 

For  the  instruction  of  blind  children,  guardians  are  empowered 
to  send  a  child  to  any  certified  school  for  the  instruction  of  the 
blind,  and  to  pay  the  reasonable  expenses  of  such  child  whilst  in  such 
school,  to  an  amount  not  exceeding  six  shillings  weekly.  Further, 
the  guardians  may,  with  the  approval  of  the  Local  Government 
Board,  send  any  poor  blind  child  to  any  school  fitted  for  its  reception, 
though  it  is  not  a  certified  school.  But  these  provisions  of  the  Poor 
Law  have  been  practically  superseded  by  the  Elementary  Education 
Act  of  1893, 

That  act  provided  for  the  compulsory  education  of  all  blind  and 
deaf  children  between  the  ages  of  seven  and  sixteen.     It  is  obliga- 

^  See  Annual  Charities  Register  and  Digest,  Introduction  ;  and  Aschrott,  The 
English  Poor  Law  System. 


THE  BRITISH  EMPIRE 


199 


tory  on  the  parent  of  a  blind  or  deaf  child  to  cause  it  to  attend  school 
between  those  ages.  School  authorities  must,  on  the  other  hand, 
provide  suitable  schools  for  such  children,  or  contribute  to  a  certi- 
fied private  school  for  the  education  of  such  children.  The  expenses 
of  and  incidental  to  the  attendance  of  such  children  at  school  must 
be  borne  by  the  school  authorities ;  but  the  parent  is  liable  to  contrib- 
ute such  weekly  sum  as  he  is  able;  and  if  the  amount  cannot  be 
agreed  upon,  it  is  to  be  decided  by  a  court  of  summary  jurisdiction 
and  collected  as  a  civil  debt. 

(2)  Deaf -Mutes. — The  public  provisions  for  the  relief  and  in- 
struction of  deaf-mutes  are  almost  exactly  the  same  as  those  for  the 
blind.  The  guardians  may  relieve  them  either  outside  or  inside  of 
the  workhouse,  or  may  provide  for  their  maintenance  in  some  private 
institution.  Deaf  and  dumb  pauper  children  may  be  sent  by  the 
guardians  to  a  school  suitable  for  their  instruction,  as  in  the  case  of 
blind  children.  But  their  education  is  now,  as  we  have  just  seen,  pro- 
vided for  in  the  elementary  school  system  of  the  country;  and  their 
maintenance  is  included  in  their  education,  unless  their  parents  are 
able  to  contribute. 

(3)  The  Feehle-Minded,  Imbeciles,  and  Idiots.  —  The  term 
"feeble-minded"  is  not  used  in  England  in  a  generic  sense  including 
all  the  mentally  defective  from  the  dull  child  down  to  the  low  grade 
idiot.  It  is  rather  used  to  designate  those  who  are  only  slightly 
mentally  defective — who  cannot  be  taught  by  ordinary  methods. 
Provision  for  this  class  of  defectives  has  only  recently  been  made 
in  the  English  educational  system,  and  is  still  very  inadequate.  A 
movement  for  special  schools  for  these  children  was  first  started  in 
London  about  1890.  Since  then  thirty-two  schools  for  the  special 
instruction  of  defective  children  have  been  opened  in  different  parts 
of  London,  and  these  had  in  1901  an  average  attendance  of  884 
children. 

By  the  Elementary  Education  Act  for  Defective  Children  (1899), 
very  similar  provision  has  now  been  made  for  defective  and  epileptic 
children  to  that  for  the  blind  and  the  deaf.  Children  who  are  not 
imbecile,  but  incapable,  by  reason  of  mental  or  physical  defect,  of 
receiving  proper  benefit  from  the  instruction  in  ordinary  public  ele- 
mentary schools,  and  epileptic  children,  must  attend  some  certified 
special  school  between  the  ages  of  seven  and  sixteen.  School  au- 
thorities may  make  provision  for  the  education  of  such  defective 


200  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

children  by  the  establishment  of  special  classes,  or  schools,  or  by  con- 
tributing towards  the  establishment  or  maintenance  of  some  certified 
(private)  school.  Further  expenditures  may  be  incurred  by  the 
school  authorities  as  in  the  act  for  the  education  of  blind  and  deaf 
children. 

There  is  a  National  Association  for  promoting  the  welfare  of  the 
feeble-minded,  which  works  in  co-operation  with  the  public  authori- 
ties. The  association  has  three  homes,  and  to  these  Poor  Law 
authorities  can  commit  feeble-minded  children.  Poor  Law  authori- 
ties also  have  the  same  powers  in  dealing  with  feeble-minded  children 
as  in  the  case  of  blind  and  deaf  children. 

The  public  provisions  for  the  care  of  the  imbecile  and  idiot  classes 
in  England  are  extremely  deficient.  In  the  whole  of  England  there 
were  in  1901  but  eight  institutions  exclusively  devoted  to  their  care 
or  education,  though  there  were  a  number  of  county  asylums  with 
special  wards  or  annexes  for  their  accommodation.  It  follows  that 
the  vast  majority  of  England's  idiot  and  imbecile  class  are  still  in 
the  workhouses,  or  with  friends  or  relatives. 

The  guardians  have  large  permissive  powers  with  respect  to 
this  class.  They  may  send  idiotic  persons  to  certified  schools,  and, 
with  the  consent  of  the  Local  Government  Board,  to  any  asylum  or 
establishment  for  their  reception  and  relief.  They  may  also  provide 
for  the  education  of  idiotic  or  imbecile  children  in  the  same  manner 
as  blind  or  deaf  children.  But  the  permissive  character  of  these 
laws,  as  well  as  of  the  Lunacy  Act  of  1890,  which  empowers  local 
authorities  to  provide  separate  institutions  for  idiots,  renders  them 
almost  inoperative. 

In  London  the  provisions  for  this  class  of  defectives  is  better 
than  elsewhere.  The  Metropolitan  Asylums  Board  provides  accom- 
modation in  its  Darenth  Schools  and  at  Ealing  for  more  than  1,000 
imbecile  children.  The  Darenth  Asylum  also  has  custodial  care 
of  nearly  as  many  adults ;  and  at  Leavesden  and  Catherham  there  are 
asylums  for  adult  idiots  and  imbeciles  and  for  harmless  lunatics  under 
the  same  board.  The  Darenth  Asylum  is  the  only  institution  for 
idiots  in  England  wholly  supported  from  the  poor  rates.  The  other 
seven  are  largely  supported  by  charitable  contributions  and  payments 
for  inmates,  nearly  all  of  them  expressly  refusing  to  receive  pauper 
cases. 

(4)     Epileptics. — No  public  provision  has  yet  been  made  in  Eng- 


THE  BRITISH  EMPIRE  20i 

land  for  the  care  of  epileptics  save  that  contained  in  the  Elementary 
Education  Act  for  Defective  and  Epileptic  Children  of  1899,  which 
■we  have  already  noticed.  By  this  act  the  school  authorities,  as  we 
saw,  are  empowered  to  provide  for  the  education  and  maintenance 
of  epileptic  children  by  means  of  certified  homes,  either  under  their 
own  or  under  voluntary  management.  Adult  epileptics,  if  sane, 
who  are  unable  to  care  for  themselves,  are  left  either  in  the  work- 
houses, or  with  friends,  or  to  private  charity.  A  census  of  the 
workhouses  of  England  showed  that  on  January  i,  1900,  there  were 
in  them  2,566  sane  epileptics. 

There  are,  however,  three  or  four  important  institutions  of  a 
semi-public  character  for  the  care  of  epileptics.  The  chief  of  these 
is  the  Chalfont  Colony  established  by  the  National  Society  for  the 
Employment  of  Epileptics.  The  colony  is  organized  on  the  German 
plan.  The  society  is  carrying  on  the  work  of  establishing  such  col- 
onies and  homes  for  epileptics,  and  is  agitating  for  State  action  in 
the  matter. 

(5)  The  Insane. — There  were,  on  January  i,  1900,  a  total  of 
96,865  insane  paupers  in  England.  Of  these  17,460  were  in  work- 
houses;  5,847  were  in  receipt  of  outdoor  relief  (being  boarded  or 
with  relatives);  70,833  were  in  the  county  or  borough  asylums; 
1,243  were  in  registered  hospitals  or  licensed  houses  (private  asy- 
lums) ;  and  1,482  in  unlicensed  houses. 

These  different  modes  of  caring  for  the  insane  demand  a  word  of 
explanation.  The  county  or  borough  asylums,  which  contain  the 
largest  number  of  the  pauper  insane,  are  supported  mainly  from 
county  funds  and  are  under  the  local  control  of  visiting  committees 
of  the  county  or  town  councils.  By  the  Local  Government  Act  of 
1888  a  payment  of  four  shillings  per  week  is  to  be  made  from  the 
county  revenue  for  each  inmate  of  these  asylums  when  the  cost  of 
maintenance  per  inmate  is  equal  to  or  exceeds  that  sum.  The  dif- 
ference over  and  above  the  four  shillings  is  made  good  from  the  poor 
rates  of  the  Poor  Law  unions  from  which  the  inmates  come.  Thus 
the  unions  are  without  motive  for  keeping  their  insane  paupers  in 
the  workhouses,  since  the  cost  of  their  care  in  the  county  asylums  is 
almost  wholly  met  from  county  revenues. 

Nevertheless,  as  we  saw,  there  are  still  about  17,000  insane  pau- 
pers in  the  workhouses.  This  is  due  to  the  fact  that  many  chronic 
lunatics  who  are  harmless  are  discharged  from  the  asylums  to  the 


202  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

workhouses.  But  this  can  only  be  done  by  consent  of  the  Local 
Government  Board,  and  a  medical  officer  must  certify  in  writing 
that  the  insane  person  in  question  is  a  proper  person  to  be  allowed  to 
remain  in  the  workhouse.  It  must  not  be  supposed  that  the  condi- 
tion of  the  insane  in  English  workhouses  is  in  any  way  comparable 
to  the  condition  of  the  insane  in  American  almshouses.  Their  pres- 
ence in  the  workhouses  is  safeguarded  by  the  central  authorities  of 
the  Government  in  every  way.  Yet  it  is  generally  admitted  that 
it  is  undesirable  that  any  insane  should  be  kept  in  the  workhouses, 
and  there  is  considerable  agitation  for  their  complete  removal. 

A  number  of  the  harmless  insane  are  boarded  with  friends  or 
relatives  under  the  supervision  of  the  guardians.  Unlicensed  houses 
are  allowed  to  care  for  only  one  patient.  Licensed  houses  may  care 
for  several  and  are  inspected  frequently.  They  are  simply  small 
private  asylums,  carried  on  for  private  profit.  Registered  hospitals 
differ  from  licensed  houses  in  that  they  rest  on  charitable  endow- 
ments. To  all  of  these,  guardians  may  commit  insane  paupers  with 
the  consent  of  the  central  authorities. 

Over  all  the  public  and  private  institutions  for  the  care  of  the 
insane  are  the  Lunacy  Commissioners.  These  constitute  a  super- 
visory board  with  extensive  powers.  They  consist  of  a  chairman, 
one  unpaid  commissioner,  and  six  paid  commissioners,  of  whom 
three  are  legal  and  three  medical.  Each  county  asylum  is  in- 
spected annually  by  two  or  more  commissioners ;  each  licensed  house 
six  times  a  year ;  each  registered  hospital  once  a  year.  The  com- 
missioners also  visit  workhouses  in  which  there  are  insane,  and  in- 
spect all  unlicensed  houses  at  least  once  each  year. 

Commitment  of  the  insane  to  institutions  takes  place  through 
"reception  orders"  issued  by  a  justice  of  the  peace  or  other  judicial 
authority.  A  petition  for  a  "reception  order"  must  be  accompanied 
by  two  medical  certificates  from  different  practitioners  to  the  effect 
that  the  person  is  insane.  In  some  cases,  especially  where  property 
is  involved,  the  inquiry  may  take  place  before  a  jury.  If  the  judicial 
authority  is  satisfied  that  the  facts  are  as  alleged,  he  issues  the  recep- 
tion order,  and  the  relieving  officer  accompanies  the  lunatic  to  the 
asylum. 

After-Care  Associations  exist  to  aid  poor  patients  who  are  dis- 
charged recovered  from  the  asylums  to  start  again  in  life.  The 
associations  provide  cottage  homes  in  the  country  for  convalescent 


THE  BRITISH  EMPIRE 


203 


purposes,  find  employment  for  the  recovered  insane  and  assist  them 
by  grants  of  money  and  clothing.  In  this  way  much  is  done  to  pre- 
vent relapses. 

(6)  Inebriates. — Until  recent  years  habitual  drunkenness  was 
considered  merely  as  an  offense  calling  for  punitive  treatment.  But 
in  England  as  elsewhere  the  tendency  now  is  to  consider  it  a  malady 
nearly  allied  to  insanity  and  calling  for  remedial  treatment  in  special 
hospitals  and  sanatoria.  By  the  Inebriates  Act  of  1898  State  inter- 
ference and  control  in  certain  cases  of  habitual  drunkenness  are  pro- 
vided for.  A  person  who  is  convicted  of  an  offense  punishable  with 
imprisonment  and  who  is  an  habitual  drunkard,  if  the  court  is  sat- 
isfied that  the  offense  was  committed  while  under  the  influence  of 
drink,  or  that  drunkenness  was  a  contributing  cause,  may  be  sent  to 
a  State  inebriate  reformatory  or  to  a  certified  (private)  inebriate 
reformatory  for  a  term  not  exceeding  four  years.  Again,  any  per- 
son who  has  been  convicted  of  drunkenness  three  times  during  twelve 
months,  and  who  is  an  habitual  drunkard,  may  upon  a  fourth  con- 
viction be  sent  to  an  inebriate  reformatory  to  be  detained  not  longer 
than  three  years. 

This  act,  however,  has  not  been  put  into  operation  widely  for 
the  reason  that  there  are  comparatively  few  inebriate  reformatories. 
The  act  provides  for  the  establishment  of  such  reformatories  either 
by  the  Secretary  of  State  from  moneys  provided  by  Parliament,  or 
by  county  or  borough  councils  from  county  funds  supplemented  by 
grants  from  the  treasury.  Counties  may  also  contract  with  private 
reformatories  to  receive  criminal  inebriates,  if  such  reformatories 
have  been  certified  by  the  Secretary  of  State  as  fit  for  the  purpose. 
By  the  end  of  1901  eighteen  counties  and  seventy-eight  county  and 
municipal  boroughs  had  made  some  provision  for  drunkards  con- 
victed in  accordance  with  the  terms  of  the  act. 

Under  the  Habitual  Drunkards  Act  (1879)  a  system  of  licensed 
"retreats"  exists  for  the  voluntary  reception  and  detention  of  habitual 
drunkards.  A  borough  or  county  council  can  give  a  license  to  keep 
such  a  retreat  for  a  period  of  two  years.  A  competent  medical  man 
man  must  be  attached  to  each  retreat,  and  they  are  inspected  twice 
each  year  by  a  government  inspector  of  retreats.  Any  habitual 
drunkard  may  apply  to  the  keeper  of  the  retreat  for  admission  if 
he  is  willing  to  sign  a  statement  that  he  will  submit  to  the  regulations 
and  remain  in  the  retreat  a  certain  time.     Two  persons  must  also 


204 


MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 


make  a  declaration  that  the  apphcant  is  an  habitual  drunkard  and 
understands  the  effect  of  his  application;  and  finally,  a  justice  of 
the  peace  has  to  attest  the  applicant's  signature  on  the  same  two 
conditions.  The  applicant  once  admitted  cannot  leave  the  retreat 
until  the  expiration  of  the  period  fixed  upon  for  his  detention,  unless 
discharged  by  the  order  of  a  justice.  He  cannot  be  detained  longer 
than  two  years ;  but  he  can  be  readmitted  at  any  time  upon  his  own 
application,  and  thus  in  effect  the  term  of  his  detention  extended. 

There  are  about  twenty  of  these  "licensed  retreats"  having  ac- 
commodation for  about  250  patients,  and  nearly  as  many  more  not 
licensed,  having  provision  for  about  the  same  number.  On  the 
whole,  the  stage  of  development  of  these  institutions,  as  well  as  of 
the  inebriate  reformatories,  must  be  considered  far  from  satisfactory. 
There  is  no  compulsory  detention  in  retreats  other  than  that  agreed 
to  by  the  applicant  and  no  provision  at  public  cost  for  the  treatment 
of  poor  inebriates,  or  those  of  limited  resources.  Moreover,  those 
retreats  and  homes  which  have  admitted,  upon  contract  with  counties 
or  boroughs,  cases  committed  by  the  courts  have  been  seriously  de- 
moralized, as  often  these  cases  on  account  of  their  moral  depravity 
have  been  found  unsuited  for  treatment  in  such  private  institutions. 

(7)  Cripples. — As  we  have  already  seen,  there  is  the  same  pro- 
vision under  the  Elementary  Education  Act  of  1899  for  lame  or 
deformed  children,  who,  by  reason  of  their  physical  defect  are  incap- 
able of  receiving  proper  benefit  from  instruction  in  the  ordinary 
public  elementary  schools,  as  there  is  for  defective  and  epileptic 
children.  In  addition,  the  guardians  have  the  power  of  sending  such 
children  to  certified  schools  or  to  any  asylum  or  institution  where 
they  may  be  permanently  cared  for,  the  expense  being  borne  by 
the  Poor  Law  union.  There  are  now  about  a  half-dozen  such  homes 
or  schools  for  cripples,  under  different  auspices,  where  they  receive 
industrial  training.  Besides  these,  there  are  a  number  of  orthopedic 
hospitals  where  the  diseases  and  malformations  of  cripples  are  treated 
by  surgical  means.  But  on  the  whole  it  must  be  said  that  the  special 
provisions  for  this  class  of  unfortunates  in  England,  as  in  other 
countries,  are  still  extremely  meager  and  manifestly  insufficient. 
The  bulk  of  this  class  in  adult  life  seems  to  be  found  in  the  work- 
houses or  in  private  homes  for  incurables. 

10.     The  Treatment  of  Children.^ — The  law   of   1834  left 

^  Under  this  head  see  Chance's  Children  Under  the  Poor  Law,  Aschrott's  Eng- 


THE  BRITISH  EMPIRE 


205 


the  children  in  the  workhouses,  but  even  at  that  early  time  there  were 
not  wanting  those  who  protested  against  such  an  arrangement.  Ac- 
cordingly in  1839  the  Poor  Law  commissioners  instituted  an  inquiry 
into  the  condition  of  the  children  in  the  workhouses,  which  resulted 
in  a  report  in  1841  recommending  that  unions  be  combined  into  dis- 
tricts for  the  establishment  of  schools  for  pauper  children.  Three 
years  later  a  law  was  passed  authorizing  the  establishment  of  these 
so-called  "District  Schools."  Since  then  the  agitation  for  the  com- 
plete removal  of  the  children  from  the  workhouses  has  continued, 
and  various  methods  have  been  placed  at  the  option  of  boards  of 
guardians  to  bring  this  about.  But  on  January  i,  1901,  there  were 
still  50,828  children  under  sixteen  years  of  age  receiving  indoor 
relief,  nearly  one-half  of  whom  were  in  workhouses.  Nevertheless, 
the  educational  standpoint  is  now  dominant  in  the  treatment  of  pauper 
children,  though  there  are  still  those  who  oppose  every  measure 
which  seems  to  make  the  condition  of  dependent  children  better  than 
that  of  the  children  of  the  lowest  independent  laborer,  forgetting 
that  this  principle  is  wholly  negative  and  repressive  and  that  in  the 
treatment  of  children  the  curative  side  of  the  Poor  Law  should  mani- 
fest itself. 

There  are  now  at  least  seven  different  ways  in  which  Poor  Law 
authorities  may  care  for  dependent  children,  besides  the  ordinary 
method  of  granting  outdoor  relief : 

( 1 )  They  may  keep  the  children  in  separate  wards  in  the  work- 
house, providing  a  school  for  them  within  its  walls.  This  system 
is  still  common  in  the  rural  workhouses,  though  the  number  of  unions 
which  practice  it  is  steadily  decreasing,  as  the  Local  Government 
Board  does  not  encourage  such  workhouse  schools.  However,  in 
1900  there  were  still  in  such  workhouse  schools  2,836  children. 

(2)  Guardians  may  keep  children  in  the  workhouse,  but  send 
them  to  an  ordinary  public  elementary  school.  This  system  is  now 
in  general  vogue;  no  less  than  508  out  of  649  unions  in  1900  sent 
children  to  the  public  elementary  schools.  While  this  system  is 
some  improvement  upon  the  workhouse  school,  it  is  to  be  condemned 
as  in  no  effectual  way  removing  the  children  from  the  moral  con- 
tamination and  degradation  of  workhouse  life. 

(3)      Children   may   be   sent   to  what   are   called   "Poor   Law 

lish  Poor  Law  System,  and  The  Annual  Charities  Register  and  Digest,  Intro- 
duction. 


2o6  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

Schools,"  of  which  there  are  several  kinds.  First  of  all  may  be 
mentioned  the  "District  Schools,"  provided  by  two  or  more  unions 
according  to  the  act  of  1844.  These  district  schools  are  usuall} 
associated  with  large  urban  unions,  such  as  those  of  London.  They 
are  generally  institutions  of  considerable  size,  accommodating  from 
300  to  1,000  pupils.  Their  size  and  the  barrack-like  plan  upon  which 
they  were  formerly  constructed  have  occasioned  much  criticism  of 
these  schools  in  recent  years.  It  is  justly  claimed  that  large  numbers 
of  children  cannot  be  cared  for  under  such  conditions  Without  seri- 
ous danger  to  their  physical  and  moral  health.  To  meet  this  criticism 
the  latest  of  these  schools  have  been  constructed  upon  what  is  called 
the  cottage-home  system.  A  village  of  cottages  is  built  around  a 
school,  a  chapel,  a  hospital,  and  other  buildings.  Each  cottage  pro- 
vides accommodation  for  not  more  than  thirty  children  and  a  foster 
father  and  mother  who  are  supposed  to  make  something  like  a  real 
home  for  the  children.  The  schools  built  upon  this  cottage  plan 
have  been  highly  successful,  and  this  system  of  caring  for  pauper 
children  is,  perhaps,  most  in  favor  with  the  central  authorities  at 
the  present  time;  but  the  costliness  of  construction  and  administra- 
tion in  this  system  precludes  its  general  adoption. 

Another  form  of  Poor  Law  School  is  the  training  ship.  Ships 
for  training  boys  for  sea  service  may  be  provided  by  boards  of  guard- 
ians or  the  boards  of  school  or  asylum  districts,  and  are  under  the 
same  general  regulations  as  other  Poor  Law  schools.  At  present  the 
only  such  training  ship  provided  is  the  "Exmouth"  under  the  control 
of  the  Metropolitan  Asylums  Board. 

The  most  common  form  of  Poor  Law  school  are  the  so-called 
"Separate  Schools."  These  are  provided  by  single  unions,  and  are 
known  as  separate  schools  because  they  are  built  outside  of  the  work- 
house walls,  and  usually  at  some  distance  from  the  workhouse.  The 
children  live  in  them,  usually  in  large  dormitories,  and  in  all  respects 
they  are  essentially  like  the  district  schools,  only  smaller.  They 
are  under  the  management  of  a  special  committee  of  the  board  of 
guardians  of  the  unions  to  which  they  belong.  In  1900  there  were 
10,300  children  in  these  separate  schools,  as  against  6,6go  in  the 
district  schools  and  2,836  in  the  workhouse  schools.  This  made  a 
total  of  19,826  children  in  the  Poor  Law  schools,  while  in  1883  there 
were  35.335. 

The  instruction  given  in  the  Poor  Law  school  is  of  the  highest 


THE  BRITISH  EMPIRE  207 

grade.  They  are  under  periodic  inspection  by  inspectors  appointed 
by  the  Local  Government  Board ;  and  to  encourage  the  employment 
of  competent  teachers  ParHamentary  grants  are  made  according 
to  the  grades  of  the  teachers'  certificates.  The  instruction  is  mainly 
of  an  industrial  character. 

(4)  A  fourth  means  which  the  guardians  have  of  educating 
pauper  children  is  by  sending  them  till  the  age  of  fourteen  to  cer- 
tified schools  under  private  management.  These  are  mainly  eccle- 
siastical schools  or  homes,  many  of  them  under  the  control  of  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church.  They  must  be  certified  by  the  Local  Gov- 
ernment Board  as  fit  to  receive  pauper  children  and  they  are  inspected 
from  time  to  time  by  the  Poor  Law  inspectors.  The  guardians  can- 
not pay  for  the  maintenance  and  tuition  of  a  child  in  such  a  school 
more  than  what  would  have  been  the  cost  of  its  support  in  the  work- 
house during  the  same  period,  and  in  any  case  not  more  than  six 
shillings  weekly.  Many  of  these  schools  are  for  children  with  some 
physical  or  mental  defect,  such  as  the  blind,  and  the  deaf  and  dumb. 
No  child  can  be  sent  to  a  school  conducted  on  the  principles  of  a 
religious  denomination  to  which  its  parents  did  not  belong,  or  if  they 
be  alive,  without  their  consent. 

(5)  A  new  plan  of  caring  for  pauper  children  is  through  what 
are  known  as  "Scattered  Homes."  Houses  are  built  or  hired  by 
the  guardians  in  various  parts  of  a  town  or  union  at  convenient 
distances  from  the  public  elementary  schools,  and  in  each  of  them 
about  ten  children  are  lodged  under  the  care  of  foster  parents.  Thus 
far  only  a  few  unions  have  tried  this  plan,  and  as  yet  it  must  be 
considered  as  only  in  the  experimental  stage. 

(6)  Another  means  which  the  guardians  have  of  caring  for 
dependent  children  is  boarding  them  out,  either  within  or  without 
the  union.  This  is  regulated  by  a  special  Poor  Law  Order  of  1889. 
Unions  which  board  out  children  beyond  their  own  limits  must  have 
a  boarding-out  committee  consisting  of  three  or  more  members  who 
are  responsible  for  finding  and  superintending  the  homes  at  which 
the  children  are  boarded;  but  unions  which  place  children  only  in 
homes  within  their  own  limits  may  do  so  without  a  committee,  in 
which  case  the  duty  of  looking  after  the  children  falls  upon  the  re- 
lieving officer  and  the  medical  ofBcer  of  the  union.  The  children 
who  may  be  boarded  out  must  be  orphans  or  deserted,  and  between 
the  ages  of  two  and  ten,  except  that  a  child  above  ten  may  be  placed 


2o8  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

in  the  same  home  with  a  younger  brother  or  sister.  Before  a  child 
can  be  placed  in  any  family  it  must  be  furnished  with  a  certificate 
of  health  by  the  medical  officer  of  the  union.  Except  in  case  of  broth- 
ers and  sisters,  not  more  than  two  children  can  be  boarded  in  the 
same  house,  and  never  more  than  four.  The  foster  parents  have  to 
undertake  to  bring  up  the  children  as  their  own  and  to  see  that  they 
attend  school  and  church.  There  must  be  a  school  within  a  mile 
and  a  half  of  the  home,  and  the  residence  of  a  member  of  the  com- 
mittee must  be  within  five  miles.  When  once  placed,  a  child  remains 
with  its  foster  parents  until  the  age  of  fifteen,  unless  the  guardians 
withdraw  the  child,  which  they  may  do  at  any  time  upon  one  week's 
notice.  Every  six  weeks  the  child  must  be  visited  by  a  member  of 
the  committee  and  its  moral  and  bodily  condition  reported  to  the 
board  of  guardians.  In  addition  children  who  are  boarded  outside 
of  the  union  are  inspected  from  time  to  time  by  women  inspectors  of 
the  Local  Government  Board.  The  compensation  to  the  foster  par- 
ents may  not  exceed  four  shillings  weekly  for  each  child,  exclusive 
of  small  allowances  for  clothing,  school,  and  medical  fees. 

There  are  still  other  regulations  and  restrictions,  only  a  few  of 
which  can  be  mentioned.  Thus  the  child  cannot  be  placed  with 
relatives,  or  with  persons  who  have  recently  received  public  relief. 
Again,  in  placing  children,  preference  is  to  be  given  to  the  families 
of  laboring  men,  and  they  are  not  to  be  sent  to  homes  in  places  having 
a  population  of  more  than  15,000. 

The  boarding-out  system  has  the  obvious  advantage  over  any 
form  of  institutional  care,  that  it  furnishes  a  natural  instead  of  a  more 
or  less  artificial  life  for  the  child.  It  makes  possible  that  individual 
care  and  those  personal  attachments  without  which  the  normal  de- 
velopment of  the  child  cannot  take  place.  Moreover,  it  efifectually 
removes  it  from  the  atmosphere  of  pauperism  and  puts  it  into  a 
normal  relation  with  its  social  environment.  Nevertheless,  the  board- 
ing-out system  has  many  opponents.  This  is  partly  due  to  bad  man- 
agement. Unless  there  is  strict  supervision  by  both  local  and  central 
authorities,  the  boarding-out  system  is  liable  to  develop  serious  evils. 
Again,  others  oppose  the  system  for  purely  abstract  reasons,  such 
as,  that  it  puts  the  child  of  the  pauper  in  a  better  position  than  the 
child  of  the  independent  laborer.  Owing  to  this  opposition  the 
boarding-out  system  has  made  but  little  progress  in  England  since 
its  introduction  from  Scotland  about   1870.      In   1900  there  were 


THE  BRITISH  EMPIRE  209 

7,358  children  boarded  out,  of  whom  5,448  were  boarded  out  within 
the  unions  to  which  they  belonged,  and  1,910  were  boarded  out  out- 
side of  the  union. 

There  is  no  attempt  in  England  to  place  children  in  families  with 
a  view  to  their  later  adoption,  according  to  the  American  plan.  The 
law  does  provide,  however,  for  the  adoption  of  dependent  children. 
They  must  be  visited  during  a  period  of  three  years  after  their  adop- 
tion, by  the  guardians,  twice  each  year;  and  the  guardians  may  at 
any  time  during  this  period  revoke  their  consent  to  adoption  if  they 
think  fit. 

Here  may  be  noted  the  plan  of  procuring  the  emigration  of  orphan 
or  deserted  children  to  the  colonies,  where  suitable  homes  are  supposed 
to  be  found  for  them.  Orphan  or  deserted  children  under  sixteen 
may,  with  their  own  consent  and  the  consent  of  the  Local  Govern- 
ment Board,  be  sent  to  Canada  under  the  following  conditions : 
They  must  be  entrusted  to  a  responsible  party,  who,  after  placing 
them,  must  report  the  name  and  age  of  each  child  and  the  name  and 
address  of  the  person  with  whom  the  child  is  placed,  to  the  Depart- 
ment of  Agriculture  at  Ottawa,  to  the  guardians  of  the  union  from 
which  the  child  is  taken,  and  to  the  Local  Government  Board. 
Protestant  children  must  be  placed  with  Protestant  families  and 
Catholic  children  with  Catholic  families ;  before  emigration  the  chil- 
dren must  have  had  a  certain  amount  of  schooling  and  receive  a 
health  certificate  from  the  medical  officer.  The  emigration  of  girls 
above  the  age  of  twelve  is  strongly  disapproved  by  the  Local  Govern- 
ment Board.  The  number  of  children  assisted  to  emigrate  from 
year  to  year  by  the  Poor  Law  authorities  is  comparatively  small,  not 
more  than  two  hundred  a  year. 

(7)  One  other  method  of  dealing  with  pauper  children  remains 
to  be  noticed :  the  guardians  may  apprentice  or  send  them  out  to 
service.  This  method  is  now  reserved  for  dealing  with  older  chil- 
dren, the  law  providing  that  any  poor  child  above  the  age  of  nine 
years  who  can  read  and  write  his  own  name  may  be  apprenticed  out. 
Apprenticeship  is  considered  a  sort  of  relief,  though  neither  parent 
nor  child  need  be  in  receipt  of  other  relief  at  the  time.  The  term  of 
apprenticeship  cannot  be  for  more  than  eight  years.  The  consent  of 
the  person  to  be  apprenticed,  if  over  fourteen  years  of  age,  must  be 
obtained ;  and  the  consent  of  parent  or  guardian,  if  the  child  is  under 
sixteen,  is  usually  required.     The  person  to  whom  the  child  is  ap- 

14 


210  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

prenticed  must  be  a  "housekeeper  or  assessed  to  the  poor-rate  in  his 
own  name."  If  the  child  is  under  sixteen  the  guardians  must  pay 
a  premium  partly  in  money  and  partly  in  clothing.  In  return  the 
master  has  to  teach  the  trade  or  business  agreed  upon,  to  the  child, 
and  has  to  provide  proper  food,  lodging,  and  clothing,  and  in  case  of 
sickness  or  accident,  medical  assistance ;  he  must  arrange  for  suitable 
religious  instruction  being  given  according  to  the  creed  of  the  ap- 
prentice ;  and  finally,  after  the  age  of  seventeen,  the  apprentice  must 
be  paid  such  wages  as  the  guardians  may  stipulate.  If  the  terms 
of  indenture  are  transgrassed,  it  is  cancelled. 

In  a  similar  manner  boys  may  be  apprenticed  to  masters  or  owners 
of  ships  for  service  at  sea.  Guardians  may  also  pay  the  expenses  of 
boys,  whose  parents  are  in  receipt  of  relief,  to  the  nearest  port  to 
be  examined  for  entrance  into  His  Majesty's  naval  service. 

Guardians  must  cause  all  apprentices  under  sixteen  to  be  visited 
twice  a  year  by  a  relieving  officer  or  other  suitable  person,  who 
reports  to  them  upon  the  condition,  treatment,  and  conduct  of  the 
children. 

The  Guardianship  of  Dependent  Children. — The  guardians  may 
at  any  time  by  resolution  assume  control  over  a  child  who  is  wholly 
or  partly  maintained  out  of  the  poor  rates  and  ( i )  who  is  deserted 
by  its  parents;  (2)  whose  parents,  in  their  opinion,  are  unfit  to  have 
control  of  it  by  reason  of  vicious  habits,  or  mental  deficiency;  (3) 
whose  parents  are  unable  to  perform  their  parental  duties  by  reason 
of  imprisonment  or  being  permanently  disabled;  (4)  both  of  whose 
parents  are  dead.  By  an  act  of  1899  the  control  of  the  guardians 
over  such  a  child  lasts  until  the  age  of  eighteen,  and  it  is  safeguarded 
by  severe  penalties  for  interference  with  the  child  over  whom  control 
has  been  assumed.  Moreover,  if  a  child  has  been  deserted  or  aban- 
doned by  its  parents,  or  allowed  to  be  brought  up  at  the  expense 
of  another  person  or  a  private  institution,  the  court  may,  at  its  dis- 
cretion, refuse  custody  of  a  child  to  such  parent,  if  he  be  judged  an 
unfit  person  for  the  custody  of  his  child,  and  grant  the  custody  of 
the  child  to  such  private  person  or  institution. 

Morally  Imperilled  Children. — For  morally  imperilled  children 
there  are  four  classes  of  schools — the  Reformatory  Schools,  the  In- 
dustrial Schools,  the  Truant  Schools,  and  the  Day  Industrial  Schools. 
The  first  two  rest  upon  voluntary  foundations  and  are  under  private 
management,  though  they  receive  public  moneys  in  payment  for  chil- 


THE  BRITISH  EMPIRE  211 

dren  committed  to  them  by  the  courts  and  are  subject  to  inspection 
by  government  inspectors.  The  truant  schools  and  the  day  indus- 
trial schools,  on  the  other  hand,  are  under  the  control  of  school  boards 
and  so  are  maintained  directly  out  of  public  funds.  They  are  a 
somewhat  recent  experiment  and  are  confined  to  large  urban  centers. 
The  functions  of  these  four  different  classes  of  schools  we  will  con- 
sider in  the  order  named. 

(i)  The  reformatory  schools  are  for  children  with  distinctly 
criminal  tendencies  under  sixteen  years  of  age  who  have  been  con- 
victed in  a  regular  manner  of  an  offense  punishable  by  penal  servi- 
tude or  imprisonment.  Children  under  twelve  are  rarely  sent  to  these 
schools  unless  they  have  been  previously  convicted.  The  commit- 
ment is  for  a  period  of  from  two  to  five  years,  or  the  court  may 
make  an  indefinite  commitment,  lasting  not  less  than  three  years 
nor  longer  than  the  age  of  nineteen.  Imprisonment  in  a  jail  or 
local  prison  previous  to  reception  in  a  reformatory  school  was  by 
an  act  of  1899  abolished.  As  these  schools  may  be  regarded  as 
strictly  a  part  of  the  English  penal  system,  they  will  not  be  further 
considered  here,  except  to  say  that  in  management  and  organization 
they  are  similar  to  the  industrial  schools. 

(2)  The  industrial  schools  are  for  morally  neglected  and  incor- 
rigible children  under  fourteen  years  of  age,  and  also  for  children 
under  twelve  with  criminal  tendencies  who  have  not  been  previously 
convicted  of  felony.  As  was  said  above,  these  schools  were  originally 
established  by  voluntary  agencies,  mainly  by  religious  denominations, 
but  they  now  derive  their  support  almost  wholly  from  grants  made  by 
the  treasury,  school  boards,  and  county  councils.  They  must  be  certi- 
fied by  the  Local  Government  Board  as  fit  for  the  reception  and  train- 
ing of  morally  neglected  and  refractory  children,  and  they  are  in- 
spected periodically  by  a  government  inspector  of  reformatory  and 
industrial  schools.  In  1900  the  number  of  industrial  schools  was  142, 
and  they  had  under  detention  24,718  children. 

Children  may  be  committed  by  a  magistrate  to  an  industrial  school 
( I )  if  found  begging  or  receiving  alms  ;  (2)  if  found  wandering  with- 
out home  or  visible  means  of  subsistence ;  (3)  if  destitute,  being  either 
orphans  or  having  parents  in  prison ;  (4)  if  found  frequenting  the 
company  of  reputed  thieves  or  reputed  prostitutes;  (5)  if  beyond  the 
control  of  parents  or  guardians,  or  if  refractory  in  a  Poor  Law 
school;    (6)    if  habitually  non-attendant  upon  the  public  schools; 


212  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

(7)  if  convicted  for  the  first  time,  being  under  twelve,  of  an  offense 
punishable  by  imprisonment. 

As  the  Juvenile  Court  is  yet  unknown  in  England,  the  commit- 
ment usually  takes  place  through  a  justice  or  police  court.  Any 
person  may  bring  a  child  into  court  and  if  the  magistrate  finds  that 
the  child  comes  under  one  of  the  above  descriptions,  he  may  send 
him  to  a  certified  industrial  school.  A  few  of  the  industrial  schools, 
however,  receive  voluntary  cases,  i.  c,  those  brought  by  parents  or 
guardians  without  a  magisterial  order.  In  this  case,  parents  or 
friends  must  pay  for  the  care  of  the  child.  ]\Iagistrates  must  send 
children  to  schools  conducted  in  accordance  with  the  religious  per- 
suasion of  the  children's  parents. 

A  child  may  not  be  detained  in  an  industrial  school  beyond  the 
age  of  sixteen,  except  with  its  own  consent  in  writing.  But  by  an 
act  of  1894  the  managers  of  a  school  are  entrusted  with  the  super- 
vision of  children  committed  to  them  to  the  age  of  eighteen.  After 
eighteen  months  of  detention  a  child  may  be  "placed  out  on  license" 
with  any  trustworthy  person.  The  license  may  be  revoked  at  any 
time  and  the  child  recalled  to  the  school  if  the  managers  think  it 
necessary  for  the  protection  of  the  child.  A  child  above  the  age 
of  ten,  who  remains  refractory,  may  be  sent  to  a  certified  reformatory 
school. 

The  industrial  training  given  in  the  industrial  schools  has  been 
much  improved  within  the  last  few  years.  Now  the  best  schools 
employ  competent  teachers  who  give  technical  instruction  of  a  high 
grade,  both  theoretical  and  practical.  The  efficiency  of  the  schools 
is,  however,  greatly  injured  by  lack  of  classification,  especially  classi- 
fication according  to  age.  Usually  children  of  all  ages  from  seven 
to  sixteen  and  of  very  different  characters  are  found  together  in  one 
school  without  much  attempt  at  classification.  In  spite  of  this  and 
other  drawbacks,  the  industrial  schools  seem  fairly  successful  in 
their  work  of  reclaiming  wayward  children.  It  is  estimated  that 
about  eighty  per  cent,  of  the  boys  who  pass  through  these  schools 
do  well  in  after  life. 

(3)  Truant  schools  are  provided  by  school  boards  under  the  Ele- 
mentary Education  Act  of  1876  for  children  who  are  habitual  truants 
from  the  public  schools.  On  account  of  the  short  period  of  detention 
of  children  committed  to  them,  these  schools  have  not  been  particu- 
larly successful. 


THE  BRITISH  EMPIRE 


213 


(4)  Day  industrial  schools  may  also  be  provided  by  school 
boards  if  the  Secretary  of  State  thinks  them  desirable  for  the  proper 
training  and  control  of  the  children  on  account  of  the  circumstances 
of  any  class  of  the  population  of  a  school  district.  They  differ 
from  truant  schools  in  that  any  children  who  may  be  sent  to  indus- 
trial schools  may  be  committed  to  them  as  well  as  truants ;  and 
also  in  that  the  period  of  detention  in  them  is  much  longer  than  in  the 
truant  schools,  though  it  must  not  exceed  three  years  or  go  beyond 
the  age  of  fourteen.  Children  are  committed  to  the  day  industrial 
schools  by  magistrates  in  the  same  manner  as  to  the  certified  industrial 
schools.  They  are  also  received  without  a  magisterial  order  upon  re- 
quest of  a  parent  and  a  local  authority.  In  these  schools  the  children 
are  detained  only  during  the  day,  as  their  name  implies,  being  allowed 
to  return  to  their  own  homes  after  school  hours.  They  are  said  to  be 
most  successful. 

C.  Private  Charity  in  England. — It  has  been  claimed  as  one  of 
the  chief  merits  of  the  English  public  relief  system  that  by  the  sharp 
delimitation  of  its  field  it  gives  ample  room  for  the  growth  of  a 
private  charity  alongside  of  it.^  Every  fully  destitute  person  is  en- 
titled to  relief  under  the  Poor  Law,  and  so  is  properly  a  public  charge ; 
on  the  other  hand,  those  who  need  aid  and  yet  are  not  "fully  destitute" 
are  the  proper  objects  of  private  charity.  By  thus  giving  private 
benevolence  a  definite  field  to  work  in  there  is  no  doubt  that,  on  the 
one  hand,  the  Poor  Law  has  avoided  the  danger  of  drying  up  pri- 
vate benevolence,  while,  on  the  other,  it  has  encouraged  the  develop- 
ment of  a  rational  system  of  voluntary  charity.  But  it  must  not  be 
supposed  that  the  division  of  labor  between  public  relief  and  private 
charity  in  England  is  a  hard  and  fast  one.  On  the  contrary,  there 
are  continual  overlappings  and  duplications  of  the  public  and  private 
systems,  just  as  there  are  in  other  countries.  Thus  every  form  of 
activity  discussed  in  the  preceding  paragraphs,  under  public  relief,  is 
duplicated  by  private  effort.  Nor  does  the  State  longer  rigidly  con- 
fine public  relief  to  the  fully  destitute.  Especially  in  the  case  of  the 
defective  classes,  the  deaf-mutes,  the  blind,  the  feeble-minded,  the 
epileptic,  and  the  insane,  is  the  tendency  manifest  for  the  State  to  take 
upon  itself  the  entire  charge  for  the  education  or  care  of  these 
classes.  On  the  other  hand,  private  philanthropy  has  always  cared 
for  a  certain  proportion  of  the  fully  destitute  in  England.     Members 

I  Aschrott,  Armengesetzgebung  in   Grossbritannien. 


214 


MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 


of  the  upper  and  middle  classes  who  become  dependent  have  always 
largely  been  cared  for  by  private  charity ;  while  in  recent  years  an 
increasing  number  from  the  respectable  laboring  classes,  who  have 
become  dependent,  are  so  cared  for. 

We  have  no  statistics  of  the  number  who  receive  relief  from  pri- 
vate sources  in  England.  But  from  the  extent  and  wealth  of  chari- 
table institutions  and  societies  one  would  judge  that  the  number 
who  receive  their  benefits  can  not  be  much  smaller  than  the  number 
who  receive  public  relief. 

Endoivcd  Charities.  — The  most  important  private  charities  in 
England  are  endowed  charities.  These  include  not  only  foundations 
for  educational  and  religious  purposes,  but  also  for  private  alms- 
houses, for  pensions  for  the  aged  poor,  for  relief  of  the  sick,  for  fuel, 
food,  and  clothing,  and  for  gifts  in  money,  or  doles.  Many  of  these 
endowments  are  very  ancient,  having  been  created  in  the  sixteenth 
and  seventeenth  centuries  and  even  earlier.  Thus  most  of  the  endow- 
ments for  private  almshouses,  which  are  very  numerous,  were 
created  in  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries,  during  the  in- 
cipience of  the  Poor  Law,  when  the  Government  encouraged  such 
gifts  to  supplement  public  relief.  Such  ancient  endowments  are 
often  of  a  purely  local  character,  being  limited  in  their  scope  to  a 
particular  parish  and  controlled  by  the  parish  officials ;  or  they  are 
connected  with  some  ancient  guild  or  craft,  having  been  originally 
created  for  the  relief  of  its  poorer  members. 

The  extent  of  these  charitable  endowments  in  England  is  very 
great.  In  1818  a  commission  was  appointed  to  investigate  endowed 
charities,  which  finally  completed  its  report  in  1837.  This  report 
enumerated  28,820  charitable  endowments,  whose  gross  aggregate 
income  was  over  £2,000,000  annually  and  which  held  in  possession 
over  523,000  acres  of  land.  Since  then  the  number  and  extent  of 
charitable  foundations  have  increased  enormously.  It  is,  indeed, 
probable  that  the  endowments  of  the  nineteenth  century  exceed  in 
extent  those  of  all  the  previous  centuries  combined.  A  new  digest 
of  endowed  charities  in  England  and  Wales  is  now  being  compiled 
by  the  charity  commissioners,  but  has  not  yet  been  issued. 

Judicial  and  administrative  control  over  endowments  has  in 
recent  years  become  an  important  public  question.     It  has  been  a  dif- 

^  See  Kenney,  Endowed  Charities,  and  Annual  Charities  Register  and  Digest, 
pp.  cxlvi-cxlix. 


THE  BRITISH  EMPIRE  21 5 

ficult  matter  to  harmonize  many  of  the  ancient  endowments  with  the 
conditions  of  modern  Hfe.  Indeed,  in  many  cases,  the  objects  for 
which  the  endowments  were  made  no  longer  exist.  Thus  we  have 
endowments  for  the  ransom  of  prisoners  captured  by  pirates,  or  for 
the  rehef  of  those  imprisoned  for  debt.  In  many  more  cases,  the 
objects  for  which  the  endowment  was  created  are  now  regarded  as 
harmful  to  society,  such  as  the  giving  of  doles  in  money  or  kind.  To 
meet  these  conditions  a  Board  of  Charity  Commissioners  was  estab- 
lished in  1853,  and  has  since  then  had  its  powers  considerably  en- 
larged. This  is  primarily  a  board  with  inspective  and  supervisory 
powers,  rather  than  a  board  of  control.  Through  a  staff  of  inspec- 
tors the  commissioners  inspect  the  bulk  of  charitable  endowment 
annually.  The  light  thus  thrown  on  the  working  of  endowments 
has  of  itself  done  much  to  effect  their  improvement.  The  charity 
commissioners  have  the  further  important  power  of  remodeling  ar- 
rangements for  the  administration  of  a  charitable  endowment  in 
certain  cases.  All  small  endowments,  the  income  from  which  does 
not  exceed  £50,  may  be  thus  remodeled.  But  if  the  income  from  an 
endowment  exceeds  £50  a  year,  the  commissioners  can  not  remodel  its 
administration,  unless  requested  to  do  so  by  the  trustees  themselves. 
This  is  a  mischievous  limitation,  and  practically  makes  impossible 
the  reform  of  some  of  the  most  antiquated,  if  not  absurd,  charitable 
endowments  in  England. 

There  is  but  one  possible  remedy  in  cases  where  the  trustees  of 
a  useless  or  mischievous  endowment  refuse  to  apply  for  a  scheme  to 
remodel  its  administration :  the  charity  commissioners  may  carry  the 
case  to  the  Court  of  Chancery,  which  is  now  a  part  of  the  High  Court 
of  Justice.  This  court  has  jurisdiction  not  only  to  compel  trustees 
to  perform  the  trusts  reposed  in  them,  but  also  to  remodel  the  ar- 
rangements of  an  endowment  if  the  particular  objects  contemplated 
by  the  founder  no  longer  exist,  or  if  the  details  prescribed  by  him  are 
found  unworkable.  But  unfortunately  the  court  has  disclaimed  the 
power  of  remodeling  arrangements  made  by  the  founder  merely 
because  they  are  inconvenient  or  even  pernicious  to  society.  All 
attempts  to  remove  by  act  of  Parliament  this  inability  of  the  court 
and  of  the  charity  commissioners  to  deal  with  mischievous  endow- 
ments, have  thus  far  failed.  Thus  there  are  at  present  in  England 
no  legal  means  to  remold  charitable  endowments  which  have  come  to 
be  regarded  as  harmful  to  society. 


2i6  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

D.    Ecclesiastical  Charity. 

(i)  The  Church  of  England} — The  secularization  of  the  relief 
system  which  followed  the  Reformation  did  not  destroy  the  charitable 
activities  of  the  Church.  On  the  contrary  it  left  the  Church  free 
to  develop  its  charity  along  more  natural  lines.  The  burden  of  the 
general  relief  of  the  poor  was  always  one  which  the  Qiurch  was  un- 
fitted to  bear,  and  an  ecclesiastical  relief  system  must  have  proved  a 
failure  sooner  or  later  in  any  course  of  development.  The  freeing 
of  the  Church  from  this  burden  then  gave  it  opportunity  to  expand 
along  the  lines  of  voluntary  benevolence ;  and  of  this  opportunity  the 
Church  of  England  has  made  the  largest  possible  use. 

Many  of  the  endowed  charities  discussed  under  the  last  head 
are,  in  effect,  church  charities,  since  the  controlling  trustees  are 
church  authorities — churchwardens,  vicars,  bishops,  or  other  church 
officials.  Some  of  the  ancient  endowments  were  confiscated  or  secu- 
larized during  the  reign  of  Henry  VIII.,  but  many  more  remained 
intact  under  practical  church  control.  The  charities  supported  by 
these  ancient  endowments  include,  as  we  have  seen  above,  numerous 
almshouses,  gifts  for  education,  apprenticing,  pensions,  and  doles 
of  money,  food,  and  clothing.  These  charities  are  unfortunately 
often  narrow  in  their  scope,  being  limited  frequently  to  the  members 
of  a  single  church  or  parish,  and  to  objects  which  are  now  considered 
questionable. 

The  more  recently  established  charities  of  the  English  Church, 
however,  partake  of  the  broad  and  enlightened  humanitarianism  of 
the  nineteenth  century,^  and  cover  almost  every  object  of  philan- 
thropic endeavor.  Thus  in  the  field  of  the  care  of  the  sick  the  Church 
maintains  seventy-four  cottage  hospitals  and  sixteen  special  hospitals ; 
thirty-seven  convalescent  homes  for  men  and  women,  twenty-four 
for  women  and  children,  twelve  for  children  only,  and  six  for  gentle- 
women— all  of  these  institutions  being  conducted  on  a  charitable 
basis.  Besides,  to  care  for  the  sick  poor  in  their  own  homes  the 
Church  has  twenty-six  institutions  which  train  and  send  out  visit- 
ing nurses. 

In  the  realm  of  general  relief  work  the  Church  has  twenty-eight 

^The  facts  given  in  this  section  have  been  obtained  largely  from  the  Church 
of  England  Year  Book,  issue  of  1903. 

*For  an  account  of  the  social  work  of  the  English  Church  and  dissenting 
churches,  see  R.  A.  Woods'  English  Social  Movements. 


THE  BRITISH  EMPIRE  217 

sisterhoods,  each  with  numerous  branches,  devoted  to  charitable 
work.  These,  as  well  as  several  orders  of  deaconesses,  undertake 
along  with  religious  work  various  forms  of  charitable  work,  such  as 
the  care  of  orphan  children,  of  the  aged,  or  of  the  sick,  the  training 
of  poor  girls  for  domestic  service,  and  the  visiting  and  relief  of  the 
poor  in  their  homes.  There  are  also  several  church  societies,  such 
as  the  "Metropolitan  Visiting  and  Relief  Association,"  whose  purpose 
is  the  visitation  and  relief  of  the  poor  in  their  own  homes  along  with 
religious  work. 

Among  the  most  successful  and  extensive  charities  of  the  Church 
of  England  are  those  which  are  affiliated  with  the  "Reformatory  and 
Refuge  Union."  Such  is  the  Children's  Aid  Society  which  had  aided, 
up  to  1903,  over  17,000  dependent  and  neglected  children.  Such  also 
is  the  Church  of  England  Society  for  Providing  Homes  for  Waifs 
and  Strays.  This  society  has  eighty-seven  homes,  all  of  small  size, 
the  largest  having  a  capacity  of  not  more  than  forty.  In  1903  these 
homes  contained  2,102  children,  besides  which  707  were  boarded  out 
in  families,  217  placed  in  other  institutions,  and  seventy  assisted  to 
emigrate.  Finally,  the  Reformatory  and  Refuge  Union  includes 
twenty-six  reformatory  and  industrial  schools  for  boys  and  twenty- 
three  similar  institutions  for  girls  maintained  by  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land. All  of  these  schools  are  certified  by  the  Local  Government 
Board  as  fit  to  receive  children  committed  by  magistrates  under  the 
circumstances  mentioned  in  the  preceding  chapter. 

Closely  allied  to  this  work  is  that  of  the  Church  Penitentiary 
Association.  This  association  maintains  forty-four  "penitentiaries" 
or  homes  for  penitent  fallen  women.  In  these  they  are  kept  from 
three  months  to  three  years  and  fitted  to  return  to  normal  social  life. 
The  association  has  also  fifty-nine  temporary  refuges  where  penitents 
are  received  on  probation  for  a  short  time  preparatory  to  their  enter- 
ing the  above  homes. 

Besides  the  institutions  for  dependent  children  noted  above,  the 
Church  maintains  fourteen  orphanages  for  boys,  forty-six  orphan- 
ages for  girls,  and  thirteen  for  both  boys  and  girls.  The  majority 
of  these  institutions  are  of  moderate  or  small  size,  although  some  of 
them  are  large,  containing  upwards  of  three  hundred  children. 

The  Church  Army,  an  organization  within  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land, whose  purpose  is  primarily  the  evangelization  of  the  laboring 
classes,  has  developed  a  social  work  somewhat  along  the  lines  fol- 


2i8  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

lowed  by  the  Salvation  Army.  The  social  department  of  the  Army 
had  under  its  charge  in  1901  over  one  hundred  labor  and  lodging 
homes  besides  numerous  other  agencies,  such  as  labor  registers,  food 
depots,  inebriates'  homes,  and  prisoners'  aid  societies,  for  dealing 
with  dependent  and  semi-dependent  persons.  Over  30,000  cases 
were  dealt  with  in  1901  and  £22,000  were  paid  in  wages  to  inmates 
of  the  Army's  homes.  It  is  claimed  that  forty-six  per  cent,  of  all 
dealt  with  obtain  a  new  start  in  life. 

Among  the  many  benevolent  societies  supported  by  the  Church 
for  special  objects,  we  can  notice  only  one,  and  that  is  the  "After- 
Care  Association,"  for  the  care  of  poor  persons  discharged  from  the 
insane  asylums.  Its  object  is  *'to  facilitate  the  re-admission  of  poor 
convalescents  from  lunatic  asylums  into  social  life,"  by  obtaining  for 
them,  when  needful,  a  change  of  scene,  by  assisting  them  to  obtain 
suitable  employment,  and  by  grants  of  money  and  clothing.  The 
work  of  this  society  has  been  highly  commended ;  and  it  illustrates 
the  charitable  activity  of  the  Church  at  its  highest  level. 

(2)  The  Roman  Catholic  Church} — Next  after  the  Church  of 
England,  the  greatest  development  of  charitable  activities  among 
English  religious  denominations  is  to  be  found  in  the  Roman  Catho- 
lic Church.  This  is  perhaps  because  the  traditions  of  charitable  work 
have  been  more  continuous  and  permanent  in  this  denomination  than 
in  other  branches  of  the  Christian  Church.  Whatever  may  be  the 
cause,  the  Roman  Catholic  Qiurch  in  England  has  now  extensive 
charities  covering  almost  every  aspect  of  philanthropic  work. 

In  the  field  of  general  relief  work,  the  most  extensive  and  im- 
portant organization  is  the  St.  Vincent  de  Paul  Society.  This  so- 
ciety adopts  wholly  modern  methods  in  its  relief  work.  It  investi- 
gates carefully  all  cases  applying  for  aid,  it  keeps  a  record  of  these 
cases,  it  cooperates  with  other  relief  societies,  and  it  sends  visitors  to 
the  homes  of  the  poor.  The  society  has  branches  in  all  large  cities, 
and  in  the  larger  cities  many  local  branches.  In  London  alone  there 
are,  for  example,  twenty-nine  of  these  local  branches,  or  "commit- 
tees," of  the  St.  Vincent  de  Paul  Society. 

There  are  several  other  societies  for  the  relief  of  the  poor. 
Among  these  are  the  societies  for  the  relief  of  the  aged  poor,  like 
the  Benevolent  Society  for  the  Relief  of  the  Aged  and  Infirm  Poor, 

^The  facts  in  this  section  are  taken  mainly  from  the  Catholic  Directorj',  Eccle- 
siastical Register  and  Almanac,  1894. 


THE  BRITISH  EMPIRE  219 

the  oldest  Catholic  charity  in  England.  This  society  grants  pensions 
to  poor  Catholic  persons  above  the  age  of  sixty.  The  Little  Sisters 
of  the  Poor  have  as  their  special  object  the  care  of  the  aged  poor 
in  institutions.  They  are  by  far  the  most  important  organization 
engaged  in  this  special  branch  of  philanthropic  work.  They  have 
twenty-eight  houses  in  England,  many  of  them  being  large  institu- 
tions. In  these  homes  for  the  aged,  persons  of  both  sexes  and  all 
denominations  are  received  and  cared  for.  An  institution  which  car- 
ries on  a  similar  work  is  Nazareth  House  in  London,  which  has  twelve 
branches  in  the  provinces. 

In  the  field  of  the  care  of  the  sick  poor  the  Catholic  Church  has 
in  England  eighteen  hospitals  and  convalescent  homes  conducted  on 
a  charitable  basis.  It  maintains  also  eleven  societies  for  nursing  the 
sick  poor  in  their  own  homes,  and  a  number  of  homes  for  incurables. 
The  various  sisterhoods  devote  themselves  largely  to  the  nursing  of 
the  sick  and  the  education  of  poor  children. 

The  care  of  dependent  and  neglected  children  has  always  occupied 
a  prominent  place  in  the  charitable  work  of  the  Catholic  Church, 
The  Church  maintains  in  England  eleven  Poor  Law  schools  for  boys 
and  twenty-five  for  girls  which  have  been  certified  by  the  Local  Gov- 
ernment Board  as  fit  to  receive  dependent  children  committed  to  them 
by  the  boards  of  guardians.  It  has  also  five  certified  reformatories 
for  boys  and  two  for  girls  for  the  reception  of  delinquent  children 
between  twelve  and  sixteen  guilty  of  serious  offenses.  For  de- 
linquent children  under  fourteen,  guilty  of  minor  offenses  the 
Church  maintains  twenty-seven  certified  industrial  schools,  fifteen 
for  boys  and  twelve  for  girls.  In  England  dependent,  neglected,  and 
delinquent  children  of  Catholic  parentage  must  by  law  be  committed 
to  these  certified  Catholic  schools.  In  addition  to  such  schools,  the 
Catholic  Church  in  England  has  about  forty  other  schools,  orphan- 
ages, or  homes,  for  boys  or  girls. 

The  Catholic  Church  in  England  has  numerous  other  charities, 
such  as  homes  for  fallen  women,  institutions  for  the  blind  and  the 
deaf,  etc. ;  but  the  above  gives  a  fair  outline  of  the  range  of  its  chari- 
table activities. 

(3)  The  Salvation  Army. — Among  the  newer  religious  denomi- 
nations in  England,  none  have  attempted  more  extensive  philan- 
thropic work  than  the  Salvation  Army.  This  sect  was  founded  in 
1865  by  the  Rev.  William  Booth,  now  known  the  world  over  as 


220  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

General  Booth.  It  was  first  called  the  "East  London  Mission,"  then 
the  "Christian  Mission,"  and  finally  in  1878  took  the  name  of  Sal- 
vation Army.  In  1890  General  Booth  published  his  book,  "In  Dark- 
est England  and  the  Way  Out,"  in  which,  after  picturing  the  condi- 
tion of  the  poorer  classes  of  London,  he  proposed  his  plan  of  remov- 
ing the  more  wretched  of  them  to  the  country  and  rendering  them 
self-supporting  through  agriculture.  He  estimated  that  he  could 
make  this  plan  a  success  if  i  1,000,000  were  donated.  The  money 
was  soon  forthcoming,  and  this  formed  the  nucleus  for  the  now  ex- 
tensive charities  of  the  Army. 

According  to  the  report  of  the  English  division  of  the  Salva- 
tion Army  for  the  year  1900,  the  Army  had  in  England  twelve  farm 
colonies,  comprising  25,562  acres,  with  650  colonists.  These  colonies 
were  connected  with  similar  farm  colonies  in  English  countries  across 
the  sea  for  the  purpose  of  assisting  emigration.  They  were  also 
indirectly  connected  with  sixty  workshops  in  the  cities  for  the  tem- 
porary employment  of  the  unemployed.  In  these,  in  1900,  48,512 
men  and  women  were  given  temporary  employment.  Besides,  the 
Army  maintained  thirty-six  labor  bureaus  through  which  6,367  indi- 
viduals were  found  situations. 

In  addition  to  this  strictly  industrial  work,  the  Army  has  many 
other  charities.  It  has  188  shelters  and  food  depots  providing 
sleeping  accommodations  for  14,041  homeless  men  and  women.  In 
these,  in  1900,  over  6,137,000  meals  were  given  away  or  served  at 
nominal  prices.  Again,  the  Army  has  132  slum  posts,  and  maintains 
ninety- four  rescue  homes  for  fallen  women.  In  1900  these  dealt  with 
5,158  girls,  of  whom  3,449  were  reported  as  satisfactory  cases. 
The  children's  homes  and  day  nurseries  supported  by  the  Army  num- 
ber seventeen,  and  in  1900  these  gave  temporary  shelter  to  23,425 
children.  It  has  eleven  homes  for  ex-convicts  through  which  1,626 
discharged  prisoners  passed  in  1900  with  satisfactory  results  in  1,393 
cases.  Finally,  there  are  a  number  of  other  social  institutions  of  a 
miscellaneous  character  maintained  by  the  Army. 

In  1900  these  609  institutions  were  cared  for  by  2,294  officers  and 
had  an  income  from  all  sources  of  over  £r, 000,000  annually.  The 
report  further  states  that  the  rate  of  growth  of  the  social  and  phil- 
anthropic institutions  of  the  Army  is  extremely  rapid. 

It  is  to  be  regretted  that  these  extensive  charities  of  the  Salvation 
Army  are  not  always  carried  on  in  accordance  with  modern  methods. 


THE  BRITISH  EMPIRE  221 

While  they  are  accompHshing  much  good,  it  is  claimed  by  some  that 
by  giving  rehef  too  indiscriminately  they  are  increasing  some  de- 
pendent classes,  especially  tramps  and  vagrants.^  Of  course,  the 
sanguine  expectations  of  General  Booth,  with  regard  to  his  plan  of 
uplifting  the  submerged  classes  through  returning  them  to  agricul- 
tural life,  have  not  been  realized. 

(4)  Other  Protestant  Churches. — Of  late  years  other  Protestant 
denominations  in  England,  as  elsewhere,  have  been  increasingly  turn- 
ing their  attention  to  philanthropy  as  an  appropriate  field  of  religious 
activity.  The  writer  has  been  unable  to  obtain  the  statistics  of  the 
philanthropic  work  of  the  various  non-conformist  Protestant  de- 
nominations in  England.  But  the  philanthropic  work  of  these  bodies 
is  now  beginning  to  be  proportionate  to  their  wealth  and  member- 
ship. The  various  Methodist  churches,  in  particular,  have  led  in 
this  movement  to  give  wider  scope  to  the  philanthropic  activities 
of  the  Protestant  churches ;  but  other  non-conformist  churches  have 
not  kept  far  behind  them.  The  philanthropic  work  of  the  Quakers, 
or  Friends,  deserves  special  mention  also ;  for  this  little  denomination 
has  emphasized  from  the  beginning  the  philanthropic  aspects  of 
Christianity. 

(5)  Jewish  Charities. — It  is  perhaps  hardly  proper  to  classify 
Jewish  charities  among  ecclesiastical  charities,  as  they  belong  to  a 
race  as  well  as  to  a  religious  denomination.  It  is  appropriate  here, 
however,  merely  to  note  that  no  other  religious  denomination  in  Eng- 
land has  so  well  organized  a  system  of  charities  as  the  Jews.  Their 
charities  cover  almost  every  object  of  philanthropic  endeavor,  and 
are  usually  administered  according  to  the  most  modern  methods  by 
trained,  intelligent  officials.  Unfortunately  the  writer  has  been  un- 
able to  obtain  any  statistics  as  to  the  amount  of  Jewish  benevolences 
in  England.  But  the  extent  and  organization  of  Jewish  charities 
would  seem  to  indicate  that  they  are  proportionately  greater  than  in 
many  other  denominations. 

The  Work  of  Benevolent  and  Fraternal  Organizations. — Non- 
sectarian  charities  of  every  sort  are  abundant  in  England.     Many 

^  The  shelters  of  the  Salvation  Army  especially  have  been  sharply  criticised. 
It  is  said  with  good  reason  that  these  shelters  attract  vagrants ;  for  they  receive 
all  comers  without  investigation  and  without  any  labor  test.  It  has  also  been 
shown  that  they  are  centers  of  contagion  for  various  diseases.  They  render 
nugatory  much  of  the  Poor  Law  legislation  aimed  at  the  vagrant  class. 


222  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

of  the  charities  of  the  churches  above  mentioned  are  non-sectarian 
so  far  as  their  spirit  and  aim  are  concerned ;  but  their  more  or  less 
close  connection  with  some  reHgious  denomination  makes  it  nec- 
essary to  classify  them  as  ecclesiastical.  Secular  or  non-sectarian 
charitable  societies  or  institutions — that  is,  those  having  no  connec- 
tion with  any  religious  denomination — exist  in  England  for  the 
care  of  almost  every  class  of  dependents.  There  are  societies  for  the 
education  and  relief  of  the  blind  and  the  deaf,  for  the  care  and 
nursing  of  the  sick  in  their  homes,  for  the  support  of  hospitals  of  all' 
sorts,  for  the  care  of  the  aged  and  the  incurable,  for  the  protection 
and  care  of  children,  for  the  rescue  of  fallen  women,  and  for  the  giv- 
ing of  various  forms  of  private  relief.  In  brief,  non-sectarian  be- 
nevolent organizations  duplicate,  on  the  one  hand,  the  work  of  eccle- 
siastical charity,  and  on  the  other,  to  some  extent  at  least,  the  work 
of  the  public  relief  system.  This  might  cause  some  confusion,  were 
there  not  strong  tendencies  toward  cooperation  at  work. 

The  scope  of  this  article  will  not  permit  any  attempt  at  descrip- 
tion of  this  vast  network  of  private  secular  charities.  An  illustra- 
tion or  two  will  suffice  to  indicate  their  character.  An  example  of 
such  a  charity  founded  by  private  initiative  is  the  "National  Incor- 
porated Waifs'  Association,"  or  "Dr.  Barnardo's  Homes,"  as  it  is 
popularly  called.  This  organization  exists  for  the  rescue  and  care 
of  neglected  and  dependent  children.  It  has  connected  with  it  some 
forty  different  institutions  in  England  which  care  for  over  3,000 
children,  besides  three  emigration  depots  in  Canada.  Its  chief 
method  of  child-saving  is  through  placing  out  dependent  children  in 
homes,  especially  in  Canada,  and  since  its  founding  by  Dr.  T.  J. 
Barnardo,  about  thirty-five  years  ago,  it  has  thus  placed  out  over 
10,000  children.  A  good  illustration  of  a  non-sectarian  charity  due 
to  the  cooperation  of  different  religious  denominations  and  benevo- 
lent societies  is  the  "Hospital  Saturday  and  Sunday  Funds."  These 
funds  are  raised  by  various  churches,  clubs,  societies,  and  business 
corporations,  and  distributed  among  the  various  hospitals  in 
proportion  to  the  amount  of  charitable  work  they  do.  The  amounts 
contributed  to  the  hospitals  of  London  in  1901  by  these  two  funds 
and  by  King  Edward's  Fund,  a  similar  charity,  aggregated 
£129,000. 

Another  class  of  charities  of  a  purely  secular  character,  and  un- 
endowed, are  the  various  benevolent  societies  and  institutions  con- 


THE  BRITISH  EMPIRE  223 

nectea  with  the  various  professions  and  occupations.  These  have 
been  growing  of  recent  years  in  number  and  wealth,  until  now  they 
exist  for  almost  every  important  calling.  Their  purpose  is  to  furnish 
charitable  relief  for  the  unfortunate  members  of  the  profession  or  oc- 
cupation. These  societies  are  of  two  classes,  those  that  distribute  their 
benefits  on  a  purely  charitable  basis  within  the  calling,  and  those  that 
distribute  benefits  only  to  those  who  have  joined  the  society  and  paid 
a  certain  sum  for  a  stipulated  term  of  years. 

Closely  related  to  these  latter  are  the  so-called  "Friendly  Socie- 
ties."^ These  are  mutual  benefit  societies  which  pay  to  their  mem- 
bers certain  sums  weekly  in  case  of  sickness,  and  at  death  a  lump 
sum  to  cover  burial  expenses,  and  after  death  perhaps  certain  allow- 
ances to  widows  and  orphans.  The  work  of  these  societies,  inas- 
much as  they  are  mutual  insurance  societies  against  destitution 
through  sickness,  death,  or  other  misfortune,  ought  perhaps  to  be 
considered  strictly  under  the  head  of  preventive  philanthropy;  but 
because  they  are  practically  vast  dispensers  of  relief  to  their  members, 
they  may  be  conveniently  noticed  here  in  connection  with  other 
benevolent  organizations. 

The  importance  of  these  Friendly  Societies  in  the  life  of  the  Eng- 
lish working  classes  is  beyond  measure.  Not  only  do  they  encour- 
age to  the  greatest  degree  habits  of  thrift,  industry,  manly  indepen- 
dence, and  sobriety,  but  their  probable  future  development,  some 
think,  seems  to  preclude  the  necessity  of  any  such  scheme  as  state 
old-age  pensions  to  the  laboring  classes.  In  1902  the  number  of 
Friendly  Societies  in  Great  Britain  was  29,985,  counting  each  local 
organization  as  a  society.  These  societies  had  invested  funds 
amounting  to  £37,917,702,  and  a  total  membership  of  over  11,424,000. 
As  regards  industrial  extent  the  societies  are  of  two  classes,  the  trade 
societies,  or  trades  unions,  whose  membership  is  strictly  confined  to 
one  industry;  and  the  general  friendly  societies  which  take  in  mem- 
bers without  regard  to  occupation.  As  regards  territorial  extent, 
the  societies  are  also  of  two  classes.  Many  are  purely  local  societies 
which  have  no  branches ;  others  are  societies  of  national  extent  with 
numerous  branches.     Among  the  friendly  societies  of  national  extent, 

^  For  full  information  as  to  the  charitable  work  of  the  English  Friendly  Socie- 
ties, see  Dr.  J.  M.  Baernreither's  classical  work  on  English  Associations  of  Work- 
ing Men. 


224  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

not  confined  to  any  trade  or  industry,  the  largest  and  most  important 
are  the  Oddfellows  and  the  Foresters. 

Parliament  has  recognized  the  importance  of  the  work  of  the 
friendly  societies,  and  has  established  a  friendly  societies'  registry, 
in  which  societies  that  conform  to  certain  conditions  of  the  law  may 
be  registered.  These  registered  societies  must  have  their  accounts 
audited  annually  by  a  government  auditor,  and  are  otherwise  subject 
to  legal  control.  But  in  return  for  this  they  have  certain  privileges 
which  unregistered  societies  have  not. 

Prisoners'  Aid  Societies.^ — A  form  of  philanthropy  peculiarly  well 
developed  in  England  is  that  expressed  by  Prisoners'  Aid  Societies. 
This  might  also  be  classed  as  a  phase  of  preventive  philanthropy,  but 
it  is  restorative  in  character,  and  may  be  conveniently  discussed  under 
a  separate  heading. 

There  are  sixty-one  prisons  in  England,  and  all  have  associated 
with  them  a  voluntary  society  to  aid  discharged  prisoners  in  making 
a  fresh  start  in  life.  That  is,  there  are  more  than  sixty  such  societies 
in  England  and  Wales.  Since  1896  these  societies  have  been  made 
subject  to  governmental  inspection  and  supervision,  and  those  which 
attain  a  certain  standard  of  efficiency  receive  a  small  grant  from  the 
Government  to  help  them  carry  on  their  work.  In  1900  the  Pris- 
oners' Aid  Societies  of  England  assisted  28,980  discharged  prisoners. 
The  best  of  these  societies  not  only  find  employment  for  dis- 
charged prisoners,  and  assist  them  by  grants  of  money  or  clothing, 
but  also  have  connected  with  them  industrial  homes  or  refuges  for 
ex-convicts  where  they  can  receive  training  which  will  fit  them  to 
reenter  free  social  life.  In  other  words,  they  aim  at  continuing  the 
work  of  the  reformation  of  the  prisoner  after  his  discharge.  Thus 
the  prisoner  who  wishes  to  reform  is  surrounded  at  once,  upon  his 
discharge,  with  helpful  influences  which  not  only  find  him  employ- 
ment and  restore  him  to  family  and  friends,  but  equip  him  for  work 
as  well. 

Different  societies  cooperate  with  each  other,  acting  mutually  as 
agents,  taking  charge  of  cases  coming  from  districts  other  than  their 
own.  Again,  to  secure  continued  oversight  over  a  discharged  pris- 
oner who  has  been  procured  employment  in  a  distant  place,  corre- 
sponding members  are  appointed  who  look  after  such  discharged 
prisoners.     Thus  this  network  of  prisoners'  aid  societies  in  constant 

^  See  Annual  Charities  Register  and  Digest,  1902,  pp.  425-431. 


THE  BRITISH  EMPIRE  225 

communication  with  one  another  makes  it  possible  to  exercise  a  kindly 
surveillance  over  a  prisoner  who  wishes  to  reform,  long  after  his 
discharge,  and  to  prevent  his  being  led  again  into  crime. 

The  result  of  the  work  of  these  societies  to  England  must  be  not 
only  a  great  diminution  of  the  class  of  habitual  criminals,  but  also 
to  some  extent  a  diminution  of  the  pauperism  and  vagrancy  which 
so  frequently  follow  crime. 

E.  Charity  Organization  Societies.^ — The  crown  of  the 
English  system  of  public  and  private  philanthropy  is  the  Charity 
Organization  Society.  Although  strictly  a  voluntary  organization, 
it  coordinates  public  and  private  relief  agencies,  and  so  is  the  key- 
stone, in  every  locality  in  which  it  exists,  which  binds  together  the 
two  systems  of  public  relief  and  private  charity.  That  England  gave 
birth  to  the  charity  organization  movement  testifies  not  only  to  the 
superior  humanitarian  spirit  of  the  English  people,  but  also  to  their 
practical  genius  for  harmonizing  private  initiative  with  public  activity 
in  philanthropic  work. 

The  first  charity  organization  society  was  organized  in  London 
in  1869.  The  preceding  years  had  been  years  of  industrial  depres- 
sion ;  and,  though  relief  was  abundant,  as  Mr.  Loch  says,  "Misery 
and  destitution  seemed  to  increase  in  spite  of  it,  seemed  almost  to 
feed  and  multiply  upon  it."  It  was  evident  that  closer  cooperation 
was  needed  between  the  Poor  Law  authorities  and  the  dispensers  of 
private  charity.  Immense  emergency  funds  and  prodigal  private 
giving  were  nullifying  the  efifect  of  the  Poor  Laws.  Organization 
and  coordination  of  public  and  private  sources  of  relief  became  indis- 
pensable to  prevent  the  spread  of  pauperism  and  the  wholesale  de- 
moralization of  the  poorer  classes.  Accordingly,  Mr.  Goschen,  then 
President  of  the  Poor  Law  Board,  the  Bishop  of  London,  the  Earl 
of  Shaftesbury,  Edward  Denison,  and  others,  took  the  lead  in  organ- 
izing a  voluntary  society  which  should  bring  about  effective  coopera- 
tion between  private  charities  and  Poor  Law  officials,  and  amongst 
private  charities  themselves ;  and  which  should  secure  due  investiga- 
tion and  fitting  action  in  all  cases,  and  repress  mendicity.  This  was 
called  the  London  Society  for  Organizing  Charitable  Relief  and  Re- 
pressing Mendicity,  a  title  which  was  soon  popularly  abbreviated  into 
"Charity  Organization  Society." 

^  See  Loch's  Charity  Organization ;  also  R.  A.  Woods'  English  Social  Move- 
ments. 

IS 


226  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

This  society  was  successful  from  the  first  in  greatly  reducing 
pauperism  in  London.  By  its  methods  and  plan  of  organization  it 
has  made  itself  a  model  for  similar  organizations  throughout  the 
English-speaking  world.  In  Great  Britain  there  are  now  about  one 
hundred  similar  societies,  in  the  colonies  about  twenty,  while  in  the 
United  States  there  are  over  150  societies.  Such  societies  now  exist 
in  practically  all  of  the  important  cities  of  the  English-speaking  world. 

As  we  have  seeen  from  this  brief  sketch  of  the  history  of  the 
movement,  charity  organization  societies  are  not  primarily  relief- 
giving  organizations.  Rather  they  exist  to  correlate  and  systematize 
the  activities  of  relief-giving  agencies  already  in  existence.  If  a 
charity  organization  society  gives  relief  largely,  it  runs  the  danger 
of  coming  into  competition  with  other  relief  societies,  and  so  destroy- 
ing the  possibility  of  friendly  cooperation.  As  Mr.  Loch  says,  "The 
society  does  not  do  the  work  of  charity  for  the  charitable ;  it  is  itself 
but  a  combination  of  charitable  persons,  each  of  whom,  with  the  ad- 
vantages of  cooperation  and  a  definite  plan  of  work,  ought  to  be  the 
better  able  to  fulfill  his  individual  duties.  It  is  not  the  desire  of  the 
society  to  supersede  local  charitable  agencies,  but  to  be  representative 
of  all  such  within  their  area — to  afford  means  of  mutual  assistance 
and  a  place  of  meeting  common  to  all  who  are  engaged  in  charitable 
work." 

Again,  another  reason  why  charity  organization  societies  should 
not  give  relief  largely  is  that  they  are  in  danger  of  losing  sight  of 
the  higher  aims  of  the  society  in  relief-giving.  The  society  aims  at 
the  cure  of  poverty  by  the  rational  coordination  of  the  charitable 
efforts  of  individuals,  private  associations,  and  public  authorities ;  by 
securing  intelligent  action  in  each  case  based  upon  a  careful  investi- 
gation of  the  facts ;  and  by  the  rehabilitation  of  the  individual 
through  encouragement  in  habits  of  independence,  thrift,  and 
industry. 

In  general,  it  may  be  said  that  English  societies  adhere  to  these 
principles,  and  give  no  relief  except  in  cases  in  which  relief  can  not 
be  obtained  from  cooperating  agencies,  and  in  emergencies  pending 
investigation.  But  some  societies  have  departed  widely  from  this 
rule,  and  have  given  large  amounts  of  relief,  to  their  detriment,  it 
has  generally  been  found,  as  coordinating  agencies. 

Some  further  explanation  of  the  principles  upon  which  charity 
organization   societies  work  may  be  helpful.     No   case   is   recom- 


THE  BRITISH  EMPIRE  227 

mended  for  relief  until  there  has  been  thorough  investigation  by 
some  officer  of  the  society,  usually  by  a  paid  agent,  though  some- 
times by  a  volunteer.  This  investigation,  if  properly  conducted,  ac- 
complishes three  things:  (i)  it  reveals  the  causes  of  distress;  (2) 
it  shows  in  what  way  help  can  best  be  given ;  (3)  it  detects  imposture, 
if  there  is  any,  and  so  protects  the  giver.  The  facts  ascertained 
through  investigation  are  carefully  recorded  and  filed  in  a  registry 
of  cases  in  the  central  office.  This  registry  of  cases  is  an  efficient 
means  of  furthering  cooperation  between  dififerent  charitable  agencies, 
as  from  it  fairly  full  information  can  be  obtained  regarding  a  case 
applying  for  relief.  Beyond  the  work  of  investigation  and  registra- 
tion is  the  task  of  restoring  the  dependent  person  if  possible  to  self- 
support.  This  is  mainly  accomplished  by  English  societies  through 
the  "almoner,"  the  person  who  administers  the  relief,  who  makes 
relief  conditional  upon  the  performance  of  certain  acts  which  tend 
toward  self-support.  "Friendly  visiting"  is  not  attempted  by  Eng- 
lish societies  in  the  same  way  or  on  the  same  scale  as  is  attempted  by 
American  societies.  So  far  as  it  is  attempted  at  all  it  is  done  by  the 
"almoner,"  or  by  "District  Visitors"  who  work  under  the  supervision 
of  some  church,  without  any  direct  connection  with  the  charity 
organization  society. 

This  brief  review  of  the  principles  which  govern  the  working 
of  charity  organization  societies  shows  that  they  are  a  product  of 
the  combination  of  the  humanitarian  with  the  scientific  spirit.  They 
stand,  on  the  one  hand,  for  the  perception  of  the  superiority  of  intel- 
ligent and  united  effort ;  on  the  other,  for  the  perception  that  charity 
has  a  higher  duty  to  the  unfortunate  than  the  giving  of  mere  material 
relief ;  that  it  should  aim  at  the  permanent  welfare  of  the  poor  rather 
than  the  temparary  alleviation  of  misery.  The  charity  organization 
movement  is,  therefore,  preeminently  constructive,  not  negative  and 
repressive,  as  it  is  so  often  represented  to  be;  and,  on  the  whole, 
it  must  be  judged  to  be  one  of  the  highest  expressions  of  intelligent 
philanthropy  which  the  world  has  yet  seen. 

The  plan  of  organization  of  English  charity  organization  societies 
needs  a  word  of  explanation.  The  London  society  may  be  taken  as 
typical,  the  plan  being  simplified  for  smaller  communities.  The 
London  society  consists  of  a  Central  Council  or  Committee  with  forty 
District  Committees.  The  central  council  has  general  oversight  of 
the  work  of  the  society,  especially  of  the  district  committees.     It  en- 


228  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

deavors  to  bring  into  systematic  cooperation  all  charitable  institutions 
and  agencies,  both  public  and  private.  It  seeks  to  improve  the  ad- 
ministration of  charity  in  every  way,  and  to  diffuse  knowledge  con- 
cerning the  proper  methods  of  relief.  The  council  itself  does  not 
receive  direct  applications  for  aid,  but  these  must  be  made  through 
the  district  committees.  The  council  is  composed,  aside  from  its 
chairman,  vice-chairmen,  and  treasurers,  ( i )  of  elected  representa- 
tives from  each  district  committee,  together  with  the  chairman  and 
honorary  secretaries  of  the  committee;  (2)  of  additional  members 
from  the  society  at  large,  not  exceeding  in  number  one-fourth  of  the 
representatives  of  the  district  committees;  (3)  of  representatives 
from  metropolitan  charitable  institutions. 

The  district  committees  are  local  branches  of  the  society,  now 
forty  in  number,  formed  in  each  Poor  Law  union  of  London  for  the 
purpose  of  carrying  out  in  that  district  the  practical  work  of  the 
society.  Their  function  is  to  receive,  investigate,  and  treat,  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  principles  of  the  society,  all  applications  for  relief 
referred  to  them  in  their  respective  districts.  The  district  commit- 
tees are  supposed  to  be  financially  independent  of  the  council  and  to 
be  self-supporting  in  their  work.  But  about  half  of  them  receive 
grants  from  the  council  toward  their  administrative  expenses.  They 
are  composed,  so  far  as  possible,  of  ministers  of  religion,  guardians 
of  the  poor,  and  representatives  of  local  charities.  For  the  perform- 
ance of  their  work,  the  district  committees  have  several  sorts  of  execu- 
tive officers.  Sometimes  a  paid  secretary  is  employed,  but  generally 
the  work  is  in  charge  of  one,  or  more,  honorary  secretaries  who  serve 
without  pay,  yet  give  a  great  deal  of  time  to  the  work.  In  poorer 
districts,  the  work  is  in  charge  of  district  secretaries  who  are  ap- 
pointed and  paid  by  the  council.  Besides  the  secretaries  there  are 
in  every  district  office,  one  or  more  paid  investigating  agents  or  in- 
quiry officers.  Upon  these  devolve  most  of  the  work  of  investigation, 
and  sometimes  of  receiving  applications.  Finally,  the  district  com- 
mittees usually  enlist  a  considerable  number  of  volunteers  to  act  as 
almoners  and  visitors,  and  sometimes  to  assist  in  investigation. 

While  relief  may  be  given  by  the  secretary  pending  investigation, 
if  the  case  is  one  of  emergency,  the  rule  is  that  no  recommendation 
regarding  the  case  is  made  until  it  comes  before  the  whole  committee 
for  decision.  In  other  words,  "all  decisions  are  made  in  committee." 
If  the  case  is  one  in  which  permanent  relief  is  needed  or  in  which 


THE  BRITISH  EMPIRE  229 

pecuniary  aid  is  likely  to  do  no  good,  on  account  of  evil  habits,  it  is  at 
once  turned  over  to  the  Poor  Law  officials.  The  only  exceptions  to 
this  rule  are  the  cases  of  aged  or  infirm  persons  who  have  led  respec- 
table, industrious  lives;  for  these  the  society  undertakes  to  provide 
suitable  pensions  or  to  secure  homes.  If  the  case  is  one  in  which 
only  temporary  relief  is  needed,  or  in  which  there  is  hope  of  restora- 
tion to  self-support,  the  committee  undertakes  to  find  suitable  and 
adequate  relief  either  from  charitable  institutions  and  societies  or 
from  benevolent  private  individuals.  Finally,  there  are  the  cases 
which  are  rejected  as  not  needing  relief. 

This  plan  of  organization  is  modified  in  smaller  cities,  so  that 
a  single  committee,  usually  called  the  council,  carries  on  the  whole 
work  of  the  society. 

Into  further  details  of  the  work  of  charity  organization  societies 
in  England  it  is  not  necessary  to  enter.  Our  purpose  has  been  simply 
to  show  how  this  work  is  correlated  with  the  whole  system  of  public 
and  private  philanthropy  in  England.  Enough,  perhaps,  has  been 
said  to  make  it  evident  that  the  work  of  these  societies  is  truly  con- 
structive, being  both  preventive  and  remedial ;  and  so  is  a  necessary 
complement  to  the  work  of  the  Poor  Law,  which  is  almost  wholly 
repressive. 

M.  Preventive  and  Educational  Work. — Into  the  vast  field 
of  preventive  philanthropy  in  England,  both  governmental  and  vol- 
untary, it  is  impossible  to  enter  and  keep  within  the  scope  of  this 
monograph.  Only  a  few  examples  can  be  given  as  indications  of 
the  work  which  is  now  being  attempted  by  the  Government  and  by 
voluntary  associations  along  these  lines.  In  general  it  can  be  said 
that  in  England  as  elsewhere  more  and  more  attention  is  being  given 
to  the  work  of  prevention.     A  few  illustrations  will  be  given. 

(i)  Among  the  numerous  things  attempted  by  the  English 
Government  in  the  way  of  prevention,  perhaps  the  Employers'  Lia- 
bility Act  and  the  Post  Office  Savings  Banks  are  the  most  striking. 
The  Employers'  Liability  Act,  together  with  the  supplemental  Work- 
men's Compensation  Act  of  1897,  provides  that  a  workman  may  re- 
cover damages  from  an  employer  for  personal  injury  suffered  while 
in  his  employ,  provided  the  injury  was  not  due  to  the  workman's 
own  negligence  or  willfulness.  The  damages  so  recoverable,  how- 
ever, shall  not  exceed  in  amount  the  estimated  earnings  of  a  workman 
of  the  same  grade  in  the  same  employment  during  three  years  preced- 


230  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

ing  the  injury.  Where  death  results  from  the  injury  the  workman's 
dependants  have  the  same  right  to  damages  that  he  would  have.  In 
case  of  total  or  partial  incapacity  for  work  resulting  from  the  injury 
lasting  for  more  than  two  weeks,  the  compensation  shall  be  a  weekly 
payment  not  exceeding  fifty  per  cent,  of  the  workman's  average  weekly 
earnings  during  the  previous  twelve  months.  The  provisions  of  these 
two  acts  apply  to  nearly  all  workmen  in  the  industrial  occupations. 
The  effect  of  the  acts  has  been,  on  the  whole,  salutary.  They  have 
unquestionably  diminished  to  some  degree  the  amount  of  dependency 
resulting  from  accident  or  injury.  They  have  done  this,  not  so 
much  through  the  compensation  awarded  to  the  injured,  as  through 
making  employers  more  careful,  and  so  preventing  accidents.  On 
the  other  hand  they  have  to  some  extent  failed,  as  some  employers 
evade  the  law  by  compelling  their  workmen  to  renounce  their  claims 
to  compensation,  or  find  means  to  shift  the  burden  on  the  workmen 
themselves.  A  very  general  result  also  has  been  that  employers 
insure  themselves  against  possible  loss  through  the  operation  of 
these  acts  in  mutual  or  other  companies,  which  for  a  small  premi- 
um assume  the  risk  and  pay  all  damages  awarded  by  the  courts. 

Through  the  Post  Office  Savings  Banks  the  English  Govern- 
ment affords  unexcelled  facilities  for  saving  and  thrift  to  the  masses.^ 
At  any  post  office  in  the  United  Kingdom,  deposits  may  be  made 
in  sums  from  a  shilling  upwards.'  The  amount  of  such  deposits, 
however,  may  not  exceed  £50  in  one  year,  and  the  total  sum  to  one's 
credit  may  not  exceed  £200.  After  the  sum  deposited  reaches  one 
pound,  interest  at  the  rate  of  two  and  one-half  per  cent,  per  annum 
is  paid  on  every  complete  pound,  and  after  December  ist  of  each 
year  the  accrued  interest  is  added  to  the  principal.  Withdrawals  can 
be  made  at  any  time,  after  notice  has  been  sent  to  the  chief  office, 
at  any  post  office  in  the  United  Kingdom.  No  charge  for  postage 
is  made  to  a  depositor  for  any  letter  passing  between  him  and  the 
chief  office  on  savings  bank  business.  In  many  other  ways  the  facili- 
ties offered  by  the  Post  Office  Savings  Banks  are  much  superior  to 
those  of  ordinary  savings  banks.  Besides,  every  depositor  in  these 
banks  has  the  direct  security  of  the  Government  for  the  repayment 

*  See  J.  H.  Hamilton,  Savings  and  Savings  Institutions,  chap.  x. 

^  To  encourage  the  saving  of  amounts  less  than  a  shilling,  the  Post  Office 
issues  cards  with  spaces  to  be  filled  in  with  postage  stamps  ;  and  when  a  card  has 
a  shilling's  worth  of  stamps  affixed  it  will  be  accepted  as  a  deposit. 


THE  BRITISH  EMPIRE  23I 

of  his  deposits.      Thus  the  State  in  England  has  made  itself  the 
banker  of  the  poor  and  their  direct  encourager  in  habits  of  thrift. 

The  success  of  the  English  Post  Office  Savings  Banks  has  been 
almost  unqualified.  From  the  date  of  their  establishment  (1861) 
they  have  been  popular,  and  seem  to  have  reached  the  classes  whom 
they  were  designed  to  benefit.  In  1900  the  total  amount  on  deposit 
was  £122,365,193;  while  the  average  amount  of  each  account  was 
in,  9s.,  2d.  Of  the  depositors  18.43  P^^  cent,  were  artisans,  8.61 
domestic  servants,  8.14  tradesmen  and  their  assistants,  and  50.41 
women  and  children.  Of  the  total  patronage  only  9.2  per  cent,  have 
accounts  exceeding  £50.  Moreover,  1,741,000  cards  with  stamps 
affixed  to  the  value  of  one  shilling  or  more  and  of  a  total  value  of 
£95,000,  were  deposited  by  school  children  in  1896,  which  shows  the 
extent  to  which  the  Post  Office  Savings  Banks  are  being  utilized 
through  the  cooperation  of  the  Government  and  the  school  authori- 
ties to  inculcate  lessons  of  thrift  in  the  children  of  the  masses. 

(2)  The  work  of  voluntary  associations  in  the  way  of  pre- 
vention is  even  more  extensive  than  that  of  the  Government.^  In 
some  cases  they  parallel  the  work  of  the  Government,  but  in  many 
other  cases  they  do  work  which  the  State  as  such  is  unfitted  to  do. 
Thus,  while  the  Post  Office  Savings  Banks  reach  those  who  are  in- 
clined to  be  thrifty  and  encourage  them  to  save,  they  cannot  reach  the 
unthrifty.  For  these  there  have  been  organized  in  all  the  large  cities 
"Collecting  Savings  Banks."  The  savings  of  the  most  shiftless 
classes  are  collected  at  their  homes  by  agents  of  these  banks  weekly. 
The  canvass  is  made  early  in  the  week  before  the  poor  have  had  op- 
portunity to  spend  their  earnings.  Any  sum  from  one  penny  up 
is  received.  As  most  of  these  Collecting  Savings  Banks  are  con- 
ducted with  a  philanthropic  aim,  though  upon  a  business  basis,  they 
encourage  their  depositors  to  open  an  account  as  soon  as  possible 
with  a  post  office  or  other  savings  bank.  Thus  they  mediate  between 
the  thriftless  and  the  institutions  of  the  thrifty,  the  regular  savings 
banks.  In  1901  there  were  fifty-five  of  these  Collecting  Savings 
Banks  in  London,  Similar  in  aim  are  the  Penny  Provident  Banks 
established  by  some  charity  organization  societies.  The  National 
Penny  Bank,  on  the  other  hand,  is  an  institution  conducted  wholly  on 
a  commercial  basis,  but  by  affording  opportunity  for  making  very 

*  Perhaps  the  best  accessible  account  of  the  preventive  work  of  voluntary 
associations  in  England  is  to  be  found  in  Woods'  English  Social  Movements, 


232  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

small  savings  it  helps  to  increase  thrift  among  the  poor.  This  bank 
has  thirteen  branches  in  London  which  had  on  deposit,  December, 
1900,  ii,935-559- 

A  good  illustration  of  preventive  work  by  vokmtary  associations 
is  found  in  the  Provident  Dispensaries  and  Provident  Medical  Asso- 
ciations.^ These  aim  to  provide  medical  attendance  for  the  poor 
who  are  unable  to  pay  the  ordinary  charges  of  a  physician,  but  yet 
are  not  proper  recipients  of  free  medical  relief.  They  are  to  a  cer- 
tain extent  a  protest  against  the  indiscriminate  medical  charity  fur- 
nished by  the  free  dispensaries.  There  are  now  about  sixty  such 
provident  dispensaries  and  sick  clubs  in  London  alone.  Their  mem- 
bership is  usually  restricted  to  families  whose  income  is  less  than  a 
certain  sum — varying  from  25s.  to  50s. — a  week.  These  families 
pay  into  the  treasury  of  the  dispensary  or  sick  club  from  one  to  six 
pence  a  week,  according  to  the  size  of  the  family  and  the  expenses  of 
the  dispensary.  In  return  they  receive  medical  attendance  from  the 
medical  staff  of  the  dispensary,  which  is  composed  of  reputable 
medical  practitioners  living  in  the  neighborhood.  Thus  these  dis- 
pensaries are  conducted  on  the  principle  of  mutual  insurance.  They 
teach  the  poor  to  provide  for  sickness  by  making  small  savings,  while 
they  assure  them  skilled  medical  attendance  in  their  own  homes  or 
at  the  dispensary  as  a  matter  of  right,  not  of  charity.  The  Metro- 
politan Provident  Medical  Association  is  the  most  prominent  organi- 
zation conducted  on  these  lines  in  London ;  it  has  numerous  branches 
in  different  parts  of  the  city,  and  over  30,000  members. 

Societies  for  improving  the  dwellings  of  the  poor  are  numerous 
in  all  of  the  larger  cities  of  England.  In  London  there  are  about 
twenty-five  societies  and  semi-philanthropic  corporations  working 
along  this  line.  The  work  of  many  of  these,  such  as  that  of  the 
Peabody  Donation  Fund,  has  been  of  international  significance,  but 
it  can  only  be  merely  mentioned  here.  A  good  example  of  the  com- 
bination of  business  and  philanthropy,  which  some  of  these  companies 
make,  is  to  be  found  in  the  Four  Per  Cent.  Industrial  Dwellings  Com- 
pany. This  company,  which  owns  a  number  of  model  tenements, 
so  adjusts  its  rents  that  the  net  return  to  the  stockholders  annually 
does  not  exceed  four  per  cent.  The  work  of  these  companies  and 
societies  for  improving  the  dwellings  of  the  poor  has  been  influential 
in  bringing  about  governmental  action  in  the  matter.     In  1890  Parlia- 

^  See  Annual  Charities  Register  and  Digest,  1902,  pp.  175-190. 


THE  BRITISH  EMPIRE  233 

ment  passed  the  Housing  of  the  Working  Classes  Act,  enabhng  mu- 
nicipalities to  purchase  land  or  buildings  for  the  purpose  of  erect- 
ing improved  dwellings  for  the  working  classes.  Nearly  all  the  large 
municipalities  of  England  have  taken  advantage  of  this  act,  and  as 
a  result  some  of  the  worst  slums  in  English  cities  have  disappeared. 
The  London  County  Council  has  erected  some  fifty  model  tenement 
buildings  under  this  act  and  has  many  more  in  process  of  erection. 

Here  must  be  mentioned  the  work  of  Miss  Octavia  Hill  in  im- 
proving the  dwellings  of  the  London  poor.  This  work,  begun  by 
Miss  Hill  in  1864,  has  been  a  wonderful  leavening  influence  in  Eng- 
lish philanthropy.  It  aims  at  improving  the  condition  of  the  poor, 
first  through  elevating  their  personal  character,  then  through  better- 
ing their  material  surroundings.  This  is  accomplished  through  a 
system  of  lady  rent-collectors  who  act  as  friendly  visitors  to  the  poor 
while  acting  as  agents  of  the  landlords  in  collecting  rent.  Miss 
Hill's  plan  is  to  take  entire  charge  of  blocks  of  buildings  owned  by 
individuals  or  companies,  guaranteeing  the  owners  four  or  five  per 
cent,  interest.  She  then  assumes  charge  of  the  premises,  abolishing 
some  of  the  worst  evils,  such  as  living  in  cellars,  and  promising  the 
tenants  improvements  if  by  their  carefulness  they  are  deserving  of 
them.  She  relies  upon  her  influence  as  rent-collector  to  lift  gradually 
the  standards  of  the  people  in  the  care  of  their  dwellings.  After  a 
time  the  profits  from  the  rents  are  sufficient  to  make  the  needed  re- 
pairs or  even  to  erect  a  new  building;  but  in  the  meantime  the 
improvement  in  the  character  of  the  tenants  through  the  influence 
of  their  lady  friendly  visitor,  clothed  with  her  authority  as  rent- 
collector,  has  been  quite  as  striking  as  the  improvements  in  the  dwell- 
ing. This  plan  of  employing  lady  rent-collectors  who  shall  at  the 
same  time  act  as  friendly  visitors  to  the  families  from  whom  they 
collect  rent,  instructing  them  in  the  proper  care  of  their  homes,  has 
been  adopted  by  many  of  the  improved  dwellings  companies  as  neces- 
sary to  the  success  of  their  plans ;  but  the  spirit  and  the  method 
of  Miss  Hill's  work  has  had,  besides,  a  world-wide  influence. 

Perhaps  most  people  would  agree  that  the  highest  expression  of 
modern  preventive  philanthropy  is  to  be  found  in  the  Social  Settle- 
ment. That  England  originated  the  "Settlement  idea,"  as  well  as 
so  many  other  movements  in  modern  philanthropy,  is  proof  positive 
of  the  healthiness  and  sanity  and  depth  of  her  philanthropic  spirit. 
The  "Settlement  idea,"  is,  briefly,  that  in  order  to  help  the  poor  we 


234  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

must  live  among  them  and  share  their  Hfe.  But  practically  the  Eng- 
lish Settlements  have  become  large  institutions,  usually  located  in 
the  poorer  districts  of  cities,  where  all  sorts  of  educational  and  social 
work  is  carried  on  for  the  laboring  classes.  There  are  now  upwards 
of  fifty  University  or  Social  Settlements  in  England  and  a  voluminous 
literature  upon  their  work.^  It  is  possible  here  to  notice  only  a  few 
points  concerning  their  history  and  activities. 

The  first  settlement  in  England  was  established  in  1885  in  mem- 
ory of  Arnold  Toynbee  and  was  called  Toynbee  Hall.  The  leading 
spirit  in  its  establishment  was  the  Rev.  S.  A.  Barnett,  who  had  been 
for  several  years  Vicar  of  St.  Jude's  in  East  London.  He  appealed 
to  the  university  men  who  wished  to  erect  some  suitable  memorial  for 
Toynbee  to  come  and  share  their  lives  with  the  poor.  The  result 
was  that  both  Oxford  and  Cambridge  united  in  founding  "Toynbee 
Hall."  Here  a  colony  of  university  men  took  up  their  residence, 
not  merely  to  lecture  and  teach,  but  chiefly  to  mingle  freely  with  the 
poor  in  a  social  way,  to  share  their  life,  and  to  become  in  all  respects 
one  with  them.  The  success  of  Toynbee  Hall  was  so  pronounced 
from  the  start  that  the  movement  soon  became  a  general  one.  Other 
social  settlements  were  rapidly  established  by  various  interests,  educa- 
tional institutions,  and  religious  denominations,  until  the  movement 
is  now  world-wide. 

As  has  been  implied,  the  work  of  the  social  settlements  is  not  nec- 
essarily of  a  religious  character.  While  some  of  the  settlements  are 
founded  upon  a  religious  or  even  a  sectarian  basis,  the  majority  of 
them  divorce  their  work  entirely  from  any  attempt  at  religious  in- 
struction. The  activities  of  the  settlement  are,  perhaps,  first  of  all, 
educational.  Not  only  are  there  regular  courses  of  instruction  in 
nearly  all  the  useful  and  liberal  branches  of  knowledge,  but  series 
of  lectures  by  public  and  literary  men  as  well.  ]\Iuch  is  made  of  art 
in  all  its  forms,  and  the  education  of  the  esthetic  faculties  receives 
scarcely  less  attention  than  that  of  the  intellectual.  But  it  is  chiefly 
as  a  civic  and  social  center  that  the  settlement  fulfills  its  highest  func- 
tion. Not  only  are  healthful  entertainments  of  all  sorts  here  pro- 
vided for  the  people,  but  there  are  meetings  in  which  political, 
economic,  and  social  questions  are  discussed,  and  civic  consciousness 
thus  awakened.     The  activities  of  English  settlements,  in  a  word, 

'  For  a  brief  account  of  English  Settlements,  see  Woods'  English  Social  Move- 
ments, or  Professor  C.  R.  Henderson's  Social  Settlements. 


THE  BRITISH  EMPIRE 


235 


embrace  the  whole  range  of  preventive  and  educational  philan- 
thropy, and  thus  they  are  justly  entitled  to  the  first  place  among 
preventive  institutions. 

It  remains  only,  in  concluding,  to  say  a  word  about  educational 
conferences  upon  charitable  matters  in  England.  These  conferences 
are  now  well  organized  in  England.  Under  the  auspices  of  the 
London  Charity  Organization  Society  there  is  held  every  year  a  con- 
ference on  matters  pertaining  to  the  work  of  charity  organization 
societies  and  to  the  public  and  private  relief  of  the  poor  in  general. 
For  Poor  Law  officials  there  are  one  central  and  twelve  district  con- 
ferences, which  hold  annual  meetings.  Representatives  are  sent  by 
the  different  unions  to  the  district  conferences,  their  reasonable  ex- 
penses being  paid  by  the  unions.  The  district  conference  in  turn 
chooses  delegates  to  the  central  conference,  which  is  usually  held  in 
London.  Moreover,  the  central  board  has  always  one  or  more  rep- 
resentatives present  at  the  district  conferences  to  take  part  in  the 
discussions ;  while  the  President  of  the  Local  Government  Board  oc- 
casionally attends  in  person  the  central  conference.  At  these  "Poor 
Law  Conferences,"  as  they  are  called,  papers  are  read  on  all  phases 
of  public  relief,  and  the  proceedings  are  published  under  the  title 
"Reports  of  the  Poor  Law  District  Conferences."  Thus  the  results 
of  experience  are  gathered,  presented,  and  diffused  for  the  informa- 
tion of  all,  so  assuring  tlie  growth  and  harmonious  development  of 
all  parts  of  the  public  and  private  relief  system. 

SECTION  2.— SCOTTISH  POOR  LAWS 

BY   CHARLES    R.   HENDERSON* 

Historical  Sketch.- — Mediaeval  charity  was  administered  by 
lord  to  vassal  or  slave,  under  the  feudal  system,  or  by  the  patriarchal 
head  of  a  clan  to  his  retainers  in  time  of  need ;  by  the  parish  priest, 
the  monastery  and  by  benevolent  individuals  in  the  form  of  doles. 
In  Scotland,  as  everywhere  in  Europe,  there  arose  a  class  of  sturdy 

^  Mr.  F.  L.  Tolman  has  given  valuable  aid  in  collecting  materials  for  this  sec- 
tion.—C.  R.  H. 

^  On  the  various  acts  and  statutes,  see :  R.  P.  Lamond,  The  Scottish  Poor 
Laws,  1892. — George  Nicholls,  A  History  of  the  Scotch  Poor  Law,  London,  1856. — 
J.  Bell,  Municipal  History  of  Glasgow. — T.  Chalmers,  The  Christian  and  Civic 
Economy  of  Large  Towns  (abridged  and  with  an  Introduction  by  C.  R.  Hen- 
derson). 


236  MODERN  ^lETHODS  OF  CHARITY 

rogues  who  levied  a  tax  of  their  own  upon  the  inhabitants  and  ex- 
torted a  Hving  by  tricks  and  threats  and  force.  Where  roads  were 
bad,  telephones  unknown,  police  force  unorganized,  and  chance  of 
escape  quite  wide,  this  group  of  population  flourished  and  became  a 
menace  to  order,  property  and  life.  The  first  actions  of  government 
in  respect  to  beggars  were  therefore  repressive  and  necessarily  se- 
vere.    The  penalties  inflicted  seem  to  us  incredibly  harsh. 

Private  charity  being  irregular  and  unsystematic,  it  was  also  nec- 
essary to  regulate  begging,  to  license  beggars  and  give  them  tokens 
to  show  to  kind  folk  that  they  were  helpless  and  needy. 

By  the  middle  of  the  i6th  century  this  state  of  things  was  found 
to  be  unendurable,  and  the  Act  of  1579,  ch.  74  (James  VI.)  was  the 
first  legal  recognition  of  the  corporate  duty  of  society  to  the  feeble 
poor.  This  act  provided  for  the  first  time  in  Scotland  for  a  com- 
pulsory assessment  of  a  tax  to  assist  the^  poor.  This  statute  did  not 
require  the  local  authorities  to  assess  the  tax,  but  permitted  them 
to  do  so  if  they  chose  to  employ  that  method  of  raising  funds.  The 
Common  Law  always  recognized  the  duty  of  the  community  to  sup- 
port the  impotent  poor,  but  it  required  statute  law  to  determine  the 
method  of  providing  and  administering  the  funds.  The  statute  of 
James  VI.  did  not  require  the  parish  to  provide  work  for  able-bodied 
vagrants,  as  did  the  corresponding  English  law  of  the  same  general 
period  (Elizabeth,  43).  Severity  still  marked  the  treatment  of  strong 
men  who  preferred  mendicancy  to  toil ;  and  the  original  poor  law  re- 
quired that  such  persons  be  put  in  ward  and  irons  so  long  as  they  had 
goods  to  support  their  existence,  and  when  these  failed  they  were 
to  have  their  ears  nailed  to  a  tree  and  'cutted  off,"  and  so  mutilated 
they  were  banished  under  the  threat  of  hanging  if  they  were  ever 
found  in  the  country  again.  Such  statutes  were  called  in  the  pre- 
amble to  the  grim  regulations  "sindrie  lovabil  Acts  of  Parliament." 
All  destitute  persons  were  commanded  to  go  to  the  parish  of  their 
birth  for  support  or  relief  out  of  a  fund  to  be  raised  there  by  a  tax 
levied  "according  to  the  estimation  of  their  substance  without  excep- 
tion of  persons."  A  residence  of  seven  years  in  a  parish  entitled 
the  pauper  to  relief,  just  as  if  he  had  been  born  there.  No  provision 
was  made,  as  in  England,  for  the  able-bodied  poor. 

Later  acts  were  those  of  Charles  IL,  1661,  c.  38,  and  1663,  c.  16, 
which  further  specified  methods  of  collecting  funds  and  punishing 
those  who,  being  able,  refused  to  work.     The  Act  of  1672,  c.  18, 


THE  BRITISH  EMPIRE  237 

established  correction  houses  for  vagabonds  and  reduced  the  period 
for  residential  settlement  to  three  years.  The  licensing  of  feeble 
persons  to  beg  was  continued  from  earlier  times,  and  church  collec- 
tions are  mentioned  as  the  source  of  funds  for  relief;  the  compulsory- 
assessment,  though  legal,  not  having  been  adopted  by  parish  authori- 
ties. Only  three  correction  houses  were  erected  and  these  some  time 
after  the  date  of  this  Act. 

Apart  from  rare  exceptions  the  parishes  did  not  adopt  the  system 
of  compulsory  assessment  until  late  in  the  i8th  century.  The  transi- 
tion (up  to  1834)  was  made  by  means  of  voluntary  assessments, 
which  also  continued  some  time  after  the  law  of  1845,  the  law  which 
still  forms  the  basis  of  the  system  now  in  use,  and  which  is  analyzed 
in  the  succeeding  pages  of  this  article. 

The  causes  which  led  the  parishes  to  abandon  the  ancient  method, 
in  spite  of  sturdy  protests,  even  of  such  great  and  benevolent  men 
as  Dr.  Thomas  Chalmers,  seem  to  have  been,  among  others,  the  fol- 
lowing. Politically  the  national  life  and  power  required  in  modern 
times  the  breaking  down  of  the  mediaeval  feudal  system  as  a  condi- 
tion of  uniform  law  and  administration.  The  clan  system  was  incon- 
sistent with  modern  central  government  and  international  relations. 
Slavery  had  long  been  abolished,  and  now  the  serf  or  vassal  is  set 
free  from  the  control  of  the  lord.  Set  free,  however,  to  work  out 
his  own  salvation  and  relieve  the  lord  from  the  duty  of  supporting 
him  in  sickness  and  old  age. 

Then  came  the  invention  of  steam,  the  growth  of  the  factory 
system  of  manufactures,  the  crowding  of  large  towns,  the  accumula- 
tion of  filth,  the  increase  of  disease  in  huddled  families,  the  wild  life 
of  vicious  throngs,  the  loss  of  local  markets  and  free  competition  in 
a  world  market,  the  vicissitudes  of  trade  depending  on  commerce, 
and  the  horde  of  paupers  incident  to  such  conditions.  Then  arose 
the  labor  class  and  all  its  problems.  Wage  earners  now  learned  to 
travel  where  they  could  best  find  employment  and  they  lost  connec- 
tion with  relatives  and  neighbors ;  the  personal  bonds  of  employer 
and  employed,  of  neighbor  with  neighbor,  of  Christian  with  pastor 
were  broken.  There  v/as  no  new  resource  opened  to  these  scattered 
poor  in  times  of  destitution. 

To  these  causes  we  must  add  church  divisions.  The  ancient  Scot- 
land knew  but  one  great  church,  established  by  law,  the  spiritual 
home  by  birth  of  every  Scotchman.     The  Protestant  faith  and  the 


238 


MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 


Presbyterian  Church  were  established  by  act  of  the  Scotch  ParUa- 
ment  in  1560,  and  the  former  parish  divisions  were  retained.  The 
first  secession  occurred  in  1733,  and  others  followed.  Money  for- 
merly given  for  the  poor  from  customary  Sabbath  collections  must 
now  go  to  build  rival  chapels  and  maintain  seceding  ministers. 
Churches  thus  placed  could  not  cooperate  in  administering  a  common 
plan.  Controversies  crippled  charity.  Bravely  and  conscientiously 
such  pastors  as  Chalmers  endeavored  to  stem  the  current  which  was 
setting  against  them,  and  in  the  hands  of  a  few  powerful  leaders 
there  was  success.^ 

But  the  system  of  voluntary  assessments  was  found  unequal  and 
unjust.  Many  of  the  rich  refused  to  pay  their  share,  and  the  church 
collections  were  wholly  insufficient  to  meet  the  increasing  needs  of 
the  poor.  Many  of  the  poor  sufifered  and  their  misery  made  its 
appeal  to  the  benevolent.  One  by  one  the  parish  authorities  voted  to 
introduce  the  method  of  compulsory  assessment,  which  for  genera- 
tions they  had  been  permitted  to  do.  The  law  remained,  unlike  the 
English  law,  purely  permissive,  and  even  at  the  time  Lamond-  wrote 
(1892)  there  were  still  49  parishes  in  Scotland  which  preferred  the 
ancient  custom  and  provided  for  all  their  poor  without  compulsory 
measures. 

The  custom  of  voluntary  assessments  gained  the  power  of  pre- 
scriptive right  and  made  transition  to  compulsory  assessments  easy 
and  natural.  In  the  first  report  of  the  Board  of  Supervision  (p.  Ill) 
it  is  expressly  said :  "It  has  not  been  in  our  power  to  ascertain  ac- 
curately how  many  parishes  were  assessed  for  relief  of  the  poor, 
previous  to  August,  1845.  Voluntary  contributions  were  then 
habitually  called  voluntary  assessments,  and  in  the  course  of  our  pro- 
ceedings, we  have  found  that  the  parochial  authorities  had  some- 
times lost  sight  of  the  distinction,  and  believed  that  they  were  levy- 
ing a  legal  assessment,  when  in  fact  no  such  assessment  had  been 
imposed,  and  the  funds  had  been  raised  by  a  voluntary  contribution 
amongst  the  heritors,  which  had  long  been  established,  and  had  not 
been  objected  to."  Out  of  878  parishes  into  which  Scotland  was  di- 
vided, there  were,  in  1842-3,  230  legally  assessed.^ 

^  See  the  introduction  by  C.  R.  Henderson  to  abridged  edition  of  The  Chrisdan 
and  Civic  Economy  of  Large  Towns,  by  Thomas  Chalmers. 
^  Lamond,  Scottish  Poor  Laws. 
^  First  Annual  Report  of  the  Board  of  Supervision  for  the  Relief  of  the  Poor 


THE  BRITISH  EMPIRE  239 

A-B.  Since  the  Poor  Law  of  Great  Britain  is  described  quite  fully 
in  another  section,  that  on  England,  it  is  not  necessary  to  give  space 
to  legal  details  at  this  point.  Local  government  was  reorganized 
in  1889  to  conform  in  the  main  to  the  principles  of  recent  British 
legislation.  The  members  of  County  Councils  are  elected  and  take 
the  place  of  the  former  commissioners  of  supply  and  road  trustees. 
By  an  act  of  1894  a  Local  Government  Board  for  Scotland  was 
erected  similar  to  that  of  England  of  the  previous  year ;  and  this  act 
provided  that  a  Parish  Council  should  be  maintained  in  every  parish 
for  the  business  of  the  parish.  The  English  Poor  Law  differs  from 
that  of  Scotland  in  several  very  important  respects.  In  Scotland, 
as  the  able-bodied  have  no  right  to  parochial  relief,  persons  not  dis- 
abled, though  destitute  or  in  reduced  circumstances,  from  want  of 
employment  or  other  cause,  must  rely  entirely  for  assistance  upon 
private  charitable  agencies.  In  Scotland  persons  who  are  partially 
disabled,  though  not  entirely  destitute,  are  legally  entitled  to  such  a 
measure  of  parochial  relief  as  may  be  necessary  to  supplement  their 
other  resources.  If  refused  relief  they  can  apply  to  the  sheriff,  and 
if  they  think  the  relief  inadequate  they  can  appeal  to  the  Board.  In 
England  the  Guardians  cannot  legally  give  relief  in  redeeming  tools 
or  clothes  from  pawn,  in  purchasing  tools,  in  purchasing  clothes 
(except  in  cases  of  urgent  necessity),  in  paying  the  cost  of  convey- 
ance to  any  other  place,  or  in  paying  rent  or  lodging ;  while  in  Scot- 
land all  these  things  may  be  done.^ 

in  Scotland,  Edinburgh,  1847.  Poor  Law  Inquiry  (Scotland),  Edinburgh,  1844, 
appendix.  Part  II,  containing  minutes  of  evidence.  F.  M.  Eden,  The  State  of  the 
Poor  (1797),  vol.  Ill,  appendix  X,  gives  a  brief  account  of  poor-relief  in  Scotland 
at  the  close  of  the  i8th  century. 

^  Rules,  Instructions  and  Recommendations  of  the  Local  Government  Board 
for  Scotland   (1897),  p.  91. 

"The  principal  acts  relating  to  parish  councils  may  be  divided  as  follows : 
I.  The  Local  Government  Act  of  1894,  being  the  Act  by  which  parish  councils 
were  constituted.  II.  The  Poor  Law  Acts  1845  to  1886,  being  the  Acts  which 
make  provision  for  the  relief  of  the  poor.  III.  The  Agricultural  Rates  Act  of 
1896,  which  modifies  the  provisions  of  the  Poor  Law  Acts  regarding  rating.  IV. 
The  Lunacy  Acts  1857  to  1887,  so  far  as  relating  to  pauper  lunatics.  V.  The  Vac- 
cination Act  of  1863,  under  which  the  duty  of  enforcing  vaccination  is  intrusted 
to  parish  councils.  VI.  The  Registration  of  Births,  Deaths,  and  Marriage  Acts 
1854  to  i860,  so  far  as  relating  to  the  appointment  of  local  registrars.  VII.  The 
Burial  Grounds  Acts  1855  to  1886,  under  which  the  duty  of  providing  burial 
grounds  may  fall  to  parish  councils.     VIII.  The  Allotments  Act  of   1892,  under 


2_^o  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

By  the  Poor  Law  (Scotland)  Act,  1898,  the  right  of  settlement 
by  residence  was  defined  as  follows :  Section  76  of  the  Poor  Law 
(Scotland)  Act  of  1845  (8  &  9  Vict.  Ch.  83)  was  repealed  and  in 
lieu  thereof  this  provision  was  enacted :  "From  and  after  the  com- 
mencement of  this  Act  no  person  shall  be  held  to  have  acquired  a 
settlement  in  any  parish  in  Scotland  by  residence  therein  unless  such 
person  shall,  either  before  or  after,  or  partly  before  and  after,  the 
commencement  of  this  Act,  have  resided  for  three  years  continuously 
in  such  parish,  and  shall  have  maintained  himself  without  recourse 
to  common  begging,  either  by  himself  or  his  family,  and  without 
having  received  or  applied  for  parochial  relief;  and  no  person  who 
shall  have  acquired  a  settlement  by  residence  in  any  such  parish, 
shall  be  held  to  have  retained  such  settlement  if  during  any  subse- 
quent period  of  four  years  he  shall  not  have  resided  in  such  parish 
continuously  for  at  least  one  year  and  a  day.  Provided  always,  that 
nothing  herein  contained  shall,  until  the  expiration  of  four  years 
from  the  commencement  of  this  Act,  be  held  to  affect  any  persons 
who,  at  the  commencement  of  this  Act,  are  chargeable  to  any  parish 
in  Scotland."  The  same  Act  determines  the  method  of  referring 
disputed  cases  to  the  Local  Government  Board,  and  giving  the  pauper 
the  right  of  appeal  to  this  Board  when  he  thinks  that  he  should  not 
be  removed  to  another  parish,  to  England,  or  to  Ireland. 

Law  of  Settlement. — Right  to  relief  in  case  of  need  belongs  to 
every  person  born  in  Scotland,  and  must  be  furnished  by  the  parish 
of  his  birth  or  by  the  parish  in  which  he  has  resided  for  a  certain 
period.  A  foreigner  may  acquire  a  settlement  by  residence.  The 
residence  of  a  child  is  that  of  its  father.  If  the  father  has  died  or 
has  deserted  his  children  they  have  the  settlement  of  the  mother. 
A  child  on  attaining  puberty  (i.  e.,  twelve  years  of  age  in  case  of  a 
girl,  and  fourteen  in  case  of  a  boy)  acquires  a  settlement  of  its  own 
after  five  years'  residence,  if  he  or  she  is  not  living  with  the  father 
("forisfamiliated").  An  illegitimate  pupil  child  follows  the  settle- 
ment of  his  mother.  A  married  woman  has  the  settlement  of  her 
husband ;  and  she  is  not  regarded  as  a  pauper,  but  her  husband  who 
ought  to  support  her  and  does  not,  is  the  pauper. 

Right  to  Relief  Is  Universal. — The  law  of  settlement  is  not  in- 
tended to  prevent  or  delay  the  giving  of  necessary  assistance.     Any 

which    parish    councils    may    have   to    act   as   allotment    managers."     J.     Edward 
Graham,  Manual  of  the  Poor  Law  and  Parish  Council  Acts  (1897),  p.  xvii. 


THE  BRITISH  EMPIRE  24I 

poor  person  who  applies  to  the  inspector  of  the  poor  or  other  proper 
officer  must  be  at  once  aided  in  a  humane  way,  whether  he  has  a 
settlement  in  the  parish  or  not.  The  officer  is  required  to  secure  in- 
formation from  the  dependent  person  and  otherwise  in  relation  to  the 
parish  of  settlement,  but  not  for  the  purpose  of  postponing  relief. 
If  the  inspector  of  the  poor  refuse  to  help,  the  indigent  person  can 
appeal  to  the  sheriff,  who  is  empowered  to  order  relief  if  he  thinks 
it  is  necessary. 

If  a  pauper,  subsequently  to  the  time  of  receiving  relief,  comes 
into  the  possession  of  property,  he  cannot  be  compelled  by  legal  pro- 
cess to  pay  back  to  the  parish  the  amount  he  had  received.  It  is  a 
charity,  not  a  debt.  Yet  this  seems  to  be  inconsistent  with  the  prin- 
ciple that  relatives  are  obliged  to  pay  to  the  parish  for  relief  given  in 
an  hour  of  distress. 

Amount  of  Relief. — ''Needful  sustentation"  is  all  that  can  be 
claimed  by  a  pauper.  If  the  poor  person  believes  the  amount  he  is 
receiving  is  not  sufficient  he  can  make  an  appeal  to  the  Board,  which 
may  order  an  increased  appropriation  to  him,  and  the  Court  of  Ses- 
sion gives  final  decision,  interim  aliment  being  provided  pending 
decision. 

Responsibility  of  Relatives. — The  husband  is  bound  to  support 
his  wife,  and  if  she  is  in  want  the  parish  officers  may  collect  from  him 
by  legal  process.  Even  if  a  wife  has  abundant  means  it  is  not  cer- 
tain that  she  can  be  compelled  to  pay  for  aid  given  her  husband. 
The  nearest  relatives  (after  a  husband)  legally  bound  to  support  a 
pauper  are  his  or  her  descendants ;  but  the  persons  thus  legally  held 
must  "have  a  superfluity  after  providing  for  the  maintenance  of 
themselves  and  their  own  families."  In  case  there  are  no  descend- 
ants able  to  give  help  the  duty  falls  upon  ascendants, — father,  mother 
and  grandparents,  in  this  order. 

Desertion  of  Wives. — The  law  on  this  subject  goes  back  to  an 
Act  of  1579,  ch.  74,  reinforced  by  the  Act  of  1845  (Poor  Law  of 
Scotland)  and  certain  other  laws  and  decisions.  If  a  man  desert 
or  neglect  to  maintain  his  wife  or  children,  being  able  to  do  so,  and 
they  become  chargeable  to  any  parish  or  combination,  he  is  to  be 
deemed  a  vagabond,  may  be  prosecuted  criminally  before  the  sheriff 
of  the  county  at  the  instance  of  the  inspector  of  the  poor ;  and,  on 
conviction,  shall  be  punished  by  fine  or  imprisonment,  with  or  without 
hard  labor,  at  the  discretion  of  the  sheriff.  The  same  law  applies 
16 


242  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

to  every  mother  and  to  every  putative  father  of  an  illegitimate  child, 
after  the  paternity  has  been  admitted  or  otherwise  established,  if 
they  refuse  or  neglect  to  maintain  such  child,  being  able  to  do  so. 

Liability  of  the  Parish  of  Settlement. — The  authorities  who  grant 
relief  to  a  dependent  person  outside  of  his  residence  may  recover 
the  sum  expended  from  the  parish  of  settlement,  provided  that  im- 
mediate notice  is  sent  to  the  authorities  wdiere  the  pauper  has  a 
claim,^ 

The  Loeal  Government  Board. — By  an  Act  of  1894  (57  &  58 
Vict.  Ch.  58),  which  included  a  previous  Act  of  1889  (52  &  53  Vict, 
c.  50)  the  constitution  of  a  Local  Government  Board  for  Scotland 
was  provided.  It  took  the  place  of  the  former  Board  of  Supervision. 
This  Board  consists  of  a  President,  the  Solicitor-General  for  Scot- 
land, the  Under-Secretary  for  Scotland,  and  three  appointed  mem- 
bers. One  member  must  be  a  legal  authority  and  another  a  medical 
.man  of  recognized  standing.  Appointments  are  made  by  the  crown, 
salaries  are  fixed  by  the  treasury,  and  office  is  held  during  the  pleas- 
ure of  the  monarch.  If  for  any  reason  a  parish  council  fails  to  act 
that  Board  has  power  to  order  an  election  and  regulate  afifairs  until 
the  local  organization  is  complete.  This  Board  may  regulate  the 
keeping  of  parish  accounts  and  appoint  an  auditor  for  a  parish  coun- 
cil ;  may  inquire  into  the  management  of  the  poor  in  every  parish  and 
burgh,  and  demand  all  necessary  information  from  officials  and  citi- 
zens. If  a  parish  council  neglect  their  orders  appeal  may  be  made 
to  the  Court  of  Session.  The  Board  may  appoint  one  of  its  members 
to  conduct  a  special  inquiry  in  any  part  of  Scotland,  provide  for  his 
expenses  of  investigation,  and  empower  him  to  summon  and  examine 
on  oath  such  witnesses  as  he  may  call.  The  Board  may,  with  the 
consent  of  a  representative  of  the  crown,  appoint  an  expert  investi- 
gator for  special  inquiries,  even  though  he  is  not  a  member  of  the 
Board.  The  witnesses  may  be  paid  necessary  expenses.  Clerks, 
messengers  and  other  assistants  may  be  appointed  by  the  Board. 
Members  or  agents  of  the  body  have  a  right  to  attend  meetings  of 
any  parochial  board  for  the  management  of  the  poor,  and  to  take 
part  in  the  discussions,  but  not  to  vote.  The  Local  Government 
Board  was  also  authorized  by  the  Act  of  1856  to  appoint  superin- 
tendents over  districts  and  to  assign  them  duties  as  representatives 
of  the  Board. 

*  See  A.  Shaw:     Municipal  Government  in  Great  Britain,  pp.  40,  138,  141,  256. 


THE  BRITISH  EMPIRE  243 

Parish  Councils. — The  Local  Government  Act  of  1894  provided 
for  the  estabhshment  of  a  parish  council  in  every  parish.  This  coun- 
cil is  to  consist  of  a  chairman  and  councillors,  the  number  of  coun- 
cillors being  determined,  with  the  approval  of  the  Board,  by  the 
county  council,  town  council,  or  burgh  commissioners,  according  to 
the  situation.  The  number  shall  not  be  fewer  than  five  nor  more 
than  thirty-two.  The  electors  entitled  to  vote  are  those  who  meet 
the  requirements  for  the  parish  council  register.  All  women,  under 
certain  rules,  are  qualified  to  be  electors.^  This  is  the  organ  of  local 
self-government  which  has  most  to  do  with  poor-relief. 

Duties  of  the  Inspector  of  the  Poor.^ — He  has  custody  of  all  books 
and  writings  relating  to  the  poor ;  keeps  a  register  of  applicants  for 
poor-relief ;  reports  to  the  parish  council  and  Board  as  to  manage- 
ment of  the  poor.  The  inspector  to  whom  appeal  is  made  is  bound 
to  investigate  at  once  the  circumstances  of  the  applicant  and  furnish 
sufficient  means  of  subsistence.  The  inspector  is  the  agent  of  the 
poor  law  who  comes  into  direct  personal  contact  with  the  indigent, 
and  the  efficiency  of  the  entire  system  turns  on  his  ability  to  perform 
the  tasks  of  this  office.  The  striking  contrast  with  the  German 
municipal  system  of  appointing  numerous  unpaid  visitors  should 
be  noted.^ 

While  the  parish  council  appoints  the  inspector  the  Local  Govern- 
ment Board  may  dismiss  him  from  office  for  failure  to  perform  the 
duties  of  his  office;  so  that  the  parish  council  practically  will  not 
appoint  an  inspector  who  is  not  acceptable  to  the  Central  Board. 
Courts  will  interfere  only  when  it  is  found  that  the  Board  has  acted 
without  adequate  attention  or  with  malice.  The  inspector  must 
have  a  good  character  and  may  not  engage  in  any  business  which 
will  interfere  with  the  duties  of  his  office. 

^The  regulations  for  electors  are  given  in  the  Local  Government  (Scotland) 
Act  of  1894. 

^  Rules,  Instructions  and  Recommendation  to  Parochial  authorities,  issued 
by  the  Local  Government  Board  for  Scotland,  Edinburgh,  1897,  pp.  1-26. 

^  So  able  a  writer  as  Lamond  makes  this  queer  comment  on  the  Elberfeld  sys- 
tem :  "Nor  would  the  Scottish  people  display  their  customary  caution  and 
wisdom  were  they  to  give  up  their  existing  law  for  any  such  system  as  that  fol- 
lowed at  Elberfeld,  which  has  been  alluded  to  as  a  model  one.  So  far  as  we 
understand,  it  consists  of  levying  a  compulsory  assessment  and  handing  it  over 
to  a  voluntary  irresponsible  association  to  distribute."  Scottish  Poor  Laws,  p. 
74.     Compare  our  chapter  on  German  charity. 


244  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

The  results  of  central  control  in  relation  to  inspectors  of  the 
poor  are  illustrated  in  a  recent  report  of  the  Board  of  Local  Govern- 
ment: "We  have  investigated  six  allegations  of  a  more  or  less  seri- 
ous nature  against  inspectors  of  the  poor,  and  we  have  been  under 
the  necessity  of  dismissing  one  inspector  as  unfit  for  his  office.  One 
inspector  we  allowed  to  retain  office  on  probation ;  two  inspectors 
were  allowed  to  resign ;  in  one  instance  we  censured  the  officer  con- 
cerned, and  in  the  remaining  case  we  had  the  satisfaction  of  acquit- 
ting the  inspector  of  the  charges  brought  against  him."  In  the  same 
report  disapproval  of  the  Board  is  expressed  in  regard  to  the  conduct 
of  an  inspector  who  had  sought  to  influence  the  electors  to  vote 
for  candidates  who  were  believed  to  be  favorable  to  his  personal 
interests. 

Assessments  of  Poor  Tax. — The  Poor  Law  (Scotland)  Act  of 
1845,  sec.  32,  gave  the  parish  council  (then  the  parochial  board) 
permission  to  assess  the  people  for  relief  of  the  poor.^  The  mode 
of  assessment  must  be  approved  by  the  Local  Government  Board, 
and  the  legal  requirement  is  that  one-half  shall  be  assessed  on  owners 
and  one-half  on  tenants  or  occupants.  The  parish  council  fixes 
annually  the  amount  of  assessment  and  makes  up  a  roll  of  ratepayers. 

It  is  lawful  for  the  parish  council  to  exempt  a  citizen  on  the 
ground  of  his  inability  to  pay.  The  Parliamentary  and  also  the  local 
franchise  are  lost  by  receipt  of  parish  relief,  by  exemption  from  pay- 
ments of  poor  rate,  or  by  failure  to  pay  poor  rate. 

Endowed  Charities. — Parish  councils  may,  under  the  Act  of  1894, 
become  managers  of  property  held  by  parties  for  the  benefit  of  a 
parish.  Endowments  for  ecclesiastical  and  educational  purposes  are 
not  included ;  and  funds  held  expressly  by  church  officers  for  the 
poor  of  the  congregation  are  administered  by  them  and  not  by  the 
parish  council. 

Imperial  Grants  to  Parish  Councils. — By  the  Local  Government 
(Scotland)  Act,  1889  (52  and  53  Vict.  ch.  50),  sects.  20  and  21,  the 
Commissioners  of  Inland  Revenue  are  required  to  pay  over  the  pro- 
ceeds of  the  duties  collected  in  Scotland  on  certain  local  taxation 
licenses  and  also  eleven-hundredths  of  one-half  the  sums  collected 
in  respect  of  probate  duties  in  the  United  Kingdom.     These  sums 

*  October,  1895,  out  of  877  parishes  in  Scotland,  839  were  assessed,  and  38 
unassessed.  In  the  latter,  the  heritors  assess  themselves.  Graham,  Poor  Law 
and  Parish  Council  Acts,  p.  153. 


THE  BRITISH  EMPIRE  245 

are  distributed  among  the  parish  councils  in  Scotland  as  a  contribu- 
tion to  the  cost  of  the  poor  law,  medical  relief,  and  trained  sick  nurs- 
ing in  poorhouses,  and  for  the  maintenance  of  pauper  lunatics.  By 
the  Education  and  Local  Taxation  Account  (Scotland)  Act,  1892 
(55  and  56  Vict.,  ch.  51),  other  sums  are  placed  under  the  direction 
of  the  Secretary  for  Scotland  for  similar  purposes.^ 

A  circular  of  the  Board  of  Local  Government  to  parish  councils^ 
throws  light  on  the  standard  of  relief  of  widows  with  young  chil- 
dren. It  is  there  stated  that  orphans  are  "invariably  the  objects  of 
a  wise  liberality ;"  that  3  sh.  a  week,  with  clothing,  is  a  very  usual 
aliment  awarded  to  a  boarded-out  child,  and  in  some  cases  a  greater 
sum  is  given.  The  Board  urges  the  parish  councils  to  show  a  similar 
wise  generosity  to  respectable  widows  with  young  children.  "Unless 
such  cases  are  suitably  alimented  the  mother  may  have  to  choose 
between  the  sacrifice  of  her  children's  welfare  on  the  one  hand  and 
starvation  on  the  other.  The  mother  has  probably  no  alternative 
but  to  seek  employment  away  from  home, — a  course  which  necessi- 
tates the  children  being  left,  to  their  great  disadvantage,  under  the 
chance  care  of  neighbors.  The  best  security  which  the  parish  coun- 
cil have  against  the  future  pauperism  of  the  children  would  be  an 
aliment  of  such  an  amount  as  would  allow  the  mother  to  do  her 
duty  by  them." 

The  objections  sometimes  urged  to  the  Scottish  system  have  been 
summed  up  by  Lamond  (p.  75),  as  stated  by  the  opponents  of  the 
compulsory  assessment  rule :  "that  the  poor  law  has  augmented  the 
numbers  and  increased  the  expense  of  paupers ;  that  it  has  had  very 
little  effect  in  mitigating  their  suffering  or  improving  their  condition ; 
that  it  has  increased  vagrancy,  and  that  the  method  of  assessment 
is  unfair."  He  examines  these  objections  and  answers  them  with 
many  details  of  argument  which  throw  much  light  on  the  actual 
results  of  the  system  and  at  the  same  time  show  how,  in  the  judg- 
ment of  many,  it  may  be  improved. 

Statistics. — The  number  of  persons  relieved  by  public  authorities 
on  May  15,  1902,  was  100,848,  of  whom  86,999  were  Ordinary  Poor 
and  13,849  were  Lunatic  Poor.  Of  the  Ordinary  Poor  (86,999) 
there  were  receiving  outdoor  relief,  76,019  (87.38  per  cent.)  ;  in 
poorhouses,  10,865  (12.49  P^^  cent.)  ;  vagrants,  115  (0.13  per  cent.). 

*  Graham,  p.  432. 

*  Eighth  Annual  Report,  p.  14,  dated  June  5,  1902. 


246 


MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 


The  Lunatic  Poor  (13,849)  were  distributed  as  follows:  in  asylums 
and  institutions  for  imbeciles,  10,072  (72.73  per  cent.)  ;  in  licensed 
wards  of  poorhouses,  1,139  (8.22  per  cent.)  ;  in  private  dwellings, 
2,638  (19.05  per  cent.).  Of  the  100,848  poor  persons  relieved, 
65,387  were  paupers  (or  separate  individuals),  and  35,461  were  their 
dependants. 

Classifying  the  same  poor  according  to  age  we  find  that  of  indi- 
viduals relieved,  22,017  (42.72  per  cent.)  were  65  years  of  age  and 
upwards;  4,058  (7.87  per  cent.)  were  orphan  and  deserted  children; 
and  25,463  (49.41  per  cent.)  were  between  the  ages  of  (say)  14  and 
65.  Of  the  4,058  orphan  and  deserted  children  relieved  2,805  were 
orphans,  and  1,253  were  deserted.  Five  thousand  seven  hundred  and 
twenty-one  children  were  boarded  out  during  the  year.  Of  these, 
3,617  were  orphan  and  deserted  children,  and  2,104  children  were 
separated  from  their  parents.  Fully  11  per  cent,  of  the  poor  relieved 
chargeable  to  Scotland  were  natives  of  England  and  Ireland. 

In  1883  the  number  of  poor  relieved  at  the  May  report  was  97,097, 
in  a  population  of  3,793,587,  or  26  in  1,000.  In  1902  the  total  num- 
ber relieved  was  100,848  in  a  population  of  4,531,299,  or  22  in  1,000. 
Compared  with  1868,  the  year  of  highest  recorded  pauperism,  the 
number  of  poor  per  thousand  of  population  has  fallen  from  41  to  22 — 
a  decrease  of  19  per  thousand  of  the  population. 

But  if  we  separate  the  Lunatic  Poor  we  discover  another  tendency. 
While  since  1868  the  Ordinary  Poor  have  decreased  from  130,441 
to  86,999  (from  40  to  19  per  thousand),  during  the  same  period  the 
number  of  Lunatic  Poor  has  increased  from  5,790  to  13,849  (from 
1.8  to  3.1  per  thousand)  ;  the  ratio  of  Lunatic  Poor  to  the  Poor  of 
all  classes  has  more  than  trebled  since  1868,  having  risen  from  42  to 
137  per  thousand. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  the  numbers  in  receipt  of  relief  on  a 
given  day  do  not  yield  the  total  number  relieved  during  the  year. 
Different  authorities  use  different  multipliers.  Thus  Mr.  Joseph 
Chamberlain  used  3>^,  Mr.  Charles  Booth  2  1-3,  Mr.  Lamond  2^. 
This  made  in  1892  the  total  number  of  persons  relieved  in  Scotland 
92,824  X  2^,  equals  255,266.^ 

The  revenue  of  the  parish  councils  for  the  year  ended  15th  May, 
1902,  amounted  to  £1,238,975 ;  of  which  the  rates  furnished  £902,258 
(72.82   per   cent.)  ;    Local   Taxation    Contributions,    and   Treasury 

*  Lamond,  The  Scottish  Poor  Laws,  p.  292, 


THE  BRITISH  EMPIRE  247 

Grants,   £2/^4,071    (19.70  per   cent.);   relatives,   contributions,   etc., 
£92,646  (7.48  per  cent.). 

The  assessment  in  1893  was  £750,696,  the  rate  being  7>^d.  per 
£  of  gross  valuation  in  assessed  parishes.     In  1902  the  assessment 
was  £902,258,  the  rate  being  the  same.     The  ratio  per  head  of  popu- 
lation at  those  dates  were  3s.  7^d.  and  3s.  ii^d, 
D.     Ecclesiastical 

Church  Collections. — The  ordinary  church  collections  are  admin- 
istered at  the  discretion  of  the  Kirk-session,  and  may  be  partly  de- 
voted to  aiding  able-bodied  persons  who  are  out  of  employment,  a 
class  of  dependents  excluded  from  legal  relief.  But  the  Kirk- 
session  must  send  an  annual  report  to  the  Local  Government  Board 
as  to  the  applications  of  the  moneys  arising  from  church  collections, 
and  the  clerk  may  be  fined  for  refusing  to  make  such  report.^  The 
parish  council  cannot  control  such  funds. 

Women  in  Church  Charities. — Pastor  Fliedner,  whose  influence 
on  the  German  Inner  Mission  was  so  great,  visited  Dr.  Thomas  Chal- 
mers in  Edinburgh  in  1846.  There  was  then  a  discussion  about 
establishing  institutions  for  deaconesses  similar  to  those  of  Germany, 
but  the  church  was  not  yet  ripe  for  it.  But  in  1886  the  General 
Assembly  of  the  Church  of  Scotland  accepted  the  deaconess  work 
as  an  organic  part  of  the  ecclesiastical  system  and  gave  it  the  sanction 
and  support  of  the  legislature  of  the  church.  It  is  noteworthy  that 
about  the  same  time  (May  18,  1888)  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
in  the  United  States  adopted  the  same  principle.  The  Scottish  Gen- 
eral Assembly  adopted  rules  bearing  on  the  admission,  training,  garb, 
and  support  of  deaconesses,  quite  like  those  already  known  in  Eng- 

^  The  Local  Government  Board  reported  for  the  year  ending  May  14,  1895, 
that  the  whole  sum  derived  from  church  collections  in  assessed  parishes  wals 
£41,481,  of  which  £7,444  was  expended  on  relief  of  the  poor,  the  balance  being 
expended  for  other  purposes.  Cf.  Rules,  Instructions,  and  Recommendations  of 
the  Local  Government  Board  for  Scotland  (1897),  p.  208. 

"The  whole  sum  derived  from  church  collections  in  assessed  parishes  during 
the  year  ended  15th  May,  1902,  as  returned  to  us,  was  £48,016,  of  which  £6,111 
is  stated  to  have  been  expended  on  relief  of  the  poor.  These  funds  are  gen- 
erally employed  to  afford  aid  to  persons  who  have  fallen  into  temporary  difficulties, 
with  a  view  to  prevent  them  from  becoming  chargeable  to  the  parish  as  paupers; 
and  it  is  probable  that  few  of  the  persons  so  assisted  have  also  been  chargeable 
to  the  funds  raised  by  assessment."  Eighth  Annual  Report  of  the  Local  Gov- 
ernment Board  for  Scotland  (1902),  p.  xv-xvi. 


248 


MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 


land.  In  1893  a  Deaconess  Institution  c-^ecured  property  in  Edin- 
burgh at  a  cost  of  $11,500,  which  provided  for  school,  chapel,  kinder- 
garten and  mission  activities.  A  hospital,  with  facilities  for  training 
nurses,  was  erected  in  1894  and  enlarged  in  1897.  It  is  proposed 
to  extend  the  work  to  other  cities.  In  order  to  secure  for  the  deacon- 
ess nurses  the  certificate  of  the  Royal  British  Association  for  nurses  a 
hospital  in  which  they  are  trained  must  have  at  least  forty  beds,  and 
this  condition  has  been  met  by  the  enlargement  of  the  institution  at 
Edinburgh.  Rev.  Archibald  H.  Charteris,  D.D.,  has  been  a  promi- 
nent leader  in  this  advance.  His  statement  is  that  woman's  work  is 
a  pyramid,  whose  broad  base  is  the  Woman's  Guild,  with  the  dea- 
coness work  at  the  apex.  The  nurses  and  visiting  missionaries  are 
under  the  direction  of  the  officers  of  the  parish  in  which  they  labor. 

The  General  Assembly  of  the  Church  of  Scotland  has  a  Commit- 
tee on  Christian  Life  and  Work  which  stimulates  and  directs  the  phil- 
anthropic activities  of  the  various  voluntary  societies  of  women  and 
young  people  in  that  body.  The  reports  of  this  committee  are  in- 
structive in  relation  to  the  charitable  activities  of  members  of  the 
establishment.  An  appeal  quoted  in  one  of  these  reports  voices  the 
motive :  "Let  us  do  more  to  make  the  church  a  living  power  over 
poor  folks,  not  so  much  for  church  defence  as  for  Christianity's  own 
sake,  which  is  nothing  if  not  a  mission  of  tenderness  and  sympathy 
to  them,  such  as  can  only  be  conducted  effectually  with  woman's 
assistance."^ 

The  Women's  Guild  of  the  Church  of  Scotland  is  a  national 
organization  which  has  established  branches  in  the  congregations  as 
widely  as  possible.  The  sections  of  these  local  branches  carry  on 
various  kinds  of  philanthropic  service,  as :  Visiting  the  sick  and 
poor ;  hospitality  to  the  lowly  ;  entertainment  for  the  people ;  mother's 
meetings ;  Dorcas  society ;  temperance  society,  and  religious  work 
in  Sunday  Schools  and  homes.  The  Guilds  of  Young  People  are  also 
guided  into  social  service.- 

The  Episcopal  Church  in  Scotland  reports  for  1903  collections  for 
Rescue  work,  £363  19s.  5d. ;  for  Temperance  work,  £139  12s.  4d. ;  for 
Mission  to  Fisher  Folk,f  183  i8s.  4d. ;  for  Widows  and  Orphans  Fund, 

^  History  of  the  Deaconess  Movement  in  the  Christian  Church,  by  C.  Colder, 
1903,  p.  201.  W.  Gladden,  The  Christian  Pastor  and  the  Working  Church,  pp. 
299,  309. 

*  Report  on  the  Schemes  of  the  Church  of  Scotland,  1886,  p.  412. 


THE  BRITISH  EMPIRE 


249 


£462  9s.  2d.  The  Rescue  Work  is  carried  on  by  Sisters  on  behalf 
of  erring  and  tempted  girls  and  women.  Connected  with  the  mis- 
sion among  fishers  there  are  nurses  who  dress  wounds  and  care  for 
the  sick.^ 

E.  Co-operation. — In  the  year  1869  the  Board  of  Supervision 
(now  Local  Government  Board)  issued  a  circular  letter  on  division  of 
labor  between  public  and  private  agencies  of  relief,  in  which  they 
urged  that  distributors  of  private  charity  should  exercise  great  cau- 
tion in  affording  assistance,  without  the  knowledge  and  concurrence 
of  the  parochial  authorities,  to  any  person  who  is  either  a  proper 
object  or  a  recipient  of  parochial  relief.  They  said  that  the  proper 
course  was  to  refer  the  applicants  to  the  inspector  of  the  poor,  and, 
at  the  same  time,  to  transmit  to  that  officer  such  information  as  they 
had  obtained  regarding  them.-  The  advocates  of  the  present  Poor 
Laws  declare  that  the  neglect  of  these  principles  of  division  of  labor 
between  public  and  private  charity,  and  the  custom  of  indiscriminate 
almsgiving,  are  responsible  for  the  continuance  of  vagrancy  and 
begging.3 

The  Charity  Organization  Society  Movement  had  its  origin  in 
the  party  opposed  to  compulsory  assessment  for  poor-relief.  It  was 
their  hope  to  create  an  organization  which  would  make  public  out- 
door relief  unnecessary  and  so  lead  to  its  abolition.  Indoor  relief 
they  did  not  expect  to  supplant.  But  gradually  the  purpose  has 
changed,  and  now  the  idea  of  doing  away  with  public  assistance  to 
the  feeble  and  aged  in  their  homes  is  held  by  a  comparatively 
small  number  of  persons.  The  societies  for  cooperation  seek  to  pre- 
vent dependence  and  to  reinstate  the  destitute  in  normal  economic 
relations.  The  Scottish  and  English  Societies  work  in  the  same  gen- 
eral direction. 

The  Glasgow  Charity  Organization  Society*  was  started  in  May, 
1874,  under  the  title,  "The  Association  for  Organizing  Charitable 
Relief  and  Repressing  Mendicity,"  and  is  now  known  by  its  short 
title  "The  Charity  Organization  Society."     The  objects  are:     (i) 

^Annual  Report  of  Representative  Chvirch  Council,  Edinburgh,  1903. 

^  Rules,  Instructions  and  Recommendations  issued  by  the  Local  Government 
Board  for  Scotland  (1897),  p.  93. 

^  Lamond,  Scottish  Poor  Laws,  p.  122  ff. 

*  The  following  clear  account  was  kindly  furnished  by  Mr.  J.  T.  Strang,  Secre- 
tary of  the  Glasgow  C.  O.  S.  in  a  letter  to  Mr.  F.  L.  Tolman,  April  3,  1903. 


2SO  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

The  assistance  of  the  poor,  in  such  a  manner  as  shall  effect  perma- 
nent benefit  in  their  condition.  (2)  The  organization  of  charitable 
efforts  in  the  city  and  the  prevention  of  overlapping;  the  repression 
of  mendicity ;  the  exposure  of  imposture ;  and  the  collection  and  dis- 
tribution of  subscriptions  for  all  bona-fide  charitable  and  benevolent 
institutions  in  the  city.  (3)  The  promotion  of  thrift  and  of  well- 
advised  methods  for  improving  the  conditions  of  the  poor. 

The  following  are  some  of  the  methods  adopted  to  carry  out  the 
objects  of  the  Society:  (i)  Cooperation  with  the  Magistrates,  the 
Parish  Councils,  the  School  Boards,  the  Charities,  the  Churches,  and 
Individual  Workers.  (2)  Grants,  loans,  fares,  clothing,  medical 
aid,  employment,  etc.,  in  cases  where  such  assistance  cannot  be  ob- 
tained from  other  charitable  sources,  or  from  relatives.  The  Labour 
Yard  provides  temporary  relief  for  the  able-bodied  married  men, 
and  is  a  test  of  their  desire  to  work ;  the  Industrial  Shelter  provides 
food  and  lodging  for  homeless  single  men  in  return  for  work  done ; 
the  Clothing  Scheme  deals  with  destitute  children  under  fourteen 
years  of  age,  whose  parents  are  not  in  receipt  of  parochial  relief; 
the  Work  Room  of  the  Ladies'  Auxiliary  gives  employment  in  needle- 
work to  poor  and  respectable  elderly  women.  (3)  Friendly  Visitors, 
to  watch  over  cases  in  which  sympathy  and  counsel  are  specially 
needed.  (4)  Collecting  Savings  Banks,  to  encourage  thrift  through 
the  weekly  house  to  house  collection  of  small  sums  by  volunteer  col- 
lectors. (5)  Meetings  of  the  Society  from  time  to  time  for  the 
consideration  of  questions  bearing  on  charitable  effort.  Careful  and 
judicious  investigation  is  made  in  every  case  in  which  assistance  is 
asked,  followed  by  the  adjudication  of  the  Relief  Committees  and 
by  appropriate  treatment  under  their  decision. 

The  affairs  of  the  society  are  controlled  by  a  Council  of  48  mem- 
bers, one-half  of  whom  are  elected  annually  from  the  subscribers, 
and  the  other  half  from  Public  Bodies  and  Charitable  Institutions. 
The  Council  is,  therefore,  representative  of  those  who  are  in  sym- 
pathy with  and  engaged  in  charitable  and  Social  Work. 

A  staff  of  investigators  is  engaged  making  inquiries  in  the  city 
and  immediate  neighborhood  regarding  applicants  for  assistance  and 
discovering  the  facts  as  to  character  and  circumstances  and  the  cause 
of  distress,  etc.  Inquiries  have  also  to  be  made  very  often  in  dis- 
tant places,  and  in  such  cases  the  Society  communicates  with  other 
Charity  Organization  Societies ;  but  where  these  do  not  exist  comma- 


THE  BRITISH  EMPIRE  251 

nication  is  made  with  the  Superintendent  of  PoHce,  the  Inspector 
of  Poor  or  the  minister  of  the  Parish  or  other  church,  all  of  whom 
most  readily  afford  valuable  information.  Of  course  all  information 
is  treated  as  private  and  confidential. 

There  are  1 1  kindred  societies  in  the  following  places  in  Scotland, 
viz. :  Aberdeen,  Dundee,  Edinburgh,  Kilmarnock,  Kirkcaldy,  Leith, 
Montrose,  Motherwell,  Paisley,  Perth  and  Uddingston. 

During  the  past  28  years  149,410  cases  have  been  brought  under 
the  notice  of  the  Society.  In  adjudicating  upon  these  the  Relief 
Committees  adopt  the  London  C.  O.  S.  classification  of  cases.  They 
are  divided  into  three  classes,  viz. : 

Class  I.  Dismissed  as  undeserving,  ineligible,  not  requiring  aid, 
or  having  given  false  addresses.  The  number  disposed  of  under  this 
class  was  45,056  or  3034  per  cent,  of  the  total  cases. 

Class  II.  Indirectly  assisted  by  reference  to  other  agencies  and 
private  parties.  The  number  disposed  of  under  this  class  was  59,219, 
or  39^  per  cent,  of  the  total  cases. 

Class  III,  Directly  assisted  by  the  Society  in  loans,  grants,  lodg- 
ings, clothing,  employment,  admission  lines  to  infirmaries  and  con- 
valescent homes,  or  medical  attendance  at  home.  The  number  dis- 
posed of  under  this  class  was  45,135,  or  30^^  per  cent,  of  the  total 
cases. 

The  work  of  the  Society  has  steadily  increased  year  by  year. 
This  is  evident  when  it  is  mentioned  that  in  the  year  1874  the  num- 
ber of  cases  investigated  was  146,  whereas  in  the  year  1902  the  num- 
ber investigated  was  7,329.  At  three  different  periods  during  the 
past  28  years  the  number  of  cases  investigated  was  11,107,  ii^99i  and 
12,424  respectively.  These  were  winters  of  exceptional  distress, 
when  the  magistrate  opened  relief  works  for  the  benefit  of  the  unem- 
ployed, and  asked  the  aid  of  the  Society  in  the  investigation  of  appli- 
cations. 

And  whilst  the  Society  has  been  steadily  progressing  and  is  being 
increasingly  made  use  of  by  the  citizens,  the  growth  of  the  city  has 
also  been  very  great.  In  the  year  1872  the  population  of  the  city 
and  suburbs  was  578,705,  while  now  it  is  924,000.  The  Council, 
feeling,  therefore,  that  it  was  impossible  to  do  effective  work  from 
a  central  office  only,  resolved  7  years  ago  to  form  local  committees 
throughout  the  city,  for  it  is  now  generally  recognized  that  such 
committees  are  necessary  to  carry  out  the  work  of  Charity  Organiza- 


252 


MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 


tion  in  large  cities.  There  are  at  present  ten  District  Committees, 
and  it  is  intended  to  increase  their  number  until  the  whole  city  is 
covered.  The  District  Committees  are  indeed  only  trying  to  do  once 
more  in  a  new  shape  and  modified  to  suit  the  conditions  of  this  age, 
wfiat  Dr.  Chalmers  attempted  with  such  wonderful  success  to  accom- 
plish in  St.  John's  Parish,  Glasgow,  early  in  the  last  century.  For 
w'e  believe  that  it  is  not  money  but  "neighborliness,"  the  friendship 
between  rich  and  poor,  which  arouses  and  stimulates  all  the  resource- 
fulness of  the  latter  to  help  themselves,  that  is  required  to  solve  the 
problem  of  destitution  to-day,  as  it  solved  it  then. 

The  Society  was  established,  as  has  been  stated,  for  the  primary 
object  of  organizing  charity,  preventing  overlapping,  exposing  impos- 
ture and  repressing  mendicity,  but  very  soon  it  became  evident  that 
the  society  would  have  to  assist  strictly  a  number  of  cases  which 
were  not  eligible  for  any  other  society  or  at  least  could  not  derive 
all  the  assistance  they  required  from  them.  Moreover,  an  increas- 
ing number  of  private  persons  desire  to  bestow  their  gifts  only  with 
the  cooperation  and  through  the  medium  of  the  C.  O.  S.  Since  its 
foundation  the  Society  has  spent  £27.784  12s.  7d.  in  this  direction. 

Among  some  of  the  direct  methods  of  assistance  used  by  the  So- 
ciety a  brief  notice  may  be  made  of  the  following,  viz. : 

( 1 )  The  Labour  Yard,  instituted  in  1884  to  provide  temporary 
employment  for  able-bodied  married  men.  Here  it  may  be  mentioned 
that  in  Scotland  it  is  illegal  for  the  Poor  Law  Authorities  or  Parish 
Councils  to  grant  relief  to  able-bodied  men.  In  dealing  with  them 
the  Council  of  the  Society  considered  it  wise  to  ofifer  work  as  a  means 
of  distinguishing  between  those  really  seeking  it  and  those  who  were 
not.  The  wisdom  of  this  course  has  been  fully  justified  by  results. 
Since  the  opening  of  the  Yard  the  offer  of  work  has  been  made  to 
7,590  men,  of  whom  2,558,  or  about  34  per  cent,  declined  it. 

(2)  The  Industrial  Shelter  for  Homeless  Men  opened  in  1894 
to  provide  temporary  employment  for  homeless  unmarried  men  by 
giving  shelter  and  food  in  exchange  for  work.  The  following  figures 
give  the  results  from  the  commencement  to  31st  December,  1902: 
Admitted,  2,132.  Left,  having  found  work,  588;  left  of  their  own 
accord,  622;  sent  to  Farm  Colony,  178;  sent  to  Hospital,  etc.,  116; 
sent  home  to  friends,  48 ;  sent  to  Poorhouse,  23 ;  dismissed  for  vari- 
ous reasons,  such  as  drunkenness,  indolence,  bad  characters,  etc.,  557. 

It  should  be  borne  in  mind  in  considering  the  justification  of  start- 


THE  BRITISH  EMPIRE  253 

ing  the  above  institutions  that  in  Scotland  the  Poor  Law  does  not 
reheve  able-bodied  men  or  women  and  their  families,  therefore  they 
may  fill  a  very  useful  place  and  escape  doing  the  harm,  if  wisely 
managed,  which  in  many  places,  {e.  g.,  in  England)  under  a  differ- 
ent Poor  Law  would  undoubtedly  result. 

(3)  The  Poor  Children's  Clothing  Scheme  originated  in  1893 
to  supply  clothing  to  the  children  of  those  who,  through  poverty, 
are  unable  to  provide  what  is  needful.  In  carrying  on  this  relief 
work,  the  main  idea  has  been  to  direct  into  proper  channels  much  in- 
discriminate giving,  and  the  principles  of  the  Society  are  strictly  acted 
on.  Every  case  is  thoroughly  investigated  before  any  action  is  taken, 
and  while  on  the  one  hand  help  is  given,  on  the  other  hand  negli- 
gent parents  are  induced,  and  sometimes  compelled,  to  provide  for 
their  children.  Thus,  much  suffering  in  child  life  is  mitigated. 
Every  safeguard  is  used  to  prevent  the  improper  disposal  of  clothing, 
as  all  the  garments  are  stamped  before  being  given  away,  and  the 
police,  the  pawnbrokers,  the  School  Board  and  other  agencies  act 
in  cooperation.  It  is  worthy  of  note  that  although  109,000  garments 
and  boots  have  been  distributed  there  have  been  few  attempts  at 
pawning  and  these  have  been  in  the  main  unsuccessful.  Since  the 
commencement  of  the  Scheme  36,332  children  have  been  dealt  with, 
and  of  these  22,418  have  been  clad,  the  remainder  having  been  re- 
ferred to  other  Agencies  or  declined. 

The  supplies  of  clothing  and  money  have  been  procured  chiefly 
through  the  Agency  of  the  Glasgow  Needlework  Guild,  started  9  years 
ago  by  a  number  of  ladies  interested  in  the  clothing  of  poor  children. 
The  Guild  has  a  membership  of  over  6,000  and  since  its  origin  it  has 
contributed  79,123  garments  and  over  £2,800  in  money. 

(4)  Pension  Scheme. — Three  years  ago  the  Society  started  a 
Pension  Scheme.  Only  persons  of  60  years  of  age  and  upwards 
are  eligible,  of  thoroughly  good  character,  and  who  have,  moreover,  in 
the  past  shown  some  rather  exceptional  degree  of  industry,  self- 
control,  thrift  or  sacrifice  for  the  sake  of  others.  The  money  required 
for  a  pension  is,  as  far  as  possible,  raised  on  each  individual  case 
from  relatives,  past  or  present  employers,  friends,  churches  or  any 
other  available  source.  The  amount  of  the  pension  varies,  but  the 
minimum  is  5s.  per  week  for  a  single  person  and  7s.  per  week  for 
a  married  couple,  exclusive  of  rent.  At  present  there  are  seven  pen- 
sioners on  the  roll. 


254  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

(5)  The  Collecting'  Savings  Bank. — This  method  is  preventive 
rather  than  alleviative.  "Prevention  is  better  than  cure."  Improvi- 
dence is  found,  in  very  many  instances,  to  be  the  cause  of  a  good  deal 
of  poverty.  With  a  view  to  fostering  habits  of  thrift  the  Society  in 
1898  commenced  a  system  of  house  to  house  visitation  and  collection 
of  small  savings  from  those  who  do  not  make  use  of  the  existing 
savings  bank,  penny  banks,  etc.  Lady  collectors  call  once  a  week 
and  receive  deposits  of  one  penny  and  upwards.  The  scheme  has  met 
with  encouraging  success.  During  the  first  year  of  its  existence 
there  were  574  depositors,  the  amount  collected  being  £167.  The 
number  of  depositors  at  the  end  of  May,  1902,  was  1,388,  the  amount 
collected  being  £1,062.  This  amount  was  collected  from  those  who 
had  not  hitherto  formed  the  habit  of  saving  any  considerable  sum 
or  who  had  thought  it  was  impossible  for  them  to  lay  up  anything. 
If  they  will  not  go  to  the  bank,  then  the  bank  goes  to  them. 

With  the  view  of  informing  the  public  on  social  and  charitable 
questions  a  course  of  lectures  and  conferences  are  arranged  every 
now  and  then.  Much  interest  has  been  taken  in  these  lectures,  their 
object  being  to  combine  scientific  views  of  social  questions  and  of 
administration  with  information  drawn  from  practical  experience, 
and  to  embody  the  best  economical  teaching  of  our  schools  and  uni- 
versities in  our  various  charitable  and  social  activities,  whether  as 
individuals,  as  municipalities  or  as  a  nation. 

Charities  Collection  Central  Agency.^ — This  agency  is  closely 
connected  with  the  C.  O.  S.  and  is  disposed  to  afford  subscribers  an 
easy,  simple,  and  economical  method  of  giving  their  contributions  to 
the  various  reliable  charities  of  the  city.  The  amounts  received  for 
the  year  ending  May,  1902,  and  paid  over  to  the  respective  treasurers, 
was  £7,654  i6s.  2d.  The  Society  not  only  receives  the  subscriptions 
sent  in  by  its  printed  schedule,  but  it  collects  the  annual  subscriptions 
towards  the  funds  of  23  societies.  The  total  amount  received  and 
collected  since  the  commencement  of  the  agency  in  1885  was  i86,68o. 

^28th  Annual  Report  of  the  C.  O.  S.  of  Glasgow,  1902,  p.  13. 

Edinburgh  Association  for  Improving  the  Condition  of  the  Poor,  34th  Annual 
Report,  1901  ;  35th  Report,  1902,  13th  Annual  Report  of  the  Motherwell  C.  O.  S., 
1902.  Dundee  C.  O.  S.,  17th  Annual  Report,  1902,  and  15th  Report,  1900.  23rd 
and  24th  Annual  Reports  of  the  Paisley  Association  for  Improving  the  Condition 
of  the  Poor,  1902,  1903.  Association  for  the  Improvement  of  the  Condition  of 
the  Poor  in  Leith,  Rep.  1902,  and  constitution,  by-laws  and  directory  for  visitors, 
1899.     This  latter  contains  a  list  of  charities  in  Edinburgh  and  Leith. 


THE  BRITISH  EMPIRE 


255 


The  system  has  been  carried  on  successfully  in  Liverpool  for  years, 
and  the  last  year  reported  the  sum  collected  there  was  £30,310. 

F.  Indoor  Relief,  Poorhouses. — "For  the  care  of  the  aged  and 
other  friendless  impotent  poor,  and  also  for  providing  for  poor  persons 
who  from  weakness  or  facility  of  mind,  or  by  reason  of  dissipated 
and  improvident  habits,  are  unable  or  unfit  to  take  charge  of  their  own 
affairs,  it  is  expedient  that  poorhouses  should  be  erected  in  populous 
parishes."  (The  Poor  Law  of  Scotland,  Act  1845).  This  "senti- 
mental" preamble  has  been  interpreted  by  courts  and  practice  to  in- 
clude all  sorts  of  poor  whom  the  authorities  think  best  to  send  to  a 
poorhouse. 

This  brings  us  to  the  British  "poorhouse  test,"  on  which  the  Board 
said  in  a  circular  of  October,  1895  :^  "The  necessity  of  a  test,  in 
certain  cases  at  least,  is  now  generally  acknowledged,  and  the  only 
practically  effective  test  that  can  be  applied  is  the  offer  of  indoor 
relief.^  While  outdoor  relief  is  and  has  been  the  rule  in  Scotland, 
prolonged  experience  satisfied  the  bodies  to  whom  the  administration 
of  the  poor  law  was  entrusted  that,  without  the  right  to  use  a  poor- 
house,  they  were  powerless  to  check  the  growth  of  pauperism.  .  .  . 
The  inmates  of  a  poorhouse  may  be  broadly  divided  into  two  classes : 
(i)  the  test  class;  (2)  the  aged,  the  sick  and  the  infirm.  It  is  ob- 
vious that  the  treatment  of  the  two  classes  should  be  conducted  on 
widely  different  principles.  As  regards  the  first  class,  strict  disci~ 
pline  and  deterrent  administration  are  needed  to  make  the  test  effective 
and  to  secure  order  and  decent  conduct.  As  regards  the  second,  the 
poorhouse  should  be  looked  upon  rather  as  a  house  of  refuge  for  the 
destitute,  and  the  inmates  should  receive  liberal  and  sympathetic  treat- 
ment." It  may  be  permissible  for  a  foreigner  who  has  observed  at 
home  the  failure  of  the  attempt  to  unite  under  one  administration  and 
in  one  community  these  two  antagonistic  aims,  to  question  the  wisdom 
of  using  a  poorhouse  as  a  "test"  in  any  country.-  Recent  Scottish 
testimony  throws  some  light  on  the  efficiency  of  the  famous  "test" : 
"Experience  shows  that  the  number  of  applicants  who  will  accept  the 
offer  of  indoor  relief  is  increasing,  and  the  majority  who  enter  the 

^  Graham,  p.  188. 

'  Compare  the  chapter  on  the  German  and  the  different  principle  of  the  test 
of  personal  acquaintance  of  an  "Armenpfleger." 

'  See  for  details  of  administration :  Rules  and  Regulations  for  the  Manage- 
ment of  Poorhouses,  by  Board  of  Supervision,  1892. 


256  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

poorhouses  are  so  affected  by  disease  as  to  render  the  application  of  a 
strict  and  deterrent  treatment  impracticable."^ 

Two  or  more  parishes  may  unite  to  erect  and  maintain  a  poor- 
house  for  their  common  use  on  such  terms  as  their  Councils  may  agree 
to  accept ;  but  a  parish  cannot  withdraw  from  such  an  agreement 
without  obtaining  the  consent  of  the  Board. 

Plans  for  building  a  new  poorhouse  or  for  altering  an  old  one, 
or  for  borrowing  money,  or  making  assessments  for  such  purpose, 
must  be  approved  by  the  Board.  Regulations  drawn  up  for  the 
house  by  the  parish  council  must  be  approved  by  the  Board ;  and  as 
this  body  is  a  part  of  the  government  its  policy,  if  thought  too  harsh 
or  severe,  may  be  challenged  in  Parliament. 

In  1902  there  were  66  poorhouses  in  operation  in  Scotland  with 
accommodations  for  15,700  persons,  in  a  population  of  4,430,650. 
The  total  population  of  the  parishes  to  which  poorhouse  accommoda- 
tion was  still  not  available  was  41,452.  The  number  of  applicants 
who  were  refused  relief  by  parish  councils  during  the  year  ending 
Alay  15th,  1902,  was  2,667.  The  number  of  applicants  for  parochial 
aid  who  were  offered  relief  in  the  poorhouse  only,  who  declined  to 
accept  that  offer,  and  who  thus  did  not  become  chargeable  to  the 
poor's  fund,  was  6,120.  The  number  of  applications  complaining 
of  inadequate  relief  between  ist  of  January  to  31st  December,  1902, 
was  114.' 

The  management  of  the  poorhouse  is  under  the  control  of  a 
House-Governor,  assisted  by  a  matron,  subject  to  the  orders  of  a  com- 
mittee of  the  parochial  board  of  the  parish  to  which  the  poorhouse 
belongs.  This  committee  is  required  to  visit  the  establishment,  at- 
tend to  repairs  and  supplies,  and,  in  general,  to  be  responsible  for  the 
proper  conduct  of  affairs  in  the  house. 

Admission  and  Discharge. — Inmates  are  admitted  on  an  order 
of  an  inspector  of  the  poor  or  by  a  parochial  board,  accompanied  by 
the  certificate  of  a  medical  officer  in  regular  form.  Upon  entrance 
the  pauper  is  thoroughly  cleansed,  his  clothes  are  taken  away  for  wash- 
ing, and  he  is  clothed  in  the  poorhouse  dress.  He  is  also  searched 
and  prohibited  articles  are  taken  from  him.  Inmates  are  discharged 
simply   upon   giving   notice   of   twenty-four   hours    to   the    House- 

^  Eighth  Annual  Report  of  the  Local  Government  Board  (Scotland),  1902,  p.  2. 
'  Eighth  Annual  Report  of  the  Local  Government  Board  of  Scotland. 


THE  BRITISH  EMPIRE 


257 


Governor,  but  if  he  returns  again  it  must  be  on  the  terms  of  original 
admission.  The  rules  speak  of  frequent  abuses  of  such  easy  dis- 
charge, but  the  law  seems  to  give  no  way  to  correct  them. 

Classification  of  Inmates. — The  inmates  are  divided,  as  far  as 
possible,  into  three  classes:  (i)  Males  above  the  age  of  15  years; 
(2)  boys  above  the  age  of  2  years,  and  under  that  of  15  years;  (3) 
females  above  the  age  of  15  years;  (4)  females  above  the  age  of  2 
years  and  under  that  of  15  years;  (5)  children  under  2  years  of  age. 
Separate  yard  and  apartments  are  assigned  to  each  class,  without 
communication. 

Nursing  the  Sick  in  Poorhouses, — The  old  practice  still  prevails 
in  some  parts  of  Scotland  of  having  pauper  nurses  for  sick  paupers, 
and  there  are  difficulties  in  the  way  of  prohibiting  the 'practice.  "In 
the  smaller  poorhouses  the  number  of  sick  is  too  small  to  occupy  the 
time  of  even  one  nurse,  and  the  work  is  too  monotonous  and  unin- 
teresting to  attract  capable  and  ambitious  women."  It  has  been 
suggested  that  acute  cases  be  sent  to  some  hospital,  or  that  visiting 
nurses  be  employed  to  visit  inmates  of  poorhouses,  as  these  nurses 
are  now  available  in  almost  every  part  of  Scotland.  In  some  large 
places  the  poorhouse  has  a  lady  superintendent  or  head  nurse ;  in 
other  places  there  is  a  matron  who  is  a  trained  nurse  and  has  nurses 
under  her ;  and  in  some  places  nurses  are  under  the  direction  of  the 
matron.  The  evil  of  placing  paupers  under  unskilled  persons  is 
recognized,  but  has  not  everywhere  been  corrected. 

Religious  Instruction. — The  rules  require  that  a  Protestant  Chap- 
lain be  appointed  in  every  poorhouse  to  conduct  services,  give  lectures 
or  sermons,  visit  the  sick,  teach  the  children,  and  promote  peace,  order, 
obedience,  and  observance  of  the  rules  of  the  house.  All  inmates, 
unless  excused  for  cause,  are  required  to  attend  services  on  Sunday. 
A  Catholic  Chaplain  may  be  appointed  by  the  local  authorities. 

Discipline. — Disorderly  and  refractory  inmates  are  punished  by 
reduction  of  diet  or  by  solitary  confinement,  within  limits  prescribed 
by  the  medical  officer.  Children  under  15  years  of  age  may  be  cor- 
rected with  a  rod. 

G.  Homeless  People. — Vagrants  and  Beggars. — A  constable  is 
empowered  to  bring  before  the  magistrate  all  beggars,  vagrants,  and 
idle  poor  persons  strolling,  or  wandering,  or  seeking  relief,  or  found 
lying  in  any  outhouse,  stair,  close,  or  area,  or  other  place.     The  person 

17 


258  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

is  sent  to  the  inspector  of  the  poor,  who  is  required  to  dispose  of  him 
according  to  law  and  report  to  the  magistrate.^ 

Emergency  Help  for  the  Unemployed. — In  December,  1878,  the 
Central  Board  of  Scotland  published  a  minute  in  view  of  a  temporary 
though  urgent  demand  for  help  for  unemployed  men  and  women. 
They  reminded  the  public  that  the  Scottish  Poor  Law  does  not  permit 
parochial  authorities  to  give  relief  to  able  bodied  persons,  even  when 
they  are  destitute,  and  that  such  relief  must  be  provided  by  private 
organizations.  "The  legislature  has  entrusted  the  safety  of  these 
persons  to  the  voluntary  benevolence  of  the  public,  and  that  trust  has 
never  yet  been  found  to  have  been  misplaced."  One  hint,  however, 
they  give  to  local  authorities,  which  afforded  a  little  room  for  dis- 
cretion :  "It  is  obvious  that  if  a  person  is  really  destitute,  no  long 
period  would  elapse  before  he  also  become  disabled  for  want  of  food. 
It  would  probably  be  a  safe  rule  of  practice  in  such  cases  to  afiford 
immediate  relief,  if  the  inspector  is  of  opinion  that  the  sheriff  on 
appeal  would  order  it."  The  Board  also  urges  the  local  authorities 
to  make  the  investigations  for  the  voluntary  emergency  relief  asso- 
ciations, at  the  cost  of  these  associations,  and  they  recommend  to  the 
public  that  such  emergency  relief  be  carefully  administered  in  accord- 
ance with  certain  principles :  There  should  be  in  every  case  a  strict 
inquiry  into  the  previous  history  and  present  circumstances  of  all 
applicants.  No  person  who  is  on  strike,  or  who  declines  to  accept 
employment  at  wages  sufficient  to  maintain  him,  should  be  admitted 
to  participation.  No  person  who  is  already  receiving  public  relief 
or  private  charity  should  be  admitted.  Labor  should  be  required  in 
return  for  aid  given.  If  employment  cannot  be  found  then  a  work 
test  should  be  applied.  Relief  should  be  given  in  rations,  coal,  etc., 
never  in  money.  If  a  man  claims  that  he  is  physically  unable  to  work, 
he  should  be  examined  by  a  physician.^ 

Lamond  urged  that  the  parish  councils  be  permitted  to  give  tem- 
porary emergency  relief ;  that  this  help  be  restricted  to  a  few  months 
at  work ;  that  it  should  not  make  the  recipient  a  pauper,  as  permanent 
relief  does,  depriving  him  of  the  suffrage;  that  the  sum  should  be 

^The  Burgh  Police  (Scotland)  Act  1892  ("55  and  56  Victoria,  ch.  55),  in 
Graham,  at  p.  440. — Minutes  of  Evidence  taken  before  the  Departmental  Com- 
mittee on  Habitual  Offenders,  Vagrants,  Beggars,  etc.,  Edinburgh,  1895. 

'  Rules,  Instructions  and  Recommendations  of  the  Local  Government  Board 
(1897)  p.  95- 


THE  BRITISH  EMPIRE 


259 


regarded  as  a  loan  to  be  repayed ;  and  that  the  Central  Board  should 
not  be  asked  for  its  judgment  in  such  a  situation.^  His  argument 
sounds  like  one  for  some  form  of  insurance  against  unemployment. 
"The  struggle  for  existence  is  year  by  year  becoming  more  intense. 

Multiplication  of  the  people  proceeds  with  rapid  strides These 

must  be  fed.  Their  numbers  press  against  each  other,  and  wages  are 
beat  down.  The  greater  use  of  machinery  more  and  more  super- 
sedes hand  labor.     The  facilities  of  production  quickly  accumulate 

stocks  and  glut  markets The  seasons  of  activity  are  shorter  than 

those  of  dullness Not  fewer  than  one-third  of  our  able-bodied 

workers  are  always  out  of  employment."  And  the  remedy  (?)  exten- 
sion of  poor  relief  to  an  army  of  self-respecting  wage-earners  ! 

In  Scotland,  as  elsewhere,  the  sad  necessity  is  recognized  of  pro- 
viding asylums  for  erring  girls  and  fallen  women,  and  the  direc- 
tories of  urban  charities  give  the  names  of  numerous  institutions  for 
this  class. ^ 

H.  Medical  Relief. — Parish  councils  are  authorized  to  appoint 
a  competent  medical  man  to  attend  to  the  sick  in  poor  houses  and  med- 
icines are  to  be  supplied  by  the  parish  council.  Parish  councils  are 
also  empowered  and  required,  out  of  the  funds  raised  for  the  relief  of 
the  poor,  to  provide  for  medicines,  medical  attendance,  nutritious  diet, 
cordials,  and  clothing  for  the  poor.  The  most  general  method  is  to 
appoint  a  physician  at  a  fixed  salary  to  attend  to  the  poor  of  the  par- 
ish.^ The  receipt  of  medical  relief  does  not  disqualify  electors  from 
voting,  and  this  is  not  true  of  other  kind  of  relief. 

Vaccination. — By  the  Act  of  July  28th,  1863,  provision  was  made 
for  the  vaccination  of  the  poor.  The  parish  council  is  required  to  see 
that  vaccination  is  carried  out  by  a  proper  medical  officer.  This  is  not 
deemed  parochial  relief  and  does  not  pauperize.  The  parents  or 
guardians  of  children  are  required  to  have  them  vaccinated.  All 
persons  vaccinated  are  registered. 

The  Local  Government  Board  in  1902  took  action  looking  to  the 
bacteriological  examination  of  rats  which  were  suspected  of  com- 
municating the  plague,  and  to  measures  fo^  destroying  them  in  ports 
and  ships.     They  also  gave  attention  to  methods  of  dealing  with 

'Scottish  Poor  Laws,  p.  259. 

'  List  of  Benevolent  Institutions,  Edinburgh  and  Leith. 

^Graham,  p.  195. — Rules,  Instructions  and  Recommendations  of  the  Local 
Government  Board  for  Scotland  (1897),  p.  102;  169  (on  vaccination). 


26o  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

quarantine,  medical  inspection  of  vessels,  and  the  disinfection  of 
goods  imported  from  suspected  ports.  They  urge  local  authorities 
to  perform  their  statutory  duty  in  seeking  to  diminish  consumption, 
by  preventing  overcrowding,  by  improving  ventilation,  by  the  removal 
of  general  insanitary  conditions  in  the  houses  of  the  working  classes, 
and  by  guarding  the  health  of  cows.  They  advise  local  health 
authorities  that  they  have  legal  power  to  diffuse  among  the  people 
scientific  information  in  respect  to  disease.  They  urge  that  local 
hospitals  be  prepared  at  any  time  to  receive  persons  suffering  from 
diphtheria,  to  have  a  fresh  supply  of  anti-toxin  for  use,  and  all  the 
facilities  for  diet  and  nursing. 

In  general  the  Board  has  very  great  power  to  advise  and  direct 
action  in  respect  to  public  health,  and  thus,  indirectly,  to  diminish 
the  causes  of  pauperism  which  arise  from  disease  and  from  depressing 
conditions.  The  Board  of  Local  Government  is  using  its  powers  to 
resist  the  spread  of  tuberculosis  in  poorhouses.  The  persons  affected 
are  isolated  in  special  wards  or  separate  buildings,  or  by  the  use  of 
separate  feeding  utensils,  disinfection  of  clothing,  etc. 

The  general  government  grant  for  medical  relief  is  conditioned 
on  the  establishment  of  a  claim  by  the  parish  council,  and  this  condi- 
tion brings  this  branch  of  local  charity  under  central  control.  In  the 
year  1902  the  number  of  parishes  complying  with  legal  requirements 
was  795,  and  the  total  amount  distributed  was  £19,976  5s.  7d.,  which 
included  £3,368  12s.  id.  for  trained  sick  nursing  in  poorhouses.  The 
whole  sum  expended  on  medical  relief  to  the  poor  in  all  parishes  in 
Scotland,  during  the  year  ending  May  15th,  1902,  was  £56,742,  which 
w^as  equal  to  3d.  per  head  of  the  estimated  population,  and  lis.  3d.  per 
head  of  persons  on  the  roll  of  paupers  on  May  15th. 

In  the  directories  of  charity  for  the  cities  one  finds  a  descriptive 
list  of  private  hospitals,  more  or  less  well  endowed,  and  of  various 
kinds :  general,  emergency,  accident,  children's,  women  and  children, 
eye,  ear  and  throat ;  for  infectious  diseases,  maternity  cases,  consump- 
tion ;  dispensaries,  and  convalescent  homes.  There  are  training 
schools  for  nurses,  among  which  belongs  the  Queen  Victoria's 
Jubilee  Institute  for  Nurses  which  trains  and  provides  nurses  for  the 
sick  poor  in  their  own  homes.  Crippled  children,  suffering  from 
hip-joint,  spinal,  and  other  diseases,  are  not  forgotten. 

There  are  private  asylums  for  treatment  of  the  intemperate ;  one 
for  "ladies  who  are  addicted  to  habits  of  intemperance." 


THE  BRITISH  EMPIRE  261 

Charity  directories  show  the  existence  of  asylums  for  the  care  of 
incurable  invalids  unable  to  gain  a  livelihood,  those  suffering  from 
cancer,  or  who  have  lost  their  limbs,  or  who  have  become  totally 
blind  and  helpless. 

Inebriates. — The  testimony  of  Professor  W,  T,  Gairdner,  M.  D., 
LL.D.,  of  the  University  of  Glasgow,  may  be  taken  to  represent 
medical  judgments  in  Scotland :  "The  failure  of  our  existing  sys- 
tem demonstrates,  and  the  experience  of  every  medical  man  confirms 
the  truth,  that  the  habitual  drunkard  is  in  only  too  many  cases 
absolutely  a  slave  to  his  vice ;  and  therefore  he  requires  to  be  protected 

against  it You  must  have  the  drunkard  under  control,  and  for  a 

sufficient   time It   simply   lies   beyond   the   scope   of  medical 

experience  in  this  country  to  say  what  time  would  be  required  to 
reform  a  habitual  drunkard,  because  we  have  never  had  the  oppor- 
tunity of  trying;  the  position  now  is  that  when  you  are  called  in  to 
these  cases,  in  a  sense  you  feel  paralyzed,  you  can  do  nothing."^ 

Inebriates  Act,  1898  (61  and  62  Vict.  Ch.  60). — This  Act  is  an 
interpretation  and  extension  of  the  Inebriates  Acts  of  1879  and  1888, 
and  provides  that  habitual  drunkards  who  are  convicted  of  certain 
offenses  may  be  detained  for  a  term  not  exceeding  three  years  in  any 
state  inebriate  reformatory  or  in  any  certified  inebriate  reformatory 
the  managers  of  which  are  willing  to  receive  him.  The  discussions 
in  charity  circles  during  previous  years  had  brought  out  with  great 
clearness  and  certainty  the  fact  that  a  habitual  drunkard  cannot  be 
cured,  in  ordinary  cases,  without  compulsory  confinement  during  a 
long  period.  The  statute  expressly  gives  power  to  restrain  such 
persons  of  liberty  and  to  require  them  to  work.  The  term  of  maxi- 
mum sentence  is  fixed  at  three  years  as  the  time  regarded  by 
medical  men  as  necessary  to  a  cure.  Thus  the  drunkard  is  distin- 
guished from  a  criminal  on  the  one  hand  and  from  the  insane  on  the 
other,  and  a  system  of  treatment  is  assigned  which  is  thought  at  once 
to  protect  social  order  and  give  the  victim  of  alcoholism  the  best 
chance  of  restoration  to  health.  Here  is  a  way  of  escape  from  the 
short  sentences  to  houses  of  correction  which  are  condemned  by  the 
competent  of  all  civilized  lands. 

The   Inebriates    (Scotland)    Act  of   1888  empowered   cities   to 

*  Minutes  of  evidence,  Departmental  Committee  on  Habitual  Offenders,  etc., 
1894,  p.  28.  There  is  a  mine  of  information  on  this  and  related  subjects  in  this 
document. 


262  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

maintain  inebriate  reformatories,  and  in  1899  Glasgow  took  steps  to 
establish  for  itself  such  an  institution.  They  purchased  a  mansion 
house  at  a  cost  of  £7,500  and  formally  opened  it,  under  license  of  the 
Secretary  of  Scotland,  January  12,  1901.  Preference  is  given  in 
every  case  to  persons  who,  while  habitual  drunkards,  are  of  such 
character  and  disposition  that  it  may  reasonably  be  expected,  if  cured 
of  their  intemperance,  they  would  be  able  to  take  their  places  in 
society  as  self-supporting  citizens.  No  one  known  to  be  a  thief  or 
otherwise  criminal  is  admitted,  nor  are  prostitutes  or  persons  suffering 
from  communicable  diseases.  The  inmates  are  required  to  be  indus- 
trious, and  outdoor  work  is  supplied  as  far  as  possible.  The  institu- 
tion is  purely  an  experiment  and  time  has  not  yet  elapsed  to  ascertain 
its  value.^ 

J.  Defectives. — Education  of  Blind  and  Deaf-Mute  Children. 
— By  an  Act  of  1890  it  was  enacted  that  such  children,  if  their  parents 
are  too  poor  to  provide  for  them,  shall  receive  suitable  elementary 
education  and  industrial  training  by  the  school  board.  The  parent  of 
such  child  shall  not  be  deprived  of  any  franchise  right  or  privilege  on 
this  account. 

Feeble-minded. — The  Board  of  Commissioners  in  Lunacy  has  the 
power  to  license  charitable  institutions  for  the  care  and  training  of 
imbecile  children,  and  supported  in  whole  or  in  part  by  private 
subscription.^ 

Insane. — An  insane  person  who  has  become  chargeable  to  a 
parish  is  sent  by  the  parish  council  within  fourteen  days  to  an 
asylum  or  establishment  legally  authorized  to  receive  lunatic  patients. 
It  is  the  duty  of  an  inspector  of  the  poor  to  notify  the  parish  council 
and  the  Board  of  Lunacy  of  the  presence  of  any  pauper  lunatic 
ascertained  to  be  in  the  parish. 

A  general  Board  of  Commissioners  in  Lunacy  for  Scotland  has  the 
superintendence,  management,  direction,  and  regulation  of  all  matters 
in  relation  to  lunatics,  and  to  public,  private,  and  district  asylums, 
and  has  power  to  grant  or  refuse  licenses  to  the  proprietors  of  private 
asylums,  and  of  renewing,  transferring,  recalling  or  suspending  such 
license.^ 

This  Board  inspects  poorhouses  and  inquires  whether  the  provis- 

*  Chisholm,  Municipal  Enterprises  of  Glasgow. 

^  Graham,  o.  c,  p.  302. 

'The  Lunacy   (Scotland)  Act,  1857. 


THE  BRITISH  EMPIRE  263 

ions  of  the  law  relating  to  lunatics  have  been  carried  out,  and  as  to  the 
dietary,  accommodation,  and  treatment  of  the  lunatics  in  such  poor- 
house. 

There  is  a  system  of  eight  district  asylums,  each  district  having 
its  own  board  which  is  responsible  to  the  General  Board  of  Com- 
missioners in  Lunacy.  Each  pauper  lunatic  is  maintained  at  the  cost 
of  the  parish  in  which  he  has  legal  settlement.  If  the  insane  person 
has  property,  or  relatives  legally  obliged  to  maintain  him,  the  asylum 
recovers  cost  from  these  sources ;  if  there  are  no  such  resources  the 
person  is  adjudged  a  pauper  and  his  parish  pays  the  expenses  of 
removal,  care  and  maintenance.  The  Board  may  move  the  courts 
to  appoint  an  agent  to  administer  the  property  of  an  insane  person 
and  see  that  the  income  is  properly  used  for  his  maintenance. 

Persons  charged  with  crime  and  acquitted  on  the  ground  of 
insanity  are  kept  in  custody  and  sent  to  such  place  as  the  crown  may 
decide. 

The  Board  has  power  to  license  lunatic  wards  of  poorhouses  for 
the  reception  and  detention  of  such  pauper  lunatics  only  who  are  not 
dangerous,  and  do  not  require  curative  treatment. 

The  Board  may  grant  a  license  to  the  occupier  of  a  house  to 
receive  lunatics,  not  exceding  four  in  number,  subject  to  the  rules 
and  regulations  of  the  Board;  and,  in  1895,  the  Board  issued  a  book 
of  "Instructions  to  Inspectors  of  Poor"  for  their  guidance  in  the 
disposal  and  management  of  pauper  lunatics.  This  legislation  is  the 
basis  of  the  famous  Scotch  system  of  family  care  of  the  harmless 
insane. 

On  January  i,  1901,  there  were  2,793  patients  in  private  dwel- 
lings in  Scotland,  of  whom  1,1  ii  were  men  and  1,682  were  women. 
The  total  number  of  insane  in  Scotland  at  the  same  date  was  15,899 
(Forty-third  Report  of  Commissioners  in  Lunacy).  Miss  Julia  C. 
Lathrop,  an  American  observer,  visited  some  of  these  families  in 
Lanashshire  in  1898  and  described  the  conditions.  The  housing  was 
simple,  frequently  only  a  kitchen  and  parlor,  with  a  double  box-bed 
in  each  and  a  narrow  passage  between.  The  cleanliness  was  admira- 
ble. The  cottages  were  well  furnished,  and  in  every  instance  had  a 
pleasant  air  of  homely  comfort,  and  contentment  was  general.  Dur- 
ing forty-three  years  in  which  this  system  has  been  in  operation 
there  has  been  only  one  serious  assault  committed  by  a  boarded-out 
patient.     The  freedom  from  irksome  discipline,  and  the  social  advan- 


264 


MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 


tage  of  mixing  with  some  people  of  their  own  rank  in  Hfe  and  on  a 
footing  of  equality,  has  a  beneficial  effect.  The  patients  are  carefully 
selected,  and  not  more  than  20  per  cent,  at  most  can  be  dealt  with  in 
this  way.' 

It  is  provided  (Act  of  1866)  that  all  such  private  houses  where 
insane  persons  are  boarded  shall  be  visitod  and  inspected  by  medical 
men  who  report  to  the  Board.  Each  such  boarder  must  be  visited 
at  least  once  every  three  months  by  a  medical  man,  and  by  the 
inspector  of  the  poor  at  least  twice  a  year.^ 

If  a  county  or  parish  has  provided  accommodations  for  their 
own  pauper  lunatics  satisfactory  to  the  Board  of  Commissioners  in 
Lunacy  they  are  relieved  from  assessments  for  furnishing  an  asylum 
for  the  district,  so  far  as  the  Board  deems  reasonable. 

Lunatics  are  received  into  an  asylum  on  the  order  of  a  sheriff  in 
response  to  the  petition  of  some  citizen,  with  the  certificate  of  two 
medical  persons.  In  case  of  emergency  the  superintendent  of  an 
asylum  may  receive  a  person  on  the  certificate  of  one  medical  person, 
but  only  for  three  days. 

Pauper  lunatics  may  be  discharged  on  probation,  but  they  remain 
subject  to  the  inspection  of  the  Commissioners  until  finally  released 
by  them  from  supervision. 

K-L.  Children  and  Youth. — Children  in  Poorhouses  and  the 
Boarding-Out  System. — The  world  movement  to  remove  all  children 
from  poorhouses  has  not  yet  been  fully  accepted  for  Scotland,  although 
great  advances  have  been  made  in  that  direction.  Many  children  are 
still  found  in  these  establishments,  and  enlightened  persons  hope  that 
the  system  of  boarding  out  dependent  children  will  before  long  remove 
all  children  from  such  unfavorable  surroundings.  The  system  has 
obtained  in  Scotland  for  a  century  and  its  value  is  beyond  dispute.  In 
its  better  form  of  administration  orphans  and  deserted  children  are 
removed  to  a  distance  from  the  situation  in  cities  which  menaced  their 
health  and  morality;  they  are  boarded  with  respectable  crofters  and 
cottagers  in  the  country  ;  they  are  regularly  visited  by  committees,  who 
see  to  their  food,  clothing,  education,  and  religious  training.  They 
are  finally  absorbed  into  the  community  of  self-respecting  workers. 
Sir  John  McNeill  said:    "They  grow  up  with  the  family;  they  are 

*  National  Conference  of  Charities  and  Correction,  1902,  p.  191. 

*  Graham,  p.   319. 


THE  BRITISH  EMPIRE  265 

treated  as  members  of  the  family;  they  acquire  the  habits  and  feel- 
ings of  the  persons  amongst  whom  they  are  brought  up ;  they  see  the 
struggles  of  the  family  to  maintain  their  own  independence;  they, 
acquire  a  sort  of  domestic  attachment  to  the  father  and  mother,  or 
to  the  old  woman  with  whom  they  are  boarding,  and  they  are  well 
educated,  and  ultimately  they  melt  into  the  population."^ 

The  Central  Board  has  expressed  this  estimate  of  the  system : 
"The  administration  of  Parochial  Relief  to  pauper  children  by  board- 
ing them  with  respectable  families  in  rural  districts  continues  to  be 
satisfactorily  conducted."^  The  total  number  chargeable  May  15, 
1893,  was  5,545,  of  whom  4,629  were  boarded  out  (1,822  with  rela- 
tives and  2,807  with  strangers).  At  the  same  date  in  1902  the  total 
number  chargeable  was  6,693,  of  whom  5,721  were  boarded  out  ( 1,798 
with  relatives,  and  3,923  with  strangers). 

In  1 869- 1 870  the  English  Poor  Law  authorities^  appointed  an  ex- 
pert committee  to  investigate  the  Scottish  system  of  boarding-out 
pauper  children  and  to  recommend  any  part  of  it  which  seemed 
suited  to  English  conditions.  At  that  time  Mr.  Henley  said  that  the 
poorhouses  were  not  giving  suitable  care  to  children,  and  in  many 
instances  they  were  not  separated  from  the  older  paupers.  His  con- 
clusions were :  That  the  system,  as  conducted  by  the  large  city 
parochial  boards  generally,  tends  to  improve  the  children  physically 
and  mentally,  and  effectually  breaks  their  connection  with  the  poor- 
house  ;  that,  if  properly  carried  out,  it  is  preferable  to  the  present  sys- 
tem of  the  poorhouse  provision  for  children  in  Scotland ;  that  the 
condition  of  some  children  who  are  boarded  in  the  towns  is  unsatis- 
factory, principally  owing  to  the  places  in  which  they  are  lodged ;  that 
the  official  supervision  of  children  belonging  to  certain  parishes  be- 
yond the  legal  radius  of  their  own  inspectors  is  insufficient ;  that  the 
separation  of  the  sexes  in  the  sleeping  rooms  is  rarely  attempted,  be- 
ing treated  as  unimportant  when  the  children  are  young,  and  consid- 
ered as  members  of  the  family  in  which  they  are  boarded ;  that  the 
education  of  the  children  is  carefully  atended  to ;  that  the  medical 
attendance  and  extras  are  sufficient ;  that  the  practice  of  children  be- 

^  Lamond,  p.  265-266. 

^Eighth  Annual  Report  of  the  Local  Government  Board  for  Scotland,  1902, 
p.  xii. 

*  Report  of  J.  J.  Henley,  Poor  Law  Inspector,  to  the  Poor  Law  Board,  on  the 
boarding  out  of  pauper  children  in  Scotland. 


266  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

yond  infancy  sleeping  in  the  same  room  with  married  couples  is  com- 
mon and  very  objectionable. 

Mr.  Henley  recommends  that  the  following  classes  should  under 
no  circumstances  be  boarded  out :  illegitimate  children  of  widows  still 
living ;  other  illegitimate  children  whose  mothers  are  living ;  chil- 
dren deserted  by  one  parent ;  children  whose  parents  are  living.  De- 
serted children  should  not  be  boarded  out  till  they  have  been  for  some 
time  in  the  workhouse.  Children  should  not  usually  be  boarded  with 
relatives.  No  child  should  be  boarded  with  a  person  who  is,  or 
otherwise  would  be,  in  receipt  of  parochial  relief.  A  child,  before 
it  is  boarded  out,  should  be  passed  by  the  medical  officer,  and  a  cer- 
tificate given  that  it  is  in  a  proper  state,  mentally  and  bodily,  to  be 
sent  out.  Not  more  than  two  children,  except  in  the  case  of  a  family, 
should  be  sent  to  one  house.  Brothers  and  sisters  should  usually 
be  kept  together.  Children  should  be  boarded  out  as  young  as  pos- 
sible. Children  should  be  removed  if  they  are  kept  away  from  school, 
Sunday  school,  or  church ;  if  lodgers  are  put  in  the  same  room  with 
the  children ;  if  children  are  taken  in  to  board  from  other  unions  or 
parishes,  or  from  private  people.  Periodical  reports  should  be  se- 
cured from  school  teachers.  Children  should  be  visited  by  a  paid  offi- 
cer every  quarter  at  least,  at  uncertain  periods.  The  fullest  securities 
should  be  taken  for  a  careful  selection  of  nurses,  and  for  their  liberal 
payment,  so  as  to  avoid  the  employment  of  the  lowest  class  of  persons 
who  would  be  willing  to  undertake  the  duty. 

Many  private  agencies^  seek  to  prevent  the  placing  of  children 
in  poorhouses.  For  example,  Stewart  Hall,  Bute,  has  accommoda- 
tions for  20  children,  where  weak  and  tuberculous  children  can  receive 
treatment  fitting  them  for  being  boarded  out,  which  it  is  practically 
impossible  they  can  receive  in  the  aggregation  of  a  children's  depart- 
ment of  a  poorhouse. 

There  are  in  Scotland,  especially  in  cities,  many  schools  upon 
endowed  foundations,  which  provide  for  the  maintenance,  education 
and  training  of  orphans,  half-orphans  and  other  dependent  children. 
The  selection  of  beneficiaries  is  generally  in  the  hands  of  trustees  and 

^  The  industrial  schools,  privately  supported,  are  mentioned  with  approval  in 
the  First  Annual  Report  of  the  Board  of  Supervision,  1847,  pp.  xv-xvi ;  but  the 
doubt  is  there  expressed  as  to  the  possibility  of  making  adequate  provision  by 
means  of  private  contributions. 


THE  BRITISH  EMPIRE  267 

depends  upon  the  purpose  of  the  founder  as  expressed  in  wills  and 
deeds  of  gift.  One  institution  at  Edinburgh  receives  60  boys  who  are 
between  the  ages  of  nine  and  fourteen,  educates  them,  gives  them  £7 
for  clothes  on  leaving,  £10  annually  during  a  period  of  five  years  in 
apprenticeship,  and  £50  to  start  in  business.  Orphans  of  burgesses 
formerly  in  good  circumstances  are  aided  by  one  school  to  the  extent 
of  £20  a  year.  One  "hospital,"  accommodating  250  children,  receives 
poor  children  of  the  name  of  the  founder  and  others  who  are  destitute ; 
and  here  about  half  the  inmates  are  deaf  mutes.  In  another  "hos- 
pital" the  preference  is  given  to  the  sons  of  respectable  but  poor 
teachers,  farmers  or  mechanics.  In  Edinburgh  also  are  schools  for 
the  blind,  deaf  mutes,  imbecile  children.  On  private  and  ecclesias- 
tical foundations  are  industrial  and  reformatory  schools,  with  one  of 
which  the  illustratious  name  of  Dr.  Guthrie  is  connected ;  homes  and 
training  institutions  for  neglected,  destitute,  or  imperilled  children  and 
youth.     Both  Catholics  and  Protestants  support  such  institutions.^ 

Industrial  Schools. — Any  person  may  legally  bring  before  two 
justices  or  a  magistrate  any  child  apparently  under  the  age  of  four- 
teen years  who  is  found  begging  or  receiving  alms  (whether  actually 
or  under  the  pretext  of  selling  or  offering  for  sale  any  thing),  or 
being  in  any  street  or  public  place  for  the  purpose  of  begging  or 
receiving  alms  ;  or,  that  is  found  wandering  and  not  having  any  home 
or  settled  place  of  abode,  or  proper  guardianship,  or  visible  means  of 
subsistence;  or,  that  is  found  destitute,  either  being  an  orphan  or 
having  a  surviving  parent  who  is  undergoing  penal  servitude  or 
imprisonment ;  or  that  frequents  the  company  of  reputed  thieves. 
The  justices  or  magistrate  may  inquire  into  the  case  and,  being  sat- 
isfied that  it  is  expedient  to  deal  with  him  under  this  Act,  may  order 
him  to  be  sent  to  a  certified  industrial  school.  The  authorities  for 
the  poor  may  in  the  same  way  have  a  refractory  child  sent  from  a 
workhouse  or  a  district  pauper  school  to  an  industrial  school.  Chil- 
dren may  be  detained  in  a  poorhouse  or  other  place  for  seven  days, 
pending  inquiry,  but  not  in  a  prison.  Preference  is  given  to  an 
industrial  school  under  the  direction  of  the  religious  denomination 
in  which  the  child  has  been  reared.  Parents  are  liable  to  pay  the 
expense  of  the  child  sent  to  an  industrial  school,  if  they  are  able,  not 

^  List  of  Benevolent  and  Charitable  Institutions  of  Edinburgh  and  Leith,  pub- 
lished by  Association  for  the  Improvement  of  the  Condition  of  the  Poor,  1899. 


268  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

to  exceed  five  shillings  a  week.  Dependent  children  are  paid  for  by 
the  parish  of  settlement.^ 

Pretention  of  Cruelty  to  Children.^ — A  constable  or  sherifif  who 
discovers  that  a  child  is  being  ill-treated  may  take  it  to  "a  place  of 
safety,"  which  expression  includes  a  workhouse  or  poorhouse. 

M.  Preventive  Agencies  and  Methods. — Scotland  is  closely 
related  to  England  in  all  matters  relating  to  social  legislation.  Public 
schools  have  even  a  deeper  root  in  the  northern  country,  and  their  civ- 
ilizing influence  is  appreciated.  The  sanitary  agencies  are  unified  and 
stimulated  by  the  central  administration  and  lend  important  aid  to 
the  amelioration  of  conditions  in  the  life  of  the  poor. 

There  is  no  present  prospect  of  compulsory  government  insurance 
of  workingmen  to  help  them  organize  thrift  and  secure  protective 
indemnity  in  case  of  disabling  accident,  sickness,  infirmity  and  old 
age.  Mr.  Lamond^  gives  a  sketch  of  recent  proposals  for  old  age 
pensions,  but  only  to  condemn  them.  But  the  matter  comes  up  per- 
sistently in  charity  conferences,  and  apparently  will  ultimately  have 
through  consideration.* 

In  the  matter  of  extending  the  socialistic  or  public  service  activity 
by  municipalities  the  Scotch  cities  are  among  the  foremost  in  the 
world.  Retiring  pensions  are  allowed  the  police,  and  the  principle 
underlying  state  insurance  is  thereby  accepted.  In  tenement  house 
reform  some  of  the  cities  have  been  pioneers. 

The  city  of  Glasgow  owns  and  manages  its  own  street  transporta- 
tion and  gives  low  fares  to  workingmen  ;  it  keeps  open  its  markets  for 
fruit,  fish,  old  clothes,  and  meat ;  it  has  adopted  a  liberal  policy  in 
regard  to  parks  and  playground ;  and  makes  provision  for  technical 
education. 

The  system  of  inspection  of  houses  brings  to  the  authorities  a  body 
of  knowledge  which  guides  administration  and  conveys  to  the  poor 
people  information  which  is  useful  to  them.     Especially  is  this  true 

^Graham,  p.  433,  gives  text  of  Industrial  Schools  Act  1866  (29  and  30  Vict., 
eh.  118).  Compare  the  Custody  of  Children  Act  1891  (54  Vict.  ch.  3),  which 
defines  the  power  of  courts  in  relation  to  the  rights  of  parents  to  claim  custody 
of  their  children. 

^Prevention  of  Cruelty  to  Children  Act  1894  (57  and  58  Vict.  ch.  41)  ;  Graham, 
p.  440. 

"  In  his  work,  "Scottish  Poor  Laws." 

*In  the  discussions  of  the  International  Home  Relief  Congress,  Edinburgh, 
1904,  all  aspects  of  insurance  and  pensions  were  fully  treated. 


THE  BRITISH  EMPIRE  269 

of  the  women  visitors,  who  carry  into  the  dwelHngs  of  the  poor  sug- 
gestions as  to  cleanHness,  order  and  health.  In  1892  the  visitors  of 
Glasgow  made  75,000  domiciliary  visits.'^ 

Improvements  of  Dwellings  of  the  Poor. — While  the  habitations 
of  the  poor  in  crowded  cities  have  secured  the  attention  of  philanthro- 
pists, those  of  the  rural  poor  have  required  attention  of  thoughtful 
and  humane  men  in  Scotland.  A  statement  of  the  Highland  and 
Land  Law  Reform  in  1885  presents  a  picture  of  a  type  of  dwelling 
which  seems  happily  to  be  passing  away.  It  is  a  crofter's  house  in 
Lewis.  "The  west  coast  crofter  has  two  foes  to  contend  with — the 
fierce  Atlantic  blast,  and  the  drenching  winter  rains.  .  .  The  walls 
are  built  of  stones,  gathered  from  the  fields,  and  fitted  roughly  to- 
gether. To  keep  out  the  wind  they  are  made  five  feet  thick,  and 
both  side  walls  and  gable  ends  are  but  six  feet  in  height.  .  .  .  The 
houses  vary  from  30  to  60  feet  in  length,  and  are  15  feet  wide.  You 
stoop  your  head  as  you  enter  the  only  door.  If  your  visit  is  in 
March,  the  inside  level  is  higher  than  the  surface  of  the  ground,  for 
you  step  upon  a  thick  mass  of  wet  cattle-bedding  and  dung,  which 
has  accumulated  since  the  previous  summer.  Coming  in  from  the 
light  of  day  you  stumble  in  the  deep  obscurity,  which  is  barely  relieved 
by  the  single  window  of  a  foot  square.  .  .  .  Smoke  from  a  peat 
fire  fills  the  house  and  finds  partial  egress  through  the  thatch,  for 
there  is  no  chimney.  Hens  cackle  overhead.  Cows  and  calves  keep 
company  with  the  family."^  The  crofters  had  little  encouragement 
to  build  better  houses  and  make  improvements,  as  their  tenure  was 
at  the  pleasure  of  the  landlords  and  they  were  not  paid  for  the  better- 
ments. While  many  abuses  have  been  corrected  already,  the  descrip- 
tions in  state  documents  reveal  a  wretchedness  and  apathy  which  are 
not  found  in  new  countries,  and  which  become  habitual  only  when 
the  outlook  for  better  conditions  has  been  narrowed  by  long-denied 
opportunity  to  rise.^ 

Glasgow  opened  in  1896  "The  Family  Home"  at  a  cost  of  £17,609. 

^A.  Shaw,  Municipal  Government  in  Great  Britain,  p.  87. 

^Reports  of  Her  Majesty's  Commissioners  for  inquiring  into  the  Housing  of 
the  Working  Classes  (Scotland),  1885. — Report  from  the  select  committee  on 
Poor  Laws  (Scotland),  ordered  printed  July  6,  1869.  A.  Shaw,  Municipal  Gov- 
ernment in  Great  Britain,  ch.  IV,  "A  Study  of  Glasgow." 

^  Dr.  Angus  Macaulay,  medical  officer  for  Barra,  has  a  similar  description  of 
cottages  in  8th  Annual  Report  of  the  Local  Government  Board  for  Scotland, 
1903,  p.  65  ;  and  he  affirms  that  such  hovels  increase  tubercular  diseases  and  other 


270  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

It  furnishes  accommodations  for  deserving  and  respectable  widows 
or  widowers  belonging  to  the  working  classes  having  one  or  more 
young  children  with  no  one  to  look  after  them.  The  house  contains 
i6o  single  bedrooms,  plainly  furnished,  each  capable  of  accommodat- 
ing one  adult  and  their  children,  a  common  dining-room,  a  kitchen 
with  gas  fires  and  steam  cooking  boilers,  a  nursery,  recreation  rooms, 
baths,  lavatories,  and  all  heated  by  steam.  The  rent  of  a  bedroom 
varies  from  4s.  to  5s.  per  week,  and  regular  meals  are  furnished  at 
the  lowest  possible  charge. 

Glasgow  has  also  destroyed  many  old  houses  and  built  better  in 
their  places.  In  all  46  blocks  had  been  rebuilt  in  1902,  with  200 
shops  and  1,455  dwelling-houses,  with  one  to  three  apartments  in 
each  house.  In  all  the  lodging  houses  the  Family  Home  and  the 
new  dwellings  11,875  persons  have  been  provided  for. 

Another  agency  of  the  municipality  of  Glasgow  is  of  a  preventive 
character,  the  Labour  Bureau  and  Servants'  Registry,  opened  in  1896. 
There  are  no  fees  payable  by  either  the  employer  or  the  worker.  The 
corporation,  while  accepting  no  responsibility  in  connection  with  ap- 
plicants, endeavors  to  assure  itself  of  the  character  of  those  whom  it 
sends  to  any  situation.  In  1900  the  Bureau  registered  5,224  ap- 
plicants and  found  places  for  42.30  per  cent,  of  these,  at  a  cost  per 
head  of  the  number  registered  of  9^d. 

The  water  works  of  Glasgow  supply  all  charitable  institutions  free 
of  charge,  and  also  furnish  water  gratuitously  to  twelve  public  baths 
and  wash-houses  in  the  city  belonging  to  the  corporation.  The  water 
department  does  not  charge  the  corporation  for  water  used  for  cleans- 
ing purposes,  watering  streets,  and  flushing  sewers.  Bath  and  wash- 
houses  were  first  established  in  1876. 

In  1866^  the  city  of  Glasgow  began  the  policy  of  taking  posses- 
sion of  common  lodging  houses,  conducted  by  private  enterprise, 
where  men  and  women  were  huddled  together  promiscuously,  in 
dark  and  unventilated  rooms,  without  any  of  the  conveniences  requi- 

pauperizing  maladies.  On  p.  66  is  a  cheering  report  of  improvement  in  Harris, 
by  J.  Wedderspoon,  Sanitary  Inspector  of  Inverness. 

*  Municipal  Enterprises  of  Glasgow,  by  Samuel  Chisholm. — Abstract  of  the 
Account  of  the  Revenue  and  Expenditure  and  Stock  account  of  the  corporation 
acting  under  the  Glasgow  Public  Parks  Acts,  May,  1901,  and  other  reports  on 
water-works.  Improvements  Acts,  1866-1895,  of  same  date. — Notes  on  Municipal 
Work,  1896-99,  by  David  Richmond,  Corporation  of  the  City  of  Glasgow,  1899. 


THE  BRITISH  EMPIRE 


271 


site  for  decent  living,  not  to  speak  of  healthful  existence.  These 
houses,  besides  being  hotbeds  of  vice  and  misery,  were  also  centers 
for  the  propagation  of  disease.  The  authorities  constructed  and 
equipped  seven  model  lodging  houses  which  have  served  a  good  pur- 
pose and  have  been  financially  successful.  The  houses  are  provided 
with  a  common  dining-room,  a  kitchen  with  utensils  and  fire  available 
for  cooking  at  any  hour  of  the  day,  a  large  recreation  room,  and  ample 
lavatory  and  bathing  conveniences.  Lodging  costs  from  3^d.  to 
6d.  per  night. 

The  construction  of  houses  by  municipalities  or  the  state  is  not 
universally  approved.  The  Landlords'  Association  of  Glasgow,  in 
1885,  declared  that  private  enterprise  would  build  all  the  houses  that 
were  required  and  that  interference  by  the  state  "is  uncalled  for  and 
impolitic."  But  on  one  point  they  declared  there  was  a  place  for  pri- 
vate charity  and  legislative  measures.  They  said  that  some  of  the 
smaller  dwellings  were  "occupied  by  l-enants  of  a  lower  class,  who 
are  intemperate,  filthy,  and  destructive  in  their  habits.  They  neither 
appreciate  cleanliness  nor  convenience.  They  are  unsettled  in  their 
occupations,  and  their  continued  migrations  from  place  to  place  give 
them  great  facilities  for  escaping  payment  of  their  debts  or  in  imple- 
menting their  obligations.  .  .  .  On  this  dirty  and  improvident 
class  the  landlord  has  little  control,  and  the  sanitary  authorities  do 
not  seem  to  care  actively  to  interfere  in  regulating  their  conduct." 
Two  remedial  agencies  they  recommend ;  the  sanitary  missionary  with 
sufficient  intelligence  to  expound  to  such  tenants  the  benefits  of  sani- 
tation, and  with  sufficient  power  to  enforce  personal  observance  of 
the  regulations  formed  for  their  comfort  and  well-being;  and  a  law 
enabling  the  landlord  to  remove  expeditiously  and  inexpensively 
tenants  who  can  be  proved  to  be  a  moral  and  physical  nuisance  to  the 
neighborhood.  But  the  letter  of  the  landlord  does  not  give  informa- 
tion as  to  the  management  of  such  persons  after  they  have  been 
removed. 

Pawnbrokers. — A  person  intending  to  apply  for  the  first  time  for 
a  certificate  must  give  previous  notice  of  twenty-one  days  to  an  in- 
spector of  the  poor  of  the  parish  in  which  he  intends  to  carry  on  busi- 
ness, and  to  the  superintendent  of  police  of  the  district.^ 

Salvation  Army. — The  social  as  well  as  religious  work  of  this 
body  is  extended  to  the  cities  of  Scotland.     The  Salvation  Army 

^The  Pawnbrokers'  Act,  1872  (35  and  36  Vict,  ch.,  93),  in  Graham  at  p.  441. 


272  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

Women's  Social  Work  of  Glasgow/  in  a  report  made  September  30, 
1902,  showed  that  they  had  received  ^879  lis.  6d.,  of  which  £99  i8s. 
lo^^d.  came  from  gifts;  that  they  had  supported  inebriate  homes  for 
girls,  and  had  cared  for  maternity  cases.  It  cost  five  shillings  a  week 
to  maintain  a  girl  in  an  industrial  home.  Pay  is  expected  in  these 
establishments,  but  there  are  many  charity  cases.  One  pound  a  week 
covers  the  cost  for  maternity  cases.  They  had  cared  for  215  girls 
in  the  year,  visited  female  prisoners,  helped  them  to  find  shelter  and 
occupation,  and  redeemed  many  from  the  drink  habit.  They  main- 
tain the  Metropole,  a  working  women's  hotel,  where  any  poor  woman 
may  find  asylum  and  friendly  help. 

Aid  for  Discharged  Prisoners  and  Their  Families. — Edinburgh 
and  other  places  have  voluntary  asso^^iations  for  aiding  prisoners, 
after  their  discharge  from  prison,  with  advice  and  assistance  in  pro- 
curing honest  employment. 


SECTION  3. -IRELAND 

BY   PROFESSOR    J.    M.    GILLETTE,   D.    B.,    PH.  D. 

A.  Causes  of  Pauperism  in  General. — Pauperism  in  Ireland 
may  be  traced  to  several  causes.  First,  a  historical  one,  namely,  the 
conquest  of  Ireland  by  England  and  the  wholesale  confiscation  of  the 
land  which  was  bestowed  on  absentee  landlords.  This  took  away 
not  only  property  value  from  the  inhabitants,  but  along  with  it  hope 
and  interest  in  a  larger  material  life.  Second,  a  standing  lack  of 
unity  and  cooperation  necessary  to  secure  reform  legislation  looking 
to  better  conditions.  Religiously  Ireland  has  been  divided  between 
Catholics  and  Protestants.  Socially  it  has  been  divided  between  a 
landed  aristocracy  and  a  landless  peasantry  and  small  shopkeepers, 
with  no  strong  middle  class  so  necessary  to  national  progress.  As 
against  Protestant  clergy  Catholic  priests  have  been  powerful  with 
the  masses,  the  former  being  merely  chaplains  of  the  landed  gentry. 
The  feeling  of  superiority  in  the  landed  gentry  is  so  strong  that  it 
has  been  their  chief  grievance  under  an  extension  of  local  government 
to  be  obliged,  officially,  to  stand  on  an  equality  with  the  lower  class. 
Third,  financial  depletion  by  the  absentee  landlords  who  spend  their 

'  Report  of  the  Salvation  Army  Women's  Social  Work,  1902, 


THE  BRITISH  EMPIRE  273 

large  land  incomes  outside  of  Ireland,  thus  constantly  sapping  its 
resources,  and  by  the  British  government  which  has  been  overtaxing 
Ireland  at  the  rate  of  $14,000,000  per  year.  Ireland's  proportion  of 
the  Imperial  tax  is  1-20.  It  has  been  paying  1-7,  or  in  a  half  century 
has  overpaid  about  $500,000,000.  This  is  the  estimate  of  the  Royal 
Commission  of  1896  appointed  to  investigate  the  subject.  Fourth, 
agricultural  and  industrial  decadence.  The  production  of  wheat  has 
declined  since  1850  nearly  80  per  cent,  and  the  farm  produce  nearly 
50  per  cent.  The  number  of  people  in  textile  industries  has  decreased 
from  696,000  in  1841  to  130,000  in  1891.  One  large  reason  for  agri- 
cultural decline  has  been  the  policy  adhered  to  for  a  long  time  of  re- 
ducing Ireland  to  pasturing.  The  result  is  seen  in  the  size  of  hold- 
ings. In  1841  holdings  of  from  i  to  15  acres  comprised  over  80  per 
cent,  of  all  farms  above  one  acre;  in  1850,  50  per  cent.;  in  1901,  42 
per  cent.  Farms  over  30  acres  were  only  7  per  cent,  in  1841,  26  per 
cent,  in  1851,  and  32  per  cent,  in  1900.  On  the  large  estates  the  best 
land  has  been  set  aside  for  grazing  and  the  bogs  given  to  the  tenants. 
Once  Ireland  was  a  rival  of  England  in  commerce  and  industry  and 
had  great  enterprise.  During  250  years  England  has  systematically 
legislated  against  one  industry  after  another  and  forced  the  people 
into  a  close  dependence  upon  the  soil.  Fifth,  the  drainage  of  the  best 
population  to  foreign  countries  by  emigration,  leaving  behind  those 
willing  to  settle  down  to  a  landless  and  therefore  hopeless  condition. 
Sixth,  the  overwhelming  consumption  of  liquor.  Drunkenness  is  uni- 
versal. Every  grocery  and  drygoods  store  in  the  villages  has  a  public 
bar  at  which  men  and  many  women  drink  in  the  open  market.  One 
town  of  1,250  people  has  85  public  houses.  Yet  drink  is  not  consid- 
ered by  the  best  observers  so  much  an  inherent  vice  as  a  recourse  to 
drown  the  miseries  of  poverty,  and  it  is  already  reduced  with  indus- 
trial opportunity  and  hope  and  by  the  earnest  efforts  of  temperance 
advocates. 

As  a  result  of  the  loss  of  hope,  racial,  social  and  religious  conflicts, 
agricultural  and  industrial  decay,  financial  depletion,  etc.,  pauperism 
has  increased  notwithstanding  a  twofold  decrease  of  population  dur- 
ing the  last  six  decades.  In  1864  Ireland  had  32  paupers  to  each 
1,000  of  population;  in  1894  it  had  95  to  each  1,000.  In  England 
there  has  been  a  decrease  from  49  to  26  to  each  1,000  of  the  popula- 
tion. The  total  number  of  paupers  in  1902  was  102,771  supported  at 
an  expense  of  over  £1,175,000. 
18 


274 


MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 


Out  of  a  total  tax  revenue  from  Ireland  in  a  recent  year  of  £6,392,- 
943,  those  who  drank  beer,  wine,  spirits,  tea  and  smoked  tobacco 
contributed  £4,848,489. 

Legislation. — Legislation  on  poor-relief  in  Ireland  begins  with 
the  act  of  Irish  parliament  of  1771,  which  provided  for  the  erection 
of  eight  houses  of  industries  in  Munster  and  three  in  Leinster.  Eden 
(State  of  the  Poor,  III,  p.  cclxxvii)  says  that  there  were  no 
poor  laws,  only  Sunday  collections,  to  which  the  absentee  landlords 
contributed  little.  He  speaks  of  a  house  of  industry  at  Dublin.  Only 
about  £4,000  per  year  were  raised  out  of  the  £14,000  sanctioned.  In 
1806  and  1818  added  authority  was  given  to  county  authorities.  In 
1838  it  was  enacted  that  paid  vice-guardians  might  execute  the  laws 
on  the  failure  of  the  local  authorities.  This  came  into  force  In  1840. 
In  1847  an  Outdoor  Relief  Act  was  passed. 

In  1856  Nicholls  summarized  previous  legislation  as  follows : 
''Houses  of  industry  and  foundling  hospitals,  supported  partly  by 
public  votes,  and  partly  by  voluntary  contributions,  were  .  .  . 
established  at  Dublin  and  Cork,  for  the  reception  and  bringing  up  of 
exposed  and  deserted  children,  and  the  confinement  of  vagrants ;  .  .  . 
free  schools  were  directed  to  be  maintained  in  every  diocese,  for  edu- 
cating children  of  the  poor;  .  .  .  parishes  were  required  to  sup- 
port the  children  exposed  and  deserted  within  their  limits,  and  vestries 
were  organized  and  overseers  appointed  to  attend  to  their  duty; 
.  .  .  hospitals,  houses  of  industry  or  workhouses,  were  to  be  pro- 
vided in  every  county,  and  county  of  a  city  or  town ;  severe  punish- 
ments were  enacted  against  idle  vagabonds  and  vagrants ;  whilst  the 
deserving  poor  were  to  be  lodged  and  licensed  to  beg,  or  if  infirm  and 
helpless  were  to  be  maintained  in  the  hospitals  or  houses  of  industry, 
for  the  building  and  upholding  of  which,  however,  reliance  was  chiefly 
placed  on  the  charitable  aid  of  the  humane  and  affluent,  assessments 
for  the  purpose  being  limited  to  £400  in  counties  at  large,  and  £200 
in  counties  of  cities  or  towns."  All  of  this  partakes  of  the  nature 
of  poor  laws,  yet  no  provisions  were  made  to  carry  them  into  efifect. 
Only  a  portion  of  the  provisions  was  imposed.  The  most  was  volun- 
tary. Various  amendments  have  been  made  in  the  poor  laws  of  Ire- 
land.    These  will  appear  in  the  various  portions  of  this  paper. 

Settlement. — There  is  no  specific  law  of  settlement  in  Ireland. 
One  was  proposed  to  Parliament  in  1838  but  voted  down.  However, 
it  was  necessary  to  define  the  terms  of  the  location  of  the  duty  to  give 


THE  BRITISH  EMPIRE  275 

relief  in  terms  of  electoral  divisions  of  a  union.  Hence  the  final 
amendment  of  the  law  of  1847  reads  that  no  person  shall  be  deemed 
resident  in  an  electoral  division  unless  three  years  before  he  applies 
for  relief,  he  shall  have  occupied  some  tenement  v^ithin  it  for  three 
months,  or  usually  slept  within  it  thirty  months. 

Class  of  Indigent  With  Claims. — Guardians  are  directed  "to 
make  provision  for  the  due  relief  of  all  destitute  poor  persons  dis- 
abled by  old  age  or  infirmity ;  and  of  destitute  poor  persons  disabled 
by  sickness  or  serious  accident,  and  thereby  prevented  from  earning 
a  subsistence  for  themselves  and  their  families ;  and  of  destitute  poor 
widows,  having  two  or  more  legitimate  children  dependent  upon 
them.  Such  poor  persons,  being  destitute,  are  to  be  relieved  either 
in  the  worhouse  or  out  of  the  workhouse  as  the  guardians  may  deem 
expedient ;  and  the  guardians  are  also  to  take  order  for  relieving  and 
setting  to  work  in  the  workhouse  when  there  shall  be  sufficient  room 
for  so  doing,  such  other  destitute  poor  persons  as  they  shall  deem 
to  be  unable  to  support."     (10  and  11  Vict.  Chap.  31,  Sect.  i). 

Law  of  Outdoor  and  Indoor  Relief. — "Whenever  relief  cannot  be 
afforded  in  the  workhouse  owing  to  want  of  room,  or  when  by  reason 
of  fever  or  infectious  disease  the  workhouse  is  unfit  for  the  reception 
of  poor  persons,  the  Poor  Law  Commissioners  may  by  order  empower 
the  guardians  to  administer  relief  out  of  the  workhouse  to  such  des- 
titute poor  persons,  for  any  time  not  exceeding  two  months ;  and  on 
receipt  of  such  order  the  guardians  are  to  make  provisions  accord- 
ingly. Relief  to  able-bodied  persons  out  of  the  workhouse,  is,  how- 
ever, to  be  given  in  food  only,  and  the  Commissioners  may  from  time 
to  time  regulate  its  application."     (Ibid.,  Sections  2,  3), 

Relieving  officers  may  not  only  give  orders  of  admission  to  work- 
houses or  fever  hospitals  of  the  union  for  provisional  relief,  but  also 
to  give  temporary  relief  in  food,  lodging,  medicine,  or  medical  at- 
tendance, until  the  next  meeting  of  the  board  of  guardians.  The 
funds  are  furnished  the  officers  by  the  guardians. 

Liabilities. — Relief  to  wife  or  child  is  considered  as  given  to  the 
husband  or  parent.  Children  are  liable  for  relief  given  to  parents. 
Husbands  are  liable  for  maintenance  of  wife  and  her  children  under 
15,  legitimate  or  illegitimate ;  also  for  that  of  his  children,  widows  for 
theirs,  mothers  for  their  bastards  up  to  15  years.  Relief  may  be  con- 
sidered a  loan  to  be  recovered.  Persons  deserting  workhouses,  leav- 
ing wife  or  child  to  be  relieved,  refusing  to  work,  guilty  of  drunken- 


276  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

ness  or  disobedience  in  workhouse,  or  introducing  liquors,  are  liable 
to  prison  and  labor  for  not  over  one  month.  Deserters  of  wife  or 
children  so  that  they  have  to  be  relieved  may  be  sent  to  a  house  of 
correction  for  three  months  with  labor. 

B.  Organization  and  Administration. — In  1838  Parliament 
gave  the  general  oversight  and  control  of  Ireland  poor-relief  into 
the  hands  of  the  Poor  Law  Commissioners  of  England  and  Wales, 
who  were  declared  to  be  the  Poor  Law  Commissioners  for  Ireland. 
In  1847  Ii"ish  poor-relief  administration  was  made  separate.  A  chief 
commissioner  was  appointed,  who,  along  with  the  chief  and  under- 
secretaries of  the  Lord  Lieutenant  of  Ireland,  constituted  the  "Com- 
missioners for  administering  the  Laws  for  Relief  of  the  Poor  in 
Ireland."  This  Board  may  appoint  a  secretary,  inspectors,  clerks, 
etc.  It  is  empowered  to  make  rules,  orders  and  regulations,  to  vary 
and  rescind  them,  and  to  make  general  rules  with  the  approbation  of 
the  lord  lieutenant,  who  has  final  voice  in  the  matter.  Rules,  orders, 
or  regulations  affecting  more  than  one  union  are  deemed  general.  It 
may  appoint  paid  officers  of  unions  needed,  prescribe  qualifications, 
define  duties  and  terms  of  service  and  fix  salaries.  It  may  remove 
incompetent  officers,  dissolve  boards  of  guardians  and  appoint  tem- 
porary paid  successors.  It  reports  annually  to  the  lord  lieutenant, 
who  lays  the  report  before  parliament. 

Medical  charities  were  added  to  the  poor  law  in  1852.  The  act 
provided  for  the  appointment  of  a  medical  commissioner,  a  physician 
or  surgeon  of  not  less  than  13  years'  standing,  to  be  united  with  the 
above  officers  in  executing  the  Act.  The  Board  may  appoint  in- 
spectors, physicians  or  surgeons  of  not  less  than  7  years'  standing. 
Medical  commissioners  and  inspectors  are  prohibited  from  practicing 
professionally.  The  inspector  is  entitled  to  attend  meetings  of  boards 
of  guardians,  and  all  meetings  held  for  the  relief  of  the  poor;  he 
may  take  part  in  proceedings,  but  cannot  vote. 

For  purposes  of  local  administration  of  poor-relief  Ireland  com- 
prises 163  unions  made  up  of  3,438  electoral  districts  from  which 
guardians  are  sent  to  the  board  of  guardians.  Under  the  local  gov- 
ernment act  of  1898  the  franchise  is  made  universal  for  local  matters, 
even  including  women.  This  broadening  of  the  franchise  has  been 
an  advantage  to  all  local  administrative  affairs  including  poor-relief. 
Guardians  are  elected  every  three  years.  None  may  be  clergymen. 
The  number  and  qualifications  are  decided  by  the  Board  of  Commis- 


THE  BRITISH  EMPIRE 


277 


sioners.  The  number  ranges  from  i6  to  24.  Their  functions  are 
to  provide  revenue  for  erecting  workhouses,  sustaining  the  poor  of 
their  union,  and  seeing  that  the  various  poor  agencies  work  effi- 
ciently. ReHef  officers  may  be  provided  by  the  commissioners  to 
assist  in  the  administration  of  reHef.^  Also  medical  officers  for  relief 
outside  of  workhouses  may  be  appointed  when  necessary  or  expedi- 
ent. 

Outdoor  Relief. — The  extent  of  outdoor  relief  is  expressed  in 
these  figures.  Daily  average  for  1901  (excluding  boarded-out  chil- 
dren) was  55,587,  a  decrease  of  over  500  as  compared  with  1900. 
Total  expenditure  for  this  relief  was  £966,830,  an  increase  of  £28,317 
over  1900.  This  is  more  than  one-half  the  total  number  of  persons 
relieved  and  of  amount  expended  in  the  island.  Outdoor  relief  has 
been  imperatively  needed  at  times  in  Ireland  on  account  of  recurring 
famines.  While  there  has  been  a  diminution  in  frequency  and  viru- 
lence of  famines  due  to  better  agriculture  and  dependence  on  other 
produce  than  the  potato,  there  has  been  a  tendency  to  undue  increase 
in  outdoor  relief.  In  1856  its  expenditure  stood  £2,246;  in  1876, 
a  normal  year,  at  £97,403;  in  1880,  at  £153,586;  in  1901,  as  given 
above,  £966,830.  Seemingly  without  reason  it  spreads  to  districts 
which  have  long  existed  without  it.  This  may  be  due  to  the  yielding 
of  boards  of  guardians  to  the  antagonism  of  Irish  poor  to  the  work- 
house system.  They  have  a  great  repugnance  to  entering  these  insti- 
tutions. Too  often  they  prefer  to  die  in  their  cabins  of  destitution 
rather  than  enter  a  workhouse  for  life. 

C.  Private  Charity. — Various  agencies  for  purposes  of  pri- 
vate charity  exist,  although  no  full  reports  are  obtainable  as  to  scope 
and  strength  of  the  various  associations.  Some  of  the  principal  insti- 
tutions are  the  following:  "The  Society  for  the  Relief  of  Sick, 
Indigent  Room-Keepers  of  all  Religious  Persuasions."  Since  its 
inception  up  to  December  31,  1890,  it  has  relieved  over  2,500,000 
sick  and  distressed  room-keepers.  During  the  year  ending  with  De- 
cember 31,  1890,  it  relieved  38,476.  It  is  supported  by  donations, 
subscriptions  and  bequests.  A  person  may  receive  aid  whose  appli- 
cation therefor  is  signed  by  a  yearly  subscriber  of  over  8s.     Clergy- 

^  There  is  a  relieving  officer  connected  with  each  workhouse  who  investigates 
cases  arising,  and  if  they  are  meritorious  he  issues  relief  certificates  to  the 
master  in  charge  of  the  workhouse.  Relieving  officers  look  after  outdoor  cases, 
investigate,  relieve  emergency  cases,  and  report  later  to  the  guardians. 


278  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

men  and  physicians  may  recommend  without  subscribing.  It  op- 
erates in  Dublin.  "The  Society  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul"  was  estab- 
lished in  1845  for  the  relief  of  the  poor  without  distinction  of  religion 
and  they  are  visited  at  their  homes  by  the  members  of  the  society. 
Both  sustenance  and  administration  are  voluntary.  It  has  over  140 
branches  in  the  various  cities  and  towns  of  Ireland.  The  following 
establishments  are  for  specific  purposes :  "Dublin  Typographical 
Fund,"  "Protestant  Shoemakers'  Charitable  Society,"  "Medical 
Benevolent  Fund  Society  of  Ireland,"  "Apothecaries'  Benevolent 
Society,"  "Dublin  Midnight  Mission  and  Female  Refuge,"  giv- 
ing immediate  refuge  to  personal  applications  from  outcast  women ; 
"Catholic  Boys'  Home,"  which  gives  food  and  lodging  for  the  night 
to  outcast  boys. 

The  frequent  potato  famines  in  the  island  have  elicited  much  out- 
side aid  from  the  English-speaking  world.  Thus  pursuant  to  appeals 
for  relief  by  the  Duchess  of  Marlborough,  Parnell  and  others  in 
1879,  Canada,  Australia,  India,  the  United  States  and  England  sup- 
plied relief  funds  during  1880  amounting  to  several  hundred  thou- 
sand pounds. 

F.  Indoor  Relief. — Public  indoor  relief  in  Ireland  is  under 
the  jurisdiction  of  the  various  unions.  The  Local  Government 
Board  has  general  supervision.  In  conjunction  with  the  latter  the 
unions  establish  the  various  workhouses,  workhouse  schools,  hos- 
pitals, etc.,  in  their  territories.  When  established  they  superintend 
the  administration  of  relief  in  the  institutions.  The  largest  agency 
for  indoor  relief  is  the  workhouse.  Each  union  or  association  of 
unions  may  support  one.  Twelve  acres  of  land  may  be  bought  or 
rented  for  the  location.  The  funds  may  be  raised  by  poor-rate  or 
borrowed  on  the  future  poor-rate.  The  aged  poor,  the  infirm,  the 
dependent  defectives  and  other  dependent  poor  are  given  admittance. 
Those  living  in  a  union  have  precedence  in  case  of  crowded  condi- 
tions. Inmates  from  the  various  electoral  divisions  of  a  union  are 
charged  to  their  respective  divisions.  Others  are  charged  to  the 
whole  union.  In  connection  with  each  workhouse  are  the  master 
and  matron  who  directly  control  it  and  the  relieving  officer  who  inves- 
tigates and  certificates  individual  applicants.^  Those  receiving  in- 
door relief  in  1900-01  were  as  follows :  Average  daily  number  in 
workhouses,  40,153;  in  hospitals,  institutions  and  district  schools, 

^  For  hospitals  and  schools  see  Medical  Relief  and  Care  of  Children. 


THE  BRITISH  EMPIRE 


279 


1,443  J  percentage  in  population,  .92.  The  maximum  number  in 
workhouses  was,  February  16,  1901,  43,827;  the  minimum  number 
in  workhouses,  September  i,  1900,  37,304.  Night  lodgers  or  casuals 
in  workhouses  averaged  monthly  from  April  i,  1900,  to  September 
30,  1901,  2,969.  From  October  i,  1900  to  March  31,  1901,  3,378. 
The  weekly  average  for  the  same  year  was  486.9. 

Poorhoiise  as  a  Test. — In  the  report  of  the  Irish  Poor  Law  Com- 
missioners for  1869  it  is  said :  "The  system  of  workhouse  relief,  the 
ordinary  form  of  relief  in  Ireland,  tends  to  diminish  mendicancy  and 
vagrancy,  inasmuch  as  persons  so  relieved  have  all  their  wants  sup- 
plied, and  cannot  go  abroad  begging.  Outdoor  relief,  on  the  other 
hand,  fails  to  supply  all  the  wants  of  the  recipients,  and  a  large  num- 
ber of  them,  therefore,  being  at  liberty  to  go  where  they  please,  natur- 
ally supplement  their  means  of  livelihood  by  wandering  abroad  and 
begging.  "1 

G.  Vagrants,  etc. — There  are  sufficiently  stringent  laws  en- 
acted against  vagrancy,  begging  and  inducing  children  to  beg  or 
wander.  Such  a  law  was  passed  in  1847.  Persons  convicted  are 
liable  to  hard  labor  for  one  month.  It  is  possible  to  deal  with  those 
persons  in  rural  regions  where  they  soon  become  known.  But  they 
are  not  interfered  with  there.  In  the  cities  they  are  arrested  only 
upon  persisting  in  begging  when  warned  by  the  police.  The  police 
visit  the  workhouses  in  the  morning  to  see  if  any  among  the  "casuals" 
are  criminals  wanted.  These  workhouses  afford  night  lodgings  and 
so  provide  transient  homes  for  the  homeless.  It  is  reported  that 
efforts  are  made  to  convert  beggars  and  tramps  to  self-support  by 
the  discipline  of  the  workhouse  and  gaol,  by  stimulating,  while  resi- 
dents of  either,  feelings  of  self-respect,  religion,  and  independence. 
There  are  no  statistics  on  the  subject,  but  it  is  officially  reported  that 
only  a  small  portion  of  professional  tramps  and  beggars  are  taken 
again. 

Aid  to  Emigration. — No  direct  effort  has  ever  been  made  by 
Great  Britain  to  colonize  the  Irish  poor.  However,  this  was  sug- 
gested by  a  poor-relief  commission  in  1830,  but  it  was  not  enacted 
in  legislation.  But  the  policy  of  aiding  emigration  to  her  colonies 
has  prevailed.  Since  1843  persons  in  workhouses  for  three  months 
might  be  assisted  to  emigrate.  In  1847  the  time  limit  was  reduced. 
The  fund  was  not  to  be  considered  relief.  Since  1849,  5»799  "^s"» 
^  R.  P.  Lamond,  The  Scottish  Poor  Laws,  p.  125. 


28o  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

20,851  women  and  17,991  children  under  15  have  been  deported  at 
a  total  expense  of  £161,238.  The  largest  number  sent  out  was  in 
1852,  when  4,336  went  out.  The  general  average  has  decreased  year 
by  year.  Since  1895  the  yearly  number  has  been  less  than  100.  The 
year  ending  March  31,  1901,  only  46  were  deported. 

Voluntary  and  independent  emigration  has  depopulated  Ireland. 
In  1840  it  had  a  population  of  about  9,000,000.  To-day  there  are 
less  than  4,500,000  inhabitants.  The  United  States  of  America  have 
more  Irish-born  inhabitants  than  has  Ireland. 

H.  Medical  Relief. — As  early  as  1836  there  was  a  commission 
appointed  which  looked  into  the  matter  of  care  of  the  sick  poor. 
The  system  was  considered  inefficient.  In  1842  an  effort  was  made 
to  get  the  system  reformed.  A  reform  law  was  passed  in  1852  which 
provided  for  a  medical  commissioner,  to  be  a  physician  or  surgeon 
of  at  least  13  years'  standing,  and  who  must  not  practice  his  profes- 
sion while  in  office ;  for  medical  inspectors  to  be  appointed  by  the 
commissioners  and  who  must  be  physicans  or  surgeons  of  at  least  7 
years'  standing  and  must  refrain  from  professional  practice.  It  also 
provided  that  when  needed  the  guardians  shall  divide  a  union  into 
dispensary  districts,  appoint  dispensary  committees,  provide  build- 
ings, necessary  medicines  and  appliances.  A  committee  of  manage- 
ment appoints  one  or  more  medical  men  for  advice  and  care  of  the 
poor.  The  latter  vaccinate  applicants.  All  dispensary  relief  of  the 
district  is  given  in  the  institution.  In  1891  there  were  747  such  dis- 
tricts, 1,196  dispensaries  or  dispensary  stations,  811  medical  officers, 
47  apothecaries  or  pharmaceutical  chemists,  508  midwives  and  an 
annual  expenditure  of  £173,582. 

Nursing. — That  part  of  the  care  of  the  sick  which  involves  nurs- 
ing is  done  in  workhouse  infirmaries  and  hospitals.  Sick  relief  is 
in  a  transition  state  with  reference  to  the  qualification  of  nurses. 
Many  boards  of  guardians  cling  to  old  ideas,  but  there  is  great  ad- 
vance. A  general  order  of  1895  created  the  office  of  nurse  of  the 
workhouse.  In  1897  another  order  forbade  the  employment  of  pau- 
pers as  nurses  and  authorized  medical  officers  to  procure  nurses  in 
emergencies.  Objections  arose  among  guardians  to  temporary 
nurses,  hence  a  general  order  of  1901  empowered  the  guardians  of 
any  workhouse  to  increase  the  nurses  and  medical  staff  when  nec- 
essary. At  present  the  majority  of  nurses  receive  only  such  instruc- 
tion for  training  as  the  medical  officers  will  give  them.     Since  the 


THE  BRITISH  EMPIRE  281 

Local  Government  Act  of  1898  it  has  been  the  practice  to  recommend 
only  trained  nurses.  The  training  of  nurses  in  the  larger  poor  law 
infirmaries  and  hospitals  in  which  facilities  for  instruction  exist  is 
encouraged.  The  Belfast  workhouse  Infirmary  and  Fever  Hospital 
is  such  an  establishment.  There  are  159  union  infirmaries.  Includ- 
ing fever  and  auxiliary  hospitals  there  are  320  hospitals  of  all  kinds 
managed  by  poor  law  guardians.  At  the  beginning  of  1901  there 
were  18,318  sick  besides  3,930  lunatics  cared  for  in  workhouse 
infirmaries  and  hospitals.  The  institutions  vary  greatly  in  the  num- 
ber of  inmates.     One  has  1,976  and  another  but  13. 

As  regards  vaccination  the  guardians  are  charged  with  the  ad- 
ministration of  the  law.  Each  dispensary  medical  officer  reports 
quarterly  to  the  local  and  central  authorities  a  list  of  registered  births 
of  children  over  three  months  old  which  are  not  vaccinated.  Reliev- 
ing officers  look  after  these  cases.  In  1901  the  Local  Government 
Board  issued  strenuous  advice  to  guardians  to  provide  for  separate 
wards  in  workhouses  and  infirmaries  for  consumptives.  Smallpox 
has  greatly  diminished.  In  1898  there  were  no  deaths  and  only  two 
cases.  In  1895  there  were  10  deaths  and  692  cases.  In  1872-3  there 
were  677  deaths  and  10,317  cases,  which  was  above  the  average.  All 
sorts  of  fevers  have  been  likewise  reduced.  Outside  of  scarlet  fever 
in  1865  there  were  over  26,000  cases;  in  1881,  about  10,000;  in  1901, 
about  2,300.  Of  scarlet  fever  there  were  about  1,600  cases  in  1901, 
a  reduction  of  over  500  cases  as  compared  with  the  previous  year. 
Much  typhus  fever  abounds  in  Connaught  and  Western  Ulster. 
Overcrowding  and  bad  economic  and  sanitary  conditions  influence 
the  prevalence  of  this  disease.  Sanitary  authorities  are  being  im- 
pressed with  the  importance  of  using  their  powers. 

Sanitation. — Ireland  is  provided  with  sanitary  laws  sufficient  to 
cover  cases  of  plague  and  other  contagious  diseases  as  well  as  to 
regulate  sanitation.  Besides  urban  districts,  it  is  divided  into  rural 
sanitary  districts.  Sanitary  authorities  must  secure  good  water, 
sewers,  etc.  Rural  regions  may  be  placed  under  urban  regulations 
if  necessary.  The  Local  Government  Board  may  make  loans  to  dis- 
tricts to  provide  improved  lodgings  for  the  working  classes.  In 
1900-1901  the  necessary  steps  were  taken  to  guard  the  seaports 
against  the  bubonic  plague  which  appeared  in  Glasgow.  A  law  of 
181 7  provided  hospitals  for  the  insane  in  districts  comprising  one 
or  more  counties,  and  these  houses  were  able  to  contain  from  100 


282  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

to  150  inmates.  In  1830  a  commission  reported  that  they  formed 
the  best  institution  in  the  world  for  curable  insane.  However,  in- 
curables were  left  to  workhouse  hospitals  and  workhouses.  A  law 
of  1843  enabled  guardians  to  transfer  insane  persons  from  work- 
houses to  insane  hospitals  and  maintain  them  there.  In  1901  chronic 
lunatics  to  the  number  of  over  4,000  were  scattered  about  Ireland  in 
workhouses  and  district  asylums.  The  first  could  not  properly  care 
for  them,  the  second  were  overcrowded.  The  act  of  1898  pro- 
vided that  this  may  be  remedied  by  county  councils  who  may  build 
a  separate  asylum  for  chronic  lunatics  or  a  new  department  to  an 
existing  asylum.  The  initiative  rests  with  the  council.  The  cost 
of  support  rests  upon  the  rate  payer.  Unions  may  combine  to  secure 
a  workhouse  convertible  into  an  asylum,  or  an  adjunct.  The  opinion 
of  the  Local  Government  Board  is  favorable  to  the  segregation  of 
insane  and  feeble-minded  in  separate  special  institutions.  Of  lunatics 
there  are  in  Ireland  of  non-epileptic  801  males  and  1,197  females;  of 
epileptics  72  males  and  150  females.  Of  feeble-minded  there  are  non- 
epileptic  664  males,  814  females  ;  epileptics  1 19  males  and  1 13  females. 
There  are  of  epileptics  not  mentally  affected  316.  Figures  on  lunacy 
for  all  of  Ireland  show  it  to  be  increasing.  Between  1851  and  1891 
it  had  trebled.  In  the  same  time  feeble-mindedness  had  doubled. 
In  the  latter  year  in  the  county  of  Meath  there  was  one  lunatic  to 
every  177  of  the  population. 

The  number  of  blind  is  decreasing,  but  not  much  faster  than  the 
population.  In  185 1  there  were  7,587.  In  1891  there  were  5,341. 
The  proportion  is  large  because  emigration  leaves  the  defectives  be- 
hind. Forty  per  cent,  are  uneducated.  Of  deaf-mutes  there  were 
in  1891,  3,365,  of  which  76  per  cent,  were  congenitally  defective. 
The  law  of  1843  provides  for  the  support  of  all  blind  and  deaf  indi- 
gents under  18  years  of  age  in  institutions  for  the  blind  and  deaf. 
The  guardians  were  made  responsible  for  their  accommodation  and 
support. 

J.  The  Insane. — Lunatic  asylums  are  supported  wholly  out  of 
the  county  rates  (grand  jury  cess),  but  each  asylum  is  under  the 
administration  of  a  board  of  governors  appointed  by  the  Lord  Lieu- 
tenant. The  kingdom  is  divided  into  22  districts,  each  with  its 
asylum.  Twelve  districts  consist  of  single  counties  and  10  embrace 
two  or  more  counties.  They  provide  for  about  8,500  patients.  The 
Lord  Lieutenant  appoints  the  resident  and  visiting  medical  officers. 


THE  BRITISH  EMPIRE  283 

Two  inspectors  enforce  the  regulations  made  by  the  Lord  Lieuten- 
ant in  council  for  the  administration  of  the  asylums.  They  also  per- 
form the  work  of  inspection.  The  number  of  inmates  has  increased 
in  late  years,  a  fact  due,  not  to  the  increase  of  lunatics,  but  to  the  fact 
that  they  are  now  more  frequently  submitted  to  medical  treatment. 
Total  number  in  1870,  10,257;  in  1879,  12,819.  In  the  latter  year  in 
district  asylums  were  8,490 ;  in  workhouses,  3,491 ;  in  private  asylums,. 
651 ;  in  Dundorm  Asylum,  187. 

K.  Children. — As  early  as  1715  the  law  provided  for  appren- 
ticing male  and  female  children  who  were  found  begging,  or  other 
poor  children,  with  the  consent  of  their  parents,  and  for  their  super- 
vision by  justices  of  the  peace.  In  1735  it  was  enacted  that  all  found- 
lings left  on  the  parishes  should  be  kept  and  taught  a  trade  or  calling 
until  21  years  of  age  in  the  workhouse.  In  1771-2  a  distinction  was 
made  between  vagrants  and  foundlings.  A  foundling  hospital  was 
provided  in  Dublin  in  which  all  foundlings  under  6  were  to  be  kept 
or  from  which  they  were  to  be  sent  to  nurse.  Such  large  numbers 
appeared  that  the  age  limit  was  placed  at  three  years.  In  1772-74  a 
law  provided  that  each  parish  outside  of  Dublin  and  Cork  should  pro- 
vide for  the  support  of  its  foundlings  by  a  special  levy  and  for  their 
education,  the  levy  not  to  exceed  £5  per  child.  In  1830  there  were 
two  large  foundling  hospitals  at  Cork  and  Dublin  and  one  small  one 
at  Galway.  The  one  at  Dublin  was  to  cease  operation.  The  one 
at  Cork  still  had  1,329  on  its  books. 

In  1847  it  was  provided  that  unions  might  be  grouped  into  dis- 
tricts to  maintain  a  "district  school"  for  the  "joint  reception,  main- 
tenance and  education"  of  the  children  of  the  unions.  Workhouse 
children  under  15  may  attend  them.  They  are  controlled  by  the 
guardians.  The  law  of  1843  made  it  possible  to  send  deaf  and 
dumb  or  blind  children  under  18  to  a  special  institution  for  defective 
persons.  The  number  of  district  school  children  in  1901  was  530. 
The  method  of  caring  for  children  most  admired  and  stimulated  now 
by  relief  authorities  is  that  of  boarding  out.  It  is  reported  to  be 
the  most  satisfactory.  In  1901  these  children  numbered  2,755  as 
against  2,604  of  the  previous  year.  The  act  of  1898  makes  it  a  duty 
of  the  guardians  to  appoint  a  committee  of  ladies,  not  necessarily 
guardians,  to  visit  boarded-out  children.  They  report  to  the  guard- 
ians. The  committees  with  the  names  of  the  children  under  their 
jurisdiction  are  reported  to  the  Local   Government  Board.     It  is 


284  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

testified  that  the  children  as  a  rule  become  part  of  the  family  to  which 
they  are  sent.  The  age  was  advanced  to  13  years  to  encourage  the 
system.  The  failure  of  the  intelligent  citizens  to  take  part  in  the  work 
of  supervision  led  to  the  constitution  of  the  above  board. 

L.  Youth.  Youthful  criminals  in  Ireland  are  sent  to  reform 
schools.  In  these  schools  they  are  all  alike  instructed  in  some  trade  or 
craft.  They  are  maintained  by  imperial  grants,  local  taxes,  capitation 
payments  made  by  capable  parents  of  inmates,  and  produce  of  the 
labor  of  the  inmates.  In  1890  there  were  four  such  schools  for  boys, 
one  of  which  was  Protestant  with  10  inmates,  and  three  Roman  Cath- 
olic, with  104  inmates. 

For  the  superintendence  and  training  of  the  indigent  young  who 
have  not  sunk  so  low  as  to  require  a  sentence  of  penal  labor  or  con- 
finement industrial  schools  have  been  established.  They  are  sup- 
ported in  the  same  way  as  the  Reform  Schools.  The  inmates  are 
instructed  in  the  trade  or  service  for  which  they  appear  most  adapted. 
The  attempt  is  made  to  equip  them  for  self-support.  The  law  estab- 
lishing such  schools  was  passed  in  1868.  The  number  of  schools  hav- 
ing certificates  on  December  31,  1889,  was  70;  11  for  Protestants  and 
59  for  Roman  Catholics,  21  for  boys,  48  for  girls  and  one  mixed  for 
young  boys  and  girls.  The  number  of  inmates  were  7,574.  The 
average  net  cost  per  head  was  ii8  4s.  4d. 

In  1898  various  schools  were  provided  for  pauper  children.  In 
1900  orders  were  issued  that  the  following  were  ready  for  occupancy : 
Cripples'  workshop.  Borough  Polytechnic  Institute,  London,  i  child 
in  1901 ;  Protestant  Home,  West  House,  Galway,  50  children  in  1901 ; 
"Meath"  Protestant  Industrial  School,  Dublin,  126  children,  1901. 

M.  Preventive. — Social  legislation  has  not  been  developed  in 
Ireland.  Whatever  the  government  does  for  its  people  is  done  in 
line  with  its  economic  needs.  Not  being  an  industrial  society  Ireland 
has  little  needed  the  legislation  suitable  for  such  societies.  It  is 
essentially  an  agricultural  community,  as  may  be  judged  from  data 
of  distribution  of  inhabitants.  In  1891,  17.9  per  cent,  lived  in  towns 
of  10,000  and  over,  26.4  per  cent,  in  incorporated  towns  of  2,000  and 
over.  But  much  of  the  population  of  the  smaller  towns  is  directly 
agricultural.  Manufacturing  is  limited  to  the  larger  cities,  such  as 
Belfast  and  Dublin,  and  does  not  dominate  other  interests  even  there. 
Labor  has  not  largely  organized  to  make  itself  felt.  In  1890  Trade 
Unions  claimed  40,000  members,  chiefly  in  Cork  and  Dublin. 


THE  BRITISH  EMPIRE 


285 


Education  in  Ireland  was  undertaken  by  the  government  authori- 
ties in  order  to  lessen  crime  and  pauperism,  and  a  school  system  was 
established  under  a  royal  board  of  commissioners.  The  state  bears 
about  94  per  cent,  of  the  expenditures.  Model  schools  to  the  number 
of  30  with  9,615  students  in  training  for  teaching  were  supported  in 
1899.  Students  of  normal  schools  use  them.  The  state  aids  one 
national  and  four  denominational  normal  schools.  Provision  for 
agricultural  training  is  made.  Instruction  in  the  theory  of  agricul- 
ture is  compulsory  in  all  rural  schools  for  boys  in  the  4th,  5th  and 
6th  classes,  and  optional  for  girls.  Two  male  agricultural  schools 
are  maintained,  and  in  1897  there  were  reported  38  school  farms  in 
connection  w^th  elementary  schools  and  116  schools  with  school 
gardens  attached.  Technical  instruction  is  just  being  developed. 
The  Technical  Instruction  Act  of  1899  provided  $1,000,000  per  year 
for  such  instruction.  Technical  schools  are  being  established 
throughout  the  country  in  urban  districts  and  in  many  counties  itiner- 
ant instructors  on  agricultural  subjects  are  employed  in  connection 
with  experiment  plots.  The  department  under  which  technical  and 
agricultural  education  is  conducted  is  akin  to  the  United  States  De- 
partment of  Agriculture.  It  helps  only  the  localities  which  help 
themselves.  Yet  in  1902  only  two  counties  had  not  responded. 
School  attendance  in  Ireland  is  legally  compulsory  but  the  enroll- 
ment is  only  60  per  cent.  Connaught  County  has  27  per  cent.,  Gal- 
way  County  34.1  per  cent,  of  illiteracy. 

Land  Purchase. — Acute  observers  ascribe  Ireland's  poor  condition 
chiefly  to  the  fact  that  the  inhabitants  have  had  no  secure  interests 
to  impel  to  ambitious  endeavor.  Under  the  old  land  tenure  system 
there  has  been  a  year  to  year  tenancy.  It  has  been  the  practice  of 
landlords  to  exact  a  higher  rent  in  every  case  where  a  tenant  by 
building,  draining,  clearing  or  fencing  had  added  value  to  the  hold- 
ing. He  was  taxed  for  his  own  improvements.  It  was  therefore 
his  interest  to  leave  the  farm  as  near  a  wilderness  as  was  possible 
to  secure  a  living  at  all.  Gradually  the  government  has  legislated  to 
change  these  conditions.  Its  various  Land  Purchase  Acts  aimed  to 
do  so.  Beginning  with  1869  a  series  of  such  acts  induced  larger  and 
larger  numbers  of  tenants  to  become  owners  of  small  properties. 
Under  the  acts  of  1891  and  1896,  37,000  tenants  purchased.  After 
due  investigation  of  the  results  of  previous  acts  the  Wyndham  Land 
Act  was  passed  in  1903  under  which  the  whole  of  Ireland  has  been 


286  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

made  available  for  purchase.  The  commission  reported  that  men 
improve  their  land  first  and  when  that  is  secure  then  their  houses 
and  yards.  They  have  ceased  to  sublet  and  refused  to  sell.  Intem- 
perance was  decreased  in  land-purchase  districts  one-third.  Rebel- 
lion and  disorder  gave  place  to  cooperation  and  order.  The  recent 
bill  enables  a  purchaser  to  repay  the  government  in  about  68  years 
by  paying  about  3^  per  cent,  on  the  purchase  per  year,  which  is  less 
than  rent  paid  to  landlords. 

Dwellings. — The  Labourers'  Dwellings  Act  provided  for  the 
rental  of  cottages  and  3/4  to  i  acre  plots  of  land  for  gardens  to  labor- 
ers at  rates  hardly  sufficient  to  pay  for  maintenance  and  management. 
The  local  government  act  of  1898  extending  the  franchise  to  laborers 
stimulated  new  activities  to  reap  the  advantages  of  this  act.  Ap- 
plications for  houses  and  plots  are  filed  before  the  cottages  are  built. 
Up  to  March,  1901,  17,160  houses  were  authorized,  14,689  were  pro- 
vided, 14,548  actually  let  and  498  in  progress  of  contracted  for.  Fur- 
ther improvements  were  made  or  about  to  be  made  for  7,691  new 
cottages  with  full  garden  allotments  and  3,951  additional  3^-acre 
allotments.  The  Congested  District  Law  was  passed  in  182 1.  It  pro- 
vided for  boards  to  assist  congested  districts  by  advice,  removal  of 
families  to  other  regions,  consolidation  of  small  holdings  to  make 
holdings  capable  of  support,  the  development  of  coast  fisheries,  etc. 

Sanitation. — About  all  the  sanitary  provisions  undertaken  by  the 
state  have  been  mentioned.  An  interesting  illustration  of  the  will- 
ingness of  citizens  to  cooperate  with  the  government  sanitary  authori- 
ties is  seen  in  the  advocacy  of  pasteurizing  milk  by  managers  of 
creameries  upon  evidence  found  pointing  to  the  close  relation  be- 
tween creameries  and  enteric  fever. 

Cooperative  Effort. — Unity,  cooperation,  hope,  interest,  self-help 
are  elements  Ireland  has  needed  to  lift  it  out  of  penury.  Voluntary 
agencies  and  particularly  individuals  have  wrought  much  to  intro- 
duce those  elements.  The  Hon.  H.  P.  Plunkett  had  been  a  student 
of  economics  and  industrial  conditions  in  modern  countries.  In  1889 
he  founded  the  Irish  Agricultural  Organization  Society  for  the  pur- 
pose of  introducting  the  principle  of  organization  and  cooperation 
among  Irish  farmers.  It  has  about  500  societies  with  50,000  mem- 
bers. "The  purpose  of  these  societies  is  the  manufacture  of  butter 
on  the  best  and  most  scientific  principle  in  creameries ;  the  joint  pur- 
chase of  agricultural  requirements  and  the  sale  of  the  produce;  the 


THE  BRITISH  E^IPIRE  287 

improvement  of  live  stock  and  methods  of  tillage ;  the  acquisition  of 
machinery  for  the  joint  use  of  the  members  ;  the  development  of  early 
market  gardening;  the  introduction  of  the  continental  system  of 
collecting,  grading  and  packing  eggs ;  the  establishment  of  experi- 
mental farms ;  the  formation  of  cooperative  rural  banks,  the  promo- 
tion of  rural  industries  such  as  lace  making,  embroidery  and  needle- 
work." The  good  results  are  seen  on  every  hand.  The  cooperative 
creameries  now  rank  with  those  of  Denmark,  the  best  in  the  world ; 
Irish  butter  was  so  pronounced  in  1901  at  the  great  English  Agricul- 
tural Show.  The  agricultural  banks  are  on  the  plan  of  Raiffeisen. 
They  are  cooperative,  managed  by  the  best  local  minds  and  lend  for 
only  productive  purposes  to  approved  applicants  at  from  2  to  6  per 
cent,  interest  instead  of,  as  formerly,  at  30  per  cent,  interest  to  some 
"Sombeen"  man  or  "loan  bank."  Neither  religious  nor  political  dif- 
ferences are  allowed  to  enter  the  cooperative  societies.  Catholic 
priests  and  Protestant  ministers  frequently  cooperate  to  form  them. 
Statistics  for  cooperative  efforts  are  not  published  distinct  from  those 
of  Great  Britain  so  as  to  be  available. 

The  Future. — Unquestionably  Ireland's  future  is  full  of  hope. 
With  ownership,  local  government  and  cooperation  are  being  born 
new  zeal  in  labor  and  real  ambitions  for  life  which  will  create  a  new 
Ireland.  The  Irish  race  has  proved  itself  peculiarly  talented  in 
homes  of  its  adoption.  With  opportunity  that  genius  may  be  ex- 
pected to  exhibit  itself  and  prove  productive  for  Ireland  and  the 
world.  Where  they  have  become  property  owners  the  Irish  have 
become  conservative  in  Ireland  instead  of  continuing  radical.  Hence 
a  loyal  support  of  the  government.  With  productive  ownership  is 
coming  temperance  and  diminution  of  pauperism. 


SECTION  4.— INDIA' 

BY   O.    J.    PRICE,    PE.    D. 

India,  in  its  widest  sense,  includes  British  India  and  the  Native 
States ;  the  former  is  under  the  direct  control  in  all  respects  of  Brit- 
ish officials.     The  control  which  the  Supreme  Government  exercises 

^  The  purpose  of  introducing  a  section  on  the  charities  of  India  in  connection 
with  the  chapter  on  English  relief  systems  was  to  show  how  the  European  ideas 


288  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

over  the  Native  States  varies,  but  they  are  all  governed  by  native 
rulers  with  the  help  of  a  British  agent.  They  are  restricted  in  for- 
eign relations  and  in  strength  of  their  military  force,  and  for  mis- 
government  their  rulers  may  be  deposed. 

The  comparative  area  in  square  miles  shows  British  India  to  con- 
tain 1,087,249,  and  the  Native  States,  679,393,  making  a  total  area 
of  1,766,642  square  miles.  The  comparative  population  by  the 
census  of  1901  was  British  India,  231,899,507,  and  the  Native  States, 
62,461,549,  showing  an  increase  in  ten  years  in  India  of  7,046,385, 
but  a  decrease  in  the  Native  States  of  3,613,607. 

The  administration  of  the  Indian  Empire  in  England  is  entrusted 
to  a  Secretary  of  State  for  India,  assisted  by  a  council  of  not  less 
than  ten  members.  The  supreme  executive  authority  in  India  is 
vested  in  the  Governor-General  in  Council,  often  styled  the  Govern- 
ment of  India.  The  work  of  Governor-General  in  Council  is  dis- 
tributed among  seven  departments — Home,  Foreign,  Finance,  Mili- 
tary, Public  Works,  Revenues  and  Agriculture,  Legislative.  The 
Governor-General's  Council  becomes  a  Legislative  Council  to  make 
laws  for  all  persons  within  British  India,  by  adding  to  the  five  ordi- 
nary members  sixteen  additional  members. 

For  purposes  of  administration  India  is  divided  into  eight  great 
provinces  and  a  few  minor  charges  as  follows :  Madras,  Bombay, 
Bengal,  United  Provinces  of  Agra  and  Oudh,  The  Punjab,  Burma, 
Assam,  the  Central  Provinces ;  the  minor  charges,  Coorg,  Ajmer- 
Merwara,  British  Baloochistan  and  the  Andaman  Islands.  The 
provinces  enjoy  much  administrative  independence  varying  with  their 
importance.  The  provinces  are  usually  broken  up  into  divisions, 
under  commissioners,  and  then  divided  into  districts,  which  form 
the  units  of  administration.  At  the  head  of  each  district  is  a  magis- 
trate who  has  entire  control  of  the  district  and  is  responsible  to  the 
Governor  of  the  province.  There  are  about  250  such  districts  in 
British  India. 

make  their  way  under  the  peculiar  conditions  of  another  civilization.  Brief  as 
this  sketch  is,  it  reveals  the  working  of  a  beneficent  force  which  promises  to  lift 
up  millions  of  the  depressed  in  India.  The  British  people  have  been  aggressive 
in  commerce  and  conquest  of  territory,  and  no  apology  is  made  for  some  of 
their  acts ;  but  their  most  serious  critics  must  acknowledge  that  they  have  made 
a  noble  and  humane  use  of  their  power  in  the  East.  Rev.  W.  E.  Hopkins  and  Rev. 
F.  H,  Levering  have  supplied  certain  data. — C.  R.  H, 


THE  BRITISH  EMPIRE  289 

A  considerable  measure  of  local  self-government  obtains  in  the 
municipalities.  In  1901  there  were  759  municipal  towns,  with  a 
population  of  16,691,521.  The  town  committees  everywhere  contain 
a  majority  of  natives,  and  in  all  the  larger  and  in  many  smaller  towns 
the  majority  of  members  of  committees  are  elected  by  the  rate-payers. 
These  bodies  have  care  of  roads,  water-supply,  drains,  markets,  sani- 
tation ;  they  impose  taxes  and  enact  by-laws  with  sanction  of  the 
Provincial  Government.  For  rural  tracts,  except  in  Burma,  there 
are  district  and  local  boards  which  have  charge  of  roads,  district 
schools  and  hospitals. 

While  India  is  a  land  of  many  races  dwelling  in  a  vast  area  there 
is  yet  a  remarkable  degree  of  unity  to  be  seen.  Religiously  92  per 
cent,  are  either  Hindus  or  Mohammedans,  there  being  207,146,422 
of  the  former  and  65,458,061  of  the  latter.  The  nine  million  Budd- 
hists are  mostly  in  Burma,  and  the  number  of  Christians  is  2,923,241. 
There  are  94,000  Parsis  and  over  2,000,000  Sikhs,  nearly  all  in  the 
Punjab.  Five  divisions  may  be  made  according  to  language:  i) 
The  Dravidian  stock  in  the  South;  2)  the  Negroid,  with  the  Kolarian 
dialects  in  the  hill-tribes  of  Central  India;  3)  the  Indo-Chinese,  on 
the  south  slopes  of  the  Himalayas,  in  the  greater  part  of  Assam  and 
all  Burma;  4)  High-caste  Hindus,  the  Aryan  race;  5)  Moham- 
medans— Arab,  Afghan,  Mughel,  Persian. 

Three  distinctly  defined  physical  regions  are  recognized,  the 
mountain  districts  of  the  Himalayas,  the  low  plains  of  the  three  great 
rivers  of  North  India,  and  the  high  plateau  of  the  Deccan,  extending 
from  the  valley  of  the  Ganges  to  the  south  end  of  the  Peninsula. 

Into  this  area  equal  to  Europe  without  including  Russia  are 
crowded  about  one-fifth  of  the  population  of  the  earth.  Of  the  294,- 
000,000,  191,692,000  are  engaged  in  agricultural  employment  and 
are  thus  directly  dependent  upon  the  soil  for  existence.  The  popu- 
lation of  British  India  averages  211  to  the  square  mile,  while  Oudh, 
the  N.  W.  Provinces  and  Bengal  average  more  than  400  to  the 
square  mile,  and  in  entire  India  188,  as  against  283  (estimated)  for 
China,  and  25.6  (1900)  for  the  United  States.  In  most  districts  the 
population  presses  closely  upon  the  limits  of  the  means  of  subsistence. 
In  many  places  there  has  been  a  very  marked  increase  of  population 
since  the  British  took  possession.  As  immigration  is  next  to  un- 
known, the  growth  of  population  depends  on  natural  increase.^ 

"•  W.  S.  Lilly  in  ''India  and  Its  Problems"  quotes  Sir  Wm.  Hunter  as  saying, 
19 


2go 


MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 


The  problem  of  poverty  in  India  is  exceedingly  complex.  It  is 
bound  up  with  rehgion  more  than  in  any  other  country.  Meteor- 
ology is  directly  related  to  it.  Domestic  customs  and  national  traits 
are  factors  in  the  problem.  The  Hindus  delight  to  call  their  land, 
"The  Land  of  Charity."     Foreigners  add,  "and  of  beggars."     Beg- 

/  ging^  is  respectable.  The  laws  of  Manu  make  it  the  Brahmin's  duty 
to  beg.  Besides,  there  is  the  beggar  caste,  the  members  of  which 
are  forbidden  by  custom  to  live  by  any  other  means.  The  lowest 
coolie  considers  himself  defiled  should  one  of  this  caste  labor  beside 
him.  The  Eurasians  (half-caste),  of  whom  there  are  20,000  in  the 
Madras  Presidency  alone,  present  a  most  perplexing  problem  to 
organized  and  private  charities.  As  a  class  they  are  looked  down 
upon  by  the  English  and  despised  by  the  natives.  Many  of  them 
seem  to  have  "inherited  the  vices  of  both  parents  and  the  virtues  of 
neither ;"  large  numbers  have  not  sufficient  education  or  training  for 
profitable  employment,  are  too  proud  to  perform  menial  service  and 
fall  easily  into  habits  of  begging.  Missionaries  as  a  rule  not  only 
do  not  entertain  this  sentiment  but  most  strenuously  uphold  the 
dignity  of  honest  labor. 

J  Not  only  does  religion  and  custom  make  begging  respectable,  the 
same  sanctions  are  bestowed  upon  giving  to  beggars.  To  bestow 
charity  on  a  beggar  is  to  win  merit  for  a  future  state,  and  he  regards 
his  asking  alms  as  conferring  a  favor  upon  the  donor.  Thus  with 
begging  protected  from  the  standpoint  of  society,  the  mendicant 
upheld  in  his  own  self-respect,  and  with  no  opportunity  offered  him 
to  earn  a  living,  indiscriminate  private  charity  with  all  its  attendant 
evils  is  the  result.  And  this  state  of  things  obtains  in  the  entire 
Indian  Empire  to-day.  "With  few  unimportant  exceptions  in  the 
larger  cities  there  are  no  workhouses,  no  vagrant  laws,  no  restrictive 
or  reformative  regulations  of  any-  kind." 

Famine  has  long  been  the  terror  of  India.  The  Indian  at  best 
is  wretchedly  poor.^     "A  careful  estimate  based  on  the  census  shows 

"there  is  plenty  of  land  in  India  for  the  whole  population  ;  what  is  required  is 
not  the  diminution  of  the  people,  but  their  more  equal  distribution." 

Mr.  Lilly  adds:  "India  is  not  over-populated.  Nor  is  it  true  that  the  popu- 
lation is  larger  or  rapidly  increasing.  *  *  *  During  the  ten  years  ending 
on  the  first  of  March,  1901,  the  addition  to  the  population  in  the  whole  of  India 
was   under   7,000,000." 

^  Beach,  The  Cross  in  the  Land  of  the  Trident.     ^  Beach.     '  Dennis  I,  p.  2^2. 


THE  BRITISH  EMPIRE  29I 

that  there  are  multitudes  who  have  not  more  than  from  six  to  twelve 
rupees  a  year  for  support.  The  mean  annual  income  of  the  people 
of  India  is  from  20  to  27  rupees,  equivalent  at  present  rate  of  silver 
in  India  to  about  six  to  eight  dollars."^  Sir  W.  Hunter  states  that 
40,000,000,  or  one-sixth  of  the  people,  go  through  life  on  insufficient 
food.  It  is  small  wonder  that  oftener  than  once  a  decade,  failure  of 
food  supply  brings  calamity.^  In  the  past  122  years  there  have 
been  17  famines.  "In  1832-33  Madras  lost  150,000  to  200,000  out 
of  a  population  of  500,000.  In  1865-66  in  Orissa  alone  1,000,000 
out  of  a  population  of  3,000,000  perished.  In  the  last  famine  of 
1896-97  a  population  of  72,000,000  was  affected,  37,000,000  in  verit- 
able famine,  and  35,000,000  in  land  of  scarcity." 

Lord  Curzon  wrote  to  the  Lord  Mayor  of  London  this  letter, 
May  23,  1900:  "We  are  struggling  with  a  famine  greater  in  its  in- 
tensity over  the  areas  afflicted  than  any  previously  recorded  visita- 
tion. .  .  In  the  middle  of  May,  1897,  an  area  of  205,000  square 
miles,  with  a  population  of  40,000,000  persons,  was  affected.  In  the 
middle  of  ]\Iay,  1900,  the  figures  are  417,000  square  miles  (or  nearly 
one-fourth  of  the  entire  extent  of  the  Indian  Empire),  and  54,000,000 
persons.  In  May,  1897,  3,811,000  persons  were  in  receipt  of  Gov- 
ernment relief ;  in  May,  1900,  the  total  relieved  was  5,607,000.  At  the 
present  movement,  if  we  take  the  whole  of  the  afflicted  regions  in 
British  India,  15  per  cent,  of  the  entire  population  are  being  sup- 
ported by  Government  (in  many  parts  the  proportion  is  nearly 
double). "=* 

There  is  said  to  be  no  year  when  India  does  not  produce  food 
enough  for  all  its  inhabitants.  The  immediate  cause  of  famine  in 
parts  of  the  country  then,  are  attributed  to  lack  of  transportation 
facilities,  crop  failure  in  parts,  and  the  general  thriftlessness  of  the 
people.  If  the  southwest  or  northwest  monsoon  fails  to  bring  rain 
and  thus  the  food  supply  is  short,  India  is  in  want.*  To  feed  the 
N.  W.  Provinces  and  Oudh  takes  155^  mill.;  to  feed  Madras,  32 
mill. ;  to  feed  Bengal,  54^^  mill. ;  to  feed  Bombay,  24^  mill,  of  well- 
watered  lands.  The  possible  remedy  for  this  failure  of  rain  is  irri- 
gation. From  remote  times  Indians  have  sought  by  this  means  to 
protect  themselves  from  the  calamities  of  drought.     Under  British 

^  England's   Work   in    India. — Hunter.  ^  Dennis    I. 

'  W.  S.  Lilly,  India  and  its  Problems,  p.  288, 
*  Arnold,  N.  A.  Rev.,  March,  1897, 


2g2  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

control  the  irrigation  works  have  been  enlarged  and  new  ones  con- 
structed on  an  enormous  scale.  In  1900  there  were  31,544,000  acres, 
one-seventh  of  the  total  crop  area,  under  irrigation.  Wells,  tanks 
and  canals  are  employed.  The  Ganges  Canal,  the  Bari  Doab  Canal, 
and  the  Western  Jumna  Canal  are  among  the  most  famous.  These 
works  while  involving  great  expenditure  are  indirectly  profitable  to 
the  British  Government,  since  they  obviate  the  loss  of  land  revenue 
and  the  expense  of  supplying  a  famine-stricken  district  with  food 
during  a  drought  year. 

In  times  of  famine  one  method  of  relief  employed  by  the  govern- 
ment is  to  provide  labor  upon  these  public  works  for  wages  sufficient 
to  keep  the  natives  from  starvation. 

Over-population  in  India  must  be  given  as  one  cause  of  the  ex- 
treme poverty.  Sir  William  Hunter  is  quoted  by  Dr.  John  Murdoch, 
D.  D.,  in  "Twelve  Years  of  Indian  Progress,"  Madras,  1898,  as 
saying  that  the  people  of  India  are  very  poor  "because  every  square 
mile  of  Bengal  has  now  to  support  three  times  as  many  families  as 
it  had  a  hundred  years  ago ;  because  every  square  mile  of  British 
India,  deducting  the  outlying  provinces  of  Burma  and  Assam,  has 
to  feed  nearly  three  times  as  many  mouths  as  another  square  mile 
of  the  Native  States ;  because  the  population  has  increased  at  such 
a  rate  as  to  outstrip,  in  some  parts,  the  food-producing  powers  of  the 
land."  It  should  be  remembered  that  before  English  rule  in  India 
many  causes  operated  to  keep  the  population  from  increasing  as 
it  has  since.  The  constant  internecine  war  and  invasions  by  hostile 
tribes  almost  depopulated  large  tracts.  The  ravages  of  famine  were 
practically  unchecked.  Diseases,  such  as  smallpox,  carried  off  hun- 
dreds of  thousands  each  year;  thuggism  (there  were  over  one  hun- 
dred robber-castes  in  India)  was  unrestrained,  and  wild  animals 
killed  many  thousands  yearly.  But  after  a  century  of  almost  unin- 
terrupted peace,  and  after  a  struggle  with  famine  which  has  greatly 
lessened  its  evils ;  with  vaccination  for  smallpox,  with  the  suppres- 
sion of  robbery  and  its  attendant  murders,  and  with  the  clearing  of 
many  of  the  jungles,  the  rapid  increase  in  the  population  is  itself  a 
serious  difficulty. 

This  over-population  and  consequent  poverty  is  due  further  to 
certain  domestic  and  religious  customs.^     The  common  belief  of  the 

^  Is    India    Becoming    Richer    or    Poorer,    Madras,    1898    (Papers    on    Indian 
Reform). 


THE  BRITISH  EMPIRE 


293 


Hindus  that  a  man  who  has  no  son  to  make  offerings  for  him  after 
death  falls  into  the  hell  called  Put,  leads  to  early  marriage.  Prof. 
Runganatha  Mudaliyar  of  Madras  says :  "I  may  feel  that  the  best 
thing  I  can  do  for  my  stupid  son  is  to  keep  him  single,  until  such  time 
at  least  as  he  is  able  to  shift  for  himself  and  earn  enough  to  maintain  a 
wife  and  children  with ;  but  such  is  the  tyranny  of  custom  that  he 
must  be  married  as  soon  as  he  arrives  at  man's  estate,  even  though  I 
have  the  burden  of  supporting,  it  may  be  to  the  last  day  of  my  life,  my 
worthless  son  and  his  wife  and  all  the  creatures  they  may  bring  into 
existence."  People  marry^  "irrespective  of  the  means  of  subsistence, 
and  allow  their  numbers  to  outstrip  the  food-producing  powers  of  the 
soil.  The  mass  of  husbandmen  are  living  in  defiance  of  economic 
laws." 

The  marriage  customs  and  Shradda  expenses  are  impoverishing 
the  Indians.  A  governor  of  Madras  said  :^  "He  who  could  per- 
suade his  countrymen  to  give  up  their,  to  us,  astounding  expenditure 
on  marriages,  would  do  more  for  South  India  than  any  government 
could  do  in  a  decade."  The  Shraddas  are  ceremonies  made  after  a 
man's  death  by  Brahmins,  and  are  paid  for  by  offerings  left  to  them 
by  the  deceased.  Both  of  these  customs  put  burdens  upon  the  people 
far  beyond  their  ability  and  bring  debts  which  paralyze  all  prosperity. 
For  a  long  time  Rajputs  murdered  their  infant  daughters  to  avoid 
the  ruinous  marriage  expenses,  until  the  British  Government  em- 
ployed agents  to  stop  the  practice.^  The  amount  required  for  a  fu- 
neral ceremony  or  for  a  son's  marriage  is  often  from  Rs.  400  to 
Rs.  500. 

The  debts  inevitable  from  such  customs  have  made  the  Indian 
usurer  notorious.  "The  people  may  be  separated  into  two  classes, 
borrowers  and  usurers."  The  Indian  money-lender  receives  interest 
from  15  per  cent,  to  75  per  cent,  a  year.  William  Carey  wrote  in 
1 82 1  ;■*  "Among  the  numerous  causes  which  contribute  to  exclude 
happiness  from  the  natives  of  India  is  the  universal  tendency  to  borrow 
which  pervades  the  whole  country  .  .  .  with  the  inveteracy  of  a 
second  nature." 

The  tendency^  to  turn  money  into  ornaments  is  cited  as  another 
leak  for  India's  finances.     There  are  (1898)  401,582  goldsmiths  in 

^  Is  India  Becoming  Richer  or  Poorer,  p.  32. 

^Causes  of  Indian  Poverty,  Madras,   1896. 

'  Is  India  Becoming  Richer  or  Poorer,  p.  65.       *  Idem,  p.  66.       ^  Idem,  p.  69. 


294 


MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 


India,  to  384.908  blacksmiths.^  India  receives  one-quarter  of  the 
gold  and  one-third  of  the  silver  produced  throughout  the  whole 
w^orld.  Untold  wealth,  non-producing,  is  in  hands  of  the  Indians, 
many  of  whom  are  borrowers,  but  whose  love  of  hoarding  and  of 
jewelry  adds  another  item  to  the  causes  of  ever-present  poverty. 

The  Hindu  family  system  often  encourages  idleness.  The  in- 
tensest  loyalty  to  kin  exists  everywhere.  If  one  member  of  the 
family  has  food  or  shelter,  whether  obtained  by  work  or  begging, 
it  is  shared  with  all  who  can  claim  relationship.'  "Ties  of  kinship 
are  everywhere  acknowledged,  discharged  and  repaid."  This  often 
leads  to  improvident  habits  and  idleness.  Caste  prejudice  must 
come  in  for  its  share  of  the  responsibility  for  the  pitiable  condition 
of  India  as  respects  poverty.  The  civil  architect,^  the  artisan,  the 
tiller  of  the  soil  are  all  accursed  and  degraded.  Honest  labor  is  a 
disgrace,  and  begging  is  honorable.  This  state  of  things  discourages 
arts  and  the  true  development  of  the  physical  resources  of  a  country. 
Caste  is  responsible,  too,  for  much  of  the  suffering  that  results  from 
poverty.^  "A  member  of  one  caste  will  pass  by  the  sufferings  and 
cruelties  that  come  to  one  of  another  caste  with  supreme  unconcern." 

"Outside  their  own  caste  the  weal  or  woe  of  their  fellows  affects 
them  in  no  degree  whatever.  We  have  again  and  again  witnessed 
along  the  great  pilgrim  routes  of  India  harrowing  illustrations  of 
this  sad  truth.  We  have  seen  poor  creatures,  smitten  with  disease, 
lying  on  the  roadside  passed  by  hundreds  of  their  co-religionists  with 
no  more  concern  than  if  they  were  dying  dogs ;  we  have  seen  the 
poor  parched  sufferers  with  folded  hands  and  pleading  voice  crave 
a  drop  of  water  to  moisten  their  lips,  but  all  in  vain.  Hundreds  thus 
perish,  untended,  unpitied,  unaided ;  perhaps  before  death  does  its 
work,  the  vultures  and  jackals  begin  theirs,  and  thus  lines  of  whit- 
ened bones  and  blackened  skulls  border  the  roads  leading  to  the 
sacred  shrines ;  and  whence  this  worse  than  brutal  callousness  ? 
What  has  dried  up  the  springs  of  human  sympathy?  It  is  caste. 
This,  first  of  all,  taught  the  people  to  look  upon  differing  castes  as 
different  species ;  it  next  taught  the  lesson  of  defilement  by  contact ; 
thus  utter  isolation  and  heartless  selfishness  account  for  the  whole 
of  the  sickening  scenes  described."  ("The  Trident,  the  Crescent 
and  the  Cross"). 

^Debt:     How  to  Get  Out  of  It,  Madras,  1892.  =  Arnold. 

"Causes  of  India's  Poverty,  p.  ii.  *  Beach. 


THE  BRITISH  EMPIRE  295 

"More  enlightened  views  are  beginning  to  prevail  among  some, 
and  a  large-hearted  benevolence,  embracing  all,  is  not  unfrequently 
exhibited.     Still,  such  is  not  the  caste  spirit."^ 

A.  Public  Poor-Relief.^ — The  Government  makes  grants  for 
hospitals  and  schools  and  the  local  municipal  Boards  are  charged 
with  administering  the  greater  part  of  them,  e.  g.,  the  medical  grant 
of  1889-90  was  Rs.  81,000.  It  will  be  remembered  that  these  boards 
are  partly  elected  by  the  towns  folk  and  partly  appointed  by  the  gov- 
ernment. The  district  boards  also  administer  funds  made  over  to 
them  for  medical-sanitation  purposes,  but  delegate  much  to  local 
boards.  As  an  illustration  of  expenses  for  medical  work  and  hos- 
pitals in  the  N.  W.  provinces  and  Oudh  out  of  a  total  expenditure 
in  1889-90  on  public  works,  hospitals,  etc.,  of  Rs.  352,920,  nearly 
one-eighth,  or  Rs.  38,535,  went  for  hospitals  and  Rs.  117,040  for 
education. 

Besides  this  system  of  hospitals  Great  Britain  keeps^  "a  vast 
organization  of  preventive  and  remedial  agencies  in  readiness  to 
deal  with  the  periodically  recurring  deaths,"  and  a  crore  and  a  half 
a  year  is  allotted  as  a  famine  fund,  to  be  supplemented  in  severe 
famines  by  subscriptions  in  England,  India  and  other  parts  of  the 
world.*  This  appropriation,  made  for  relieving  distress  arising  from 
famine,  is  said  to  be  making  inroads  on  the  old  eleemosynary  practice 
of  caste. 

There  is  no  Poor  Law  system  in  India, 

C.  Private  Charity. — Hindu  charity  is  all  private  charity. 
A  writer  on  Hindoo  Charity  for  Charities  Review,  February,  1903, 
says :  "So  secretly  are  the  Hindoo  charities  managed  that  very  few 
persons,  however  fair-minded,  have  any  adequate  conception  of  how 
the  poor  in  India  are  succored."  "No  Brahmin  would  ever  think 
for  an  instant  of  asking  how  a  person  came  to  be  in  a  needy  condi- 
tion. .  .  .  His  charities  are  done  in  secret,  and  this  makes  him 
oppose  all  charitable  institutions  and  organizations,  believing  they 
cannot  possibly  operate  in  secrecy.  .  .  .  In  no  quarter  of  the 
globe  are  the  needy  so  well  looked  after."  This  is  evidently  stated 
from  the  point  of  view  of  a  Brahmin,  but  it  serves  to  show  that  we 

^  Rev.  John  Murdoch,  D.  D.,  Madras.     See  "The  Women  of  India,"  pp.  83-87. 

*  Statement  Exhibiting  the  Material  Moral  Progress  of  India,  1899-90. 
^  Twelve  Years  of  Indian  Progress,  p.  28. 

*  Charity  Organization  Review,  Feb.,   1903. 


2g6  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

need  look  for  no  organized  charity  among  the  Hindoos  at  the  present 
time. 

In  the  principal  cities  of  India^  Europeans  have  established 
Friend-in-Need  societies,  in  which  relief  is  given  only  after  due  in- 
quiry. In  some  cases  also  workshops  have  been  established  to  en- 
able persons  to  earn  a  living.  These  are  solely  for  Europeans  and 
Eurasians.  It  should  be  said  in  this  connection  that  while  these  so- 
cieties usually  are  made  up  of  the  missionaries,  chaplains  and  officers 
of  the  British  contingent,  merchants  and  other  Europeans  who  reside 
in  the  station,  there  are  frequently  associated  with  them  Eurasian 
gentlemen  of  wealth,  intelligence,  in  high  standing  as  citizens  and  of 
strong  religious  character.  There  are  thousands  of  Eurasian  fami- 
lies of  most  estimable  character  and  public  spirited  citizenship.  More 
and  more  this  community  is  coming  to  be  recognized  as  one  of  the 
important  factors  of  Indian  life  and  government  and  Christian 
activity.  Rev.  Frank  H.  Levering  of  Secunderabad  writes,  June  30, 
1903 :  "I  do  not  know  that  there  is  a  single  agency  that  has  yet  had 
the  courage  to  attempt  the  task  of  applying  enlightened  methods  of 

dealing  with  the  poverty  of  the  native  population There  is  a 

woman's  workshop  in  the  place,  wdiere  women  who  can  sew  are  given 
work.  These  dependent  women,  as  a  rule,  have  children.  For  a  long 
time  the  care  of  these  children,  during  the  hours  of  labor,  was  a  prob- 
lem. We  have  established  a  sort  of  day  nursery  where  they  can  be 
cared  for,  and  now,  the  mothers,  with  one  accord,  shun  both  the  shop 
and  the  nursery." 

A  unique  form  of  charity  in  connection  with  religious  work  is 
mentioned  by  Dennis,  vol.  II,  p.  387,  called  the  "Beggars'  Church." 
At  Agra  Dr.  Valentine  gathers  on  Sabbath  morning  the  poorest  of 
the  poor  to  a  religious  service  attended  by  a  distribution  of  alms. 
This  has  resulted  in  the  formation  of  a  church  of  over  800  members, 
of  whom  300  are  blind. 

At  all  mission  stations  where  several  missionaries  are  laboring 
Charity  Boards  are  maintained  to  oversee  the  charity  work  of 
Christian  people  of  that  particular  place  and  surrounding  districts. 

In  some  stations  these  boards  have  no  formal  organization,  while 
in  others  the  missionaries  and  engineers  of  the  station  (the  latter 
usually  English  or  Eurasian)  associate  in  this  work  the  leading 
natives — preachers  and  teachers  employed  in  the  mission  work,  sub- 

^  Charity,  False  and  True,  p.  10,  Madras,  1892. 


THE  BRITISH  EMPIRE  297 

ordinate  officials,  merchants  and  other  citizens  with  necessary  quaU- 
fications.  Througli  this  medium  enhghtened  views  of  benevolence 
and  all  lines  of  social  and  religious  reform  are  penetrating  into  the 
rural  districts  of  India,  where  is  to  be  found  the  great  mass  of  the 
peasantry. 

There  are  48  different  homes  for  rescue  work  of  opium  refugees, 
homes  for  widows  and  converts  and  asylums  for  insane  (under 
missionary  auspices).  The  largest  of  these  is  under  the  Rama- 
bai  Association,  a  school  at  Kedgaum,  Bombay,  which  has  580 
girls.  This  association  has  three  others,  one  a  home  for  widows 
at  Poona — the  well-known  Sharada  Sadan — where  250  widows  are 
given  advanced  normal  and  industrial  training ;  the  Miikti  home  for 
widows  at  Kedgaum,  where  Ramabai  now  cares  for  and  is  educat- 
ing some  1,500  widows,  and  a  rescue  home  for  girls  at  Bombay. 
The  Salvation  Army  also  supports  three  such  homes. 

Bombay  has  a  District  Benevolent  Society  whose  object  is  to 
suppress  vagrancy  and  to  provide  for  the  destitute  poor.  There 
are  2y  different  guilds  and  societies  in  India  which  have  varied 
objects,  as  providing  Soldiers'  Homes,  Seamen's  Rests,  Sailors'  Cof- 
fee Rooms,  organizations  for  prison  visiting  and  others.  There  are 
29  homes  for  rescue  work  and  widows,  under  the  various  missionary 
organizations. 

H.  Medical  Relief. — It  is  in  the  line  of  medical  relief  that  we 
find  most  of  the  organized  work  for  the  unfortunate  in  India  being 
done.  Besides  the  government  hospitals  in  the  larger  cities,  and  the 
government  dispensaries,  all  of  which  are  chiefly  supported  by  the 
government,  there  are  180  dispensaries  and  hospitals,  sometimes  both 
combined,  sometimes  one  without  the  other,  in  various  parts  of  India, 
tinder  control  of  and  supported  by  the  various  missionary  organiza- 
tions. Two  of  these  at  least  are  under  the  immediate  supervision  of 
natives. 

The  Lady  Dufferin  Association,^  which  began  work  in  1885, 
maintains  in  India  133  hospitals  and  dispensaries,  supports  74  lady 
doctors,  52  hospital  assistants,  with  257  medical  students  in  medical 
colleges  and  training  classes.  This  is  a  purely  philanthropic  work, 
as  distinguished  from  missionary  organizations.  In  1897-98,  1.327,- 
000  women  were  treated  by  those  identified  with  this  organization. 
There  is  a  total  of  foreign  and  native  medical  women  of  all  grades, 

^  Dennis. 


298 


MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 


inclusive  of  trained  nurses,  connected  with  all  British  societies  in 
India,  300  women.  The  Lodiana  Medical  School  for  native  Christian 
women,  and  the  open  doors  of  the  medical  colleges  of  Bombay,  Cal- 
cutta, ^ladras,  Lahore  and  Agra  all  encourage  the  women  to  pursue 
medicine. 

The  work  for  lepers^  is  a  large  work  in  India.  When  Dr.  Carey, 
1812,  saw  a  leper  burned,  he  set  up  the  first  leper  hospital  in  India. 
India  by  census  has  119,044  lepers,  but  missionaries  do  not  regard 
500,000  as  too  high  an  estimate.  The  mission  to  lepers  in  India  and 
the  East,  cooperative  with  18  prominent  missionary  societies,  main- 
tains 47  asylums  for  lepers,  the  government  conducting  seven,  and 
municipalities  five  more,  having  unitedly  3,799  inmates.  Twelve 
of  these  are  for  the  untainted  children  of  lepers,  some  for  women 
only,  but  generally  for  both  sexes. 

A  very  important  preventive  work  is  being  done  by  Rev.  John 
Murdoch,  D.  D.,  by  printing  through  the  Christian  Vernacular  Edu- 
cation Society  of  India  books  on  thrift,  sanitation,  domestic  conduct. 
It  is  estimated  that  as  yet  only  5  per  cent,  of  the  population  is 
practically  reached  by  existing  medical  and  hospital  facilities.^ 

Besides  the  above  is  an  India  nursing  service,  with  headquarters 
in  London,  where  two  grades  of  nurses  are  trained  for  work  in  India, 
viz.,  lady  superintendents  and  nursing  sisters.^ 

Also,  in  addition  to  the  leper-hospitals  mentioned  above  the  Brit- 
ish Government  has  provided  large  asylums  in  some  of  the  promi- 
nent centers,  as  Bombay,  Calcutta,  Madras,  Saharaupur,  Touran- 
drum,  Rawel  Pindi,  Colombo,  and  elsewhere.  The  largest  leper- 
asylum  in  British  India  is  at  Puralia,  with  545  inmates. 

Deserving  of  mention  here,  too,  is  the  Up-Country  Nursing  Asso- 
ciation for  Europeans  in  India,  founded  in  1892,  which  supplies 
trained  nurses  for  Europeaias  in  the  interior  of  India.  The  associa- 
tion engages  nurses  and  sends  them  to  local  committees,  paying  for 
their  outfit  and  their  travelling  expenses. 

Account  should  also  be  taken  of  the  medical  provision  made  by  the 
native  states.  They  have  encouraged  and  in  many  cases  aided 
medical  students  at  the  different  training  schools  and  hospitals  of 
the  country  in  preparation  for  government  medical  service.  These 
students  are  chiefly  native,  but  include,  also,  Eurasians.  They 
qualify  as  apothecaries  and  are  licensed  to  take  charge  of  dispensaries 

^Dennis  II,  p.  436.  ==  Dennis  II,  p.  413-  '  Burdett's  H,  C. 


THE  BRITISH  EMPIRE  299 

and  serve  in  other  capacities  under  a  graduate  physician.  The  native 
states  provide  free  dispensaries  in  many  remote  centers  of  popula- 
tion, and  to  some  extent  a  hospital  service  as  well.  All  ordinary  dis- 
eases (and  some  very  extraordinary  ones)  receive  a  treatment  which, 
though  not  the  most  skilful,  is  still  vastly  more  humane  and  efifectual 
than  the  old  methods  of  superstition  and  ignorance  provided. 

J.  Care  of  Defectives,  Public  and  Private. — Dennis  reports 
(vol.  Ill)  nine  asylums  and  schools  for  the  blind  and  for  deaf  mutes, 
two  of  which  are  independent,  i.  e.,  have  undenominational  boards, 
while  the  others  are  under  missionary  societies.  An  educated 
Hindu,  Mr.  J.  N.  Banerji,  has  visited  England  and  the  United  States 
to  study  the  best  method  of  caring  for  and  educating  this  class  and 
affirms  that  to  provide  for  them  as  is  done  in  America  would  require 
450  schools  of  the  class  that  now  exist. 

Medical  missionaries  are  busy  everywhere  with  skillful  ministra- 
tions to  those  whose  vision  can  be  restored  by  surgical  service.  In 
some  sections  of  India  ophthalmia  is  prevalent  and  as  many  as  300 
operations  on  eyes  within  a  month  are  reported  by  physicians  of  the 
church  missionary  society  in  Kashmir. 

Of  institutions  for  the  insane,  Bengal  has  five  for  India  natives, 
with  a  total  number  of  patients  of  906,  one-half  of  which  are  crimi- 
nal ;  there  is  a  European  lunatic  asylum  at  Bhowanipara ;  the  N.  W. 
Provinces  and  Oudh  have  four,  Punjab  has  one,  Bombay  six, 
Madras  three,  the  Central  Provinces  two,  and  Assam  one,  making 
in  India  23  asylums  for  the  insane  under  government  control  and 
with  government  support. 

K.  Treatment  of  Children.^ — There  are  under  the  mission- 
ary societies  in  India  115  orphanages  and  foundling  asylums  with 
8,960  inmates.  With  many  of  these,  industrial  departments  are  con- 
nected, the  girls  are  taught  domestic  work,  sewing,  crocheting  and 
weaving.  The  boys  are  taught  carpentery,  weaving,  blacksmithing, 
printing,  leather  working,  gardening  and  farming,  tailoring,  dairy- 
ing. Some  schools  have  special  industries,  e.  g.,  the  one  at  Hassan, 
Mysore,  where  the  knitting  of  wollen  caps  is  a  special  industry.  The 
number  of  inmates  ranges  all  the  way  from  a  half  dozen  to  300. 
Very  many  of  these  are  famine  refugees.  There  are  seven  juvenile 
reformatories  (1890)  in  India  whose  influence  for  good  is  appreci- 
able. 

^  Dennis  III. 


300  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

During  famine  times  great  numbers  of  orphans  are  thrown  upon 
the  missions,  giving  rise  to  the  demand  for  industrial  schools.  The 
natives,  both  Mohammedans  and  Hindus,  seeing  their  children  in 
great  numbers  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  missionaries,  have  in  many- 
places  set  up  rival  schools,  introducing  industrial  features,  and  lavish- 
ing great  wealth  upon  these  institutions. 

Calcutta,  in  Bengal,  has  a  society  for  the  Protection  of  the  Chil- 
dren of  India  from  ill-treatment  of  every  kind  involving  injury  to 
their  health,  life,  or  morals.  The  same  city  has  also  a  Social  Purity 
Committee,  organized  1893,  while  Lahore  possesses  a  Purity  Asso- 
ciation whose  special  object  is  to  help  widows;  both  of  these  are 
independent  of  missionary  societies. 

The  new  standard  of  self-control  introduced  by  missions  and  the 
public  sentiment  created  in  this  direction  is  new  in  India.  There 
are  not  a  few  journals  published  by  social  reformers  that  serve  as 
media  for  expressing  modern  ideas  with  regard  to  the  ancient  im- 
moral, unsanitary,  and  wasteful  practices  of  Indians.  The  In- 
dian Spectator  and  the  Suhodha  Patrika  of  Bombay,  the  Indian 
Social  Reformer,  and  the  Christian  Patriot  of  Madras  belong  to  this 
class. 

The  anti-nautch  movement  among  Hindoo  reformers,  which  op- 
poses the  dancing  girls  at  public  functions  and  private  entertain- 
ments, is  gaining  ground,  and  deserves  to,  when  we  recall  that  in  the 
Madras  Presidency  alone  are  12,000  of  these  girls  (the  huri-douloi 
of  the  Temple  of  Venus  at  Corinth). 

In  this  place  should  be  mentioned  the  work  of  B.  B.  Nagarker, 
the  Brahmo-Somaj  whose  outlined  reforms  include  the  abolition  of 
caste,  prevention  of  infant  marriage,  education  of  women  and  similar 
measures.  Madras  has  a  Hindu  Social  Reform  Association,  a  purely 
Hindoo  movement  to  promote  social  reforms.  Dennis^  gives  a  list 
of  33  organizations,  mostly  under  native  control,  which  have  as  their 
object  the  furtherance  of  national,  social,  moral  and  religious  re- 
forms, and  adds  that  a  complete  list  would  include  many  others.  A 
summary  of  the  reports  of  these  associations  is  published  every  year 
by  Mr.  Justice  Renade,  which  mentions  many  associations  with  re- 
form programmes  more  or  less  liberal. 

The  work  of  Plindoo  philanthropists  is  little  known  outside  of 
India.     Dennis  names  several  well-known  (in  India)  Parsis  whose 

"■  Dennis  II. 


THE  BRITISH  EMPIRE 


301 


gifts  for  institutional  charity  work  have  been  munificent  and  whose 
aid  for  famine  sufferers  and  lepers  and  orphans  deserves  recognition. 
M.  Preventive  Policy. — In  addition  to  the  great  schemes  of 
irrigation,  protection  of  property,  education,  commerce  and  industry 
already  mentioned  may  be  cited  the  arrangements  for  securing  credit 
for  poor  persons.  The  British  Government  is  introducing  a  system 
of  "agricultural"  banks^  where  the  peasant  populace  can  make  loans 
on  low  rates  of  interest,  and  where  they  are  encouraged  to  deposit 
savings  at  interest.  The  Government  "Postal  Savings  Bank"  sys- 
tem has  for  years  been  in  operation  and  Indian  clerks  in  Government 
and  private  employ  are  learning  to  place  their  savings  at  3  per  cent, 
interest.  This  whole  question  of  finance  in  relation  to  native  India 
presents  one  of  the  most  complex  and  difficult  of  problems  that  any 
government  can  be  called  upon  to  solve.  The  British  Indian  Gov- 
ernment has  undertaken  it  with  a  courage  and  thoroughness  which 
characterizes  their  rule  of  this  great  country, 

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Barnes,  Behind  the  Pardah,  New  York,   1897. 

Arnold,  Edwin,  The  Famine  in  India,  N.  A.  Review,  March,  1897. 

Beach,  H.  P.,  Geography  and  Atlas  of  Foreign  Missions,  1901. 

Beach,  H.  P.,  The  Cross  in  the  Land  of  the  Trident,  New  York,  1895. 

Beautiful  Garden  of  India,  The,  Madras,  1897  (The  Christian  Literature 
Society). 

Bliss,  W.  D.  P.,  Cyclopedia  of  Social  Reform,  New  York,  1897. 

Booth,  William,  In  Darkest  England — The  Way  Out,   1891. 

Burdett's  Hospitals  and  Charities,  Annual,  London,  1903. 

Caird,    India,   London,    1884. 

Carpenter,  Six  Months  in  India,  London,   1868. 

Causes  of  Indian  Poverty,  Madras,  1896  (Christian  Lit.  Society). 

Charity,  False  and  True,  Madras,  1892  (Christian  Lit.  Society). 

Congress  Internationale  d'assistance  publique,  Paris,   1900,  Tome  IV. 

Debt  and  How  to  Get  out  of  It,  Madras,  1892  (Christian  Lit.  Society). 

Dennis,  J.  S.,  Centennial  Survey  of  Foreign  Missions,  vols.  I,  II,  III. 

Ecumenical  Missionary  Conference,  New  York  1900. 

Griffin,  India  and  Daily  Life  in  Bengal,  Boston,  1903. 

Howe,  W.  F.  Classified  Directory  to  the  Metropolitan  Charities,  1895. 

Indian  Empire  (compiled  from  Hunter,  Kaye,  Strachey,  Cunningham,  Baines, 
et  al.)   Madras,  1898  (The  Christian  Literature  Society). 

Is  India  Becoming  Richer  or  Poorer?  Madras,  1891  (Christian  Literature 
Society). 

'  See  H.  Wolfif's  People's  Banks,  for  particulars  of  the  method  in  Europe. 


302  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

Indian  Clerk,  The,  Madras,  1895   (The  Christian  Literature  Society). 

Lakshman,  Gaupat,  Prize  Essay  on  Promotion  of  Indian  Domestic  Reform, 
Madras,   1895    (The  Christian  Literature  Society). 

Lowe,  J.,  Medical  Missions,   1888. 

Lilly,  W.  S.,  India  and  Its  Problems,  1902. 

Murdoch,  John,  The  History  of  the  Plague,  Madras,  1898  (Christian  Litera- 
ture Society). 

Murdoch,  John,  The  History  of  the  Plague,  Madras,  1898  (Christian  Litera- 
ture Society). 

Murdoch,  John,  LL.  D.,  India's  Needs,  Madras,  1901  (Christian  Litera- 
ture Society). 

Murdoch,  John,  LL.  D.,  Twelve  Years  of  Indian  Progress,  Madras,  1898 
(The  Christian  Literature  Society). 

Oman,  Indian  Life,   Philadelphia,   1889. 

Purinton,  Medical  Missions,  1903,  Chicago. 

Purfty  Reform  in  India,  Madras,  1892  (The  Christian  Literature  Society). 

Report  of  Missionary  Conference,  London,  1888. 

Rowe,  Every  Day  Life  in  India,  New  York,  1881. 

Speer,  Robert,  Missions  and  Politics,  1897. 

Sewell,  M.  C.  S.,  R.,  India  Before  the  English,  Madras,  1898  (Christian  Litera- 
ture Society). 

Sanitary  Reform  in  India,  Madras,  1890   (Christian  Literature  Society). 

Statesman's  Year  Book,  1903,  1904. 

Statement  Exhibiting  the  Material  and  Moral  Progress  and  Condition  of 
India,  :889-'9o,  igoo-'oi. 

Storms,  E.,  Our  Sisters  in  India,  Chicago. 

Strachey,  India,  London,   1888. 

Wilkins,   Modern  Hinduism,   London,   1887. 

What  Has  the  British  Government  Done  for  India?  Madras,  1892  (The 
Christian  Literature  Society). 


SECTION  5. -AUSTRALASIA 

BY   O.    J.    PRICE,   PH.  D. 

The  British  colonies  in  Australasia  comprise  the  self-governing 
states  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Australia  ;  the  Australian  Dependency 
of  British  New  Guinea,  the  self-governing  colony  of  New  Zea- 
land, and  the  Crown  colony  of  Fiji.  The  Commonwealth  of 
Australia  consists  of  six  original  states  (since  January  i,  1901), 
New  South  Wales,  Victoria,  Queensland,  South  Australia,  West- 
ern Australia  and  Tasmania.  Legislative  power  is  vested  in  a 
Federal  Parliament  of  two  houses,  a  Senate  and  House  of  Repre- 


THE  BRITISH  EMPIRE 


303 


sentatives.  The  executive  power  is  vested  in  the  King,  who  is  repre- 
sented by  the  Governor-General,  who  is  nominated  by  the  Crown 
and  who  is  assisted  by  an  Executive  Council  of  seven  ministers  of 
state,  members  of  the  Federal  Parliament.  The  Constitution  of 
Australia  is  modeled  upon  that  of  the  United  States,  and  all  powers 
not  delegated  to  the  Central  Government  are  reserved  to  the  states, 
yet  with  the  difference  that  the  Central  Government  has  control  of 
such  matters  as  marriage  and  divorce  laws,  bankruptcy,  corporations 
and  railways.  The  judicial  power  is  vested  in  a  Federal  Supreme 
Court,  known  as  the  High  Court  of  Australia,  which  has  jurisdic- 
tion where  the  Commonwealth  is  a  party,  which  hears  appeals  from 
the  minor  Federal  Courts,  and  from  the  Supreme  Courts  of  the 
states. 

The  New  Zealand  Government  is  similar,  having  a  Parliament 
of  two  houses,  a  Governor  appointed  by  the  Crown  and  a  Ministry 
of  eight  members.  Suffrage  is  universal  for  adults  of  both  sexes. 
New  Zealand  has  also  enlarged  the  sphere  of  state  activities,  espe- 
cially since  1890.  This  has  been  largely  brought  about  by  the  influ- 
ence of  organized  labor  upon  legislation.^  The  ownership  of  public 
utilities,  the  insurance  business,  banking  business,  the  public  land 
policy,  the  progressive  income  tax,  and  the  measures  that  directly  and 
indirectly  affect  the  problems  of  public-relief  and  charity,  which  will 
be  noticed  later,  are  some  cases  in  point. 

The  population  of  Australasia  (1901)  was  3,771,715,  exclusive 
of  New  Zealand,  which  had  772,719.-  More  than  one-half  of  this 
population  is  in  the  southeastern  part  of  the  island-continent.  New 
South  Wales  having  1,354,846;  Victoria,  1,201,070;  Queensland 
comes  next  with  496,596 ;  South  Australia  with  362,604 ;  West 
Australia  with  184,124;  Tasmania  172,475.  This  means  that  we 
have  in  Australia  a  country  the  size  of  the  United  States  with  one- 
twentieth  of  its  population,  and  in  New  Zealand  a  land  the  size  of 
Italy  with  one-fortieth  of  the  population.  It  is  worth  while  to  re- 
member that  in  1800  the  population  of  Australia  was  some  30,000, 
three-fourths  of  whom  were  convicts  transported  hither  from  Great 
Britain. 

In  Australia  wheat  and  hay  are  the  principal  agricultural  prod- 
ucts.    Cattle  and  sheep  products,  especially  in  the  western  states, 

^  See  New  International  Encyclopedia,  Art.  New  Zealand. 
*  Statesman's  Year  Book. 


304  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

form  a  large  share  of  wealth  of  the  people.  IMining  has  played  the 
most  important  part  in  the  industrial  upbuilding  of  Australia,  espe- 
cially gold  mining.  The  people  are  of  British  stock  both  in  New 
Zealand  and  Australia,  less  than  4  per  cent,  in  the  latter  country 
being  from  countries  other  than  British  possessions.  In  New  Zea- 
land, English  predominate,  the  Scotch  and  Irish  follow  in  order. 

The  small  population,  the  abundant  resources,  and  the  character 
of  the  people,  a  high  degree  of  general  intelligence,  combine  to  pro- 
duce a  social  condition  not  usual  in  older  countries.^  In  general 
wages  are  high,  food  is  cheap,  and  the  comforts  of  life  within  reach 
of  all  but  the  unfortunate.  Wealth  is  widely  distributed,  and  con- 
sequently only  a  small  proportion  of  the  people  are  in  want.  In  the 
United  Kingdom  9  out  of  100  persons  own  iioo;  in  Australasia, 
16  per  cent.  As  in  republics,  there  is  no  hereditary  pauper  class  and 
no  poor  rate  levied,  the  assistance  granted  by  the  state,  as  will  be 
seen  later,  being  in  the  form  of  employment  and  opportunities  for 
self-help.  Each  of  the  colonies  has  practically  unlimited  land,  but 
only  limited  chances  for  wage-earning  employments.  Alillions  of 
acres  are  still  awaiting  settlement,  and  only  a  small  per  cent,  of  the 
land  is  as  yet  used  in  the  pastoral  occupations. 

Still  the  ordinary  problems  of  pauperism  have  been  felt  acutely 
in  Australasia,  and  varied  and  interesting  are  the  attempts  which 
have  been  made  to  meet  them  in  the  different  provinces.^  The  chief 
efforts  of  authorities  as  regards  charity  are  :  ( i )  The  rescue  of  the 
young  from  criminal  companionship  and  temptation  to  crime;  (2) 
support  of  the  aged  and  infirm;  (3)  care  of  the  imbecile  and  insane; 
(4)  subsidizing  of  private  institutions  for  the  cure  of  the  sick  and 
injured,  and  (5)  the  amelioration  of  want. 

A.  Public  Poor-Relief  Legislation. — Legislation  in  Austral- 
asia takes  the  form  largely  of  measures  of  prevention,  such  as :  pro- 
visions for  life  insurance  under  a  state  department,  as  in  New  Zea- 
land, where  the  Government  does  more  than  one-half  the  life  insur- 
ance business,  and  provides  a  separate  insurance  under  the  temper- 
ance section,  by  which  abstainers  are  placed  in  a  class  apart ;  pro- 
visions for  giving  employment  to  the  "out-of-works,"  as  is  done 
by  the  Public  Works  Department  of  New  Zealand,  which  employs 
the  principle  of  cooperative  contracts  with  laborers ;  provisions  for 

*The  Seven  Colonies  of  Australasia,  1899-1900. 

'Reeves,  State  Experiments  in  New  Zealand  and  Australia,  p.  283. 


THE  BRITISH  EMPIRE  305 

a  "Labor  Department"  which  cooperates  with  Public  Works  De- 
partment and  Land  Department  in  organizing  what  are  known  as 
"Improved  Farm  Settlements"  to  give  homes  to  those  who  have 
lost  all ;  provisions  for  special  boards  such  as  the  "Unemployed  Ad- 
visory Board"  of  New  South  Wales. 

The  Old  Age  Pensions  law  of  New  Zealand,  New  South  Wales 
and  Victoria  is  perhaps  the  most  sweeping  measure  ever  enacted  in 
the  colonies  to  prevent  pauperism.  While  ostensibly  based  upon 
the  social  principle  of  the  gratitude  of  the  state  to  the  underpaid 
employee  of  society,  the  various  limitations  of  the  law  make  it  in 
effect  nothing  less  than  a  species  of  poor  law  legislation.^ 

In  New  Zealand  this  Old  Age  Pensions  Law^  entitles  to  a  pen- 
sion every  person  65  years  of  age  or  more,  who  has  resided  continu- 
ously for  25  years  in  the  colony,  who  has  not  in  the  previous  12  years 
been  imprisoned  four  months,  or  in  the  25  years  been  imprisoned 
five  years,  who  has  not  deserted  wife  or  children  (or  husband  or 
child)  for  a  period  of  six  months,  who  is  of  good  moral  character,  and 
has  been  for  the  past  five  years  sober,  and  whose  yearly  income  does 
not  amount  to  £52,  or  whose  accumulated  property  is  not  £270, — 
every  such  person  may  apply  under  the  law  for  a  pension  of  ii8  a 
year,  payable  monthly.  For  each  £1  income  above  £34  or  for  each 
£15  of  property  owned  by  the  applicant  above  £50,  £1  is  deducted 
from  this  £18  pension.^  New  South  Wales  has  enacted  a  similar  law 
with  modifications  to  the  effect  that  the  pension  may  be  as  great  as 
£26  annually,  and  claimants  may  be  considered  who  are  between  60 
and  65  years,  who  have  been  disabled  by  sickness  or  accident.  Vic- 
toria passed  an  Old  Age  Pensions  Act  December,  1901.*  "Notable 
for  its  number  of  provisions  and  precautions  and  reservations  and 
for  the  care  with  which  it  tries  to  confine  its  pensions  to  the  en- 
feebled and  utterly  necessitous."  An  applicant  must  satisfy  a  com- 
missioner that  the  husband,  wife,  father,  mother,  children,  or  any  or 

*The  preamble  of  the  Old  Age  Pensions  Bill  which  went  into  effect  in  New 
Zealand  July  i,  1901  (reenacted  from  November  i,  1898),  reads  as  follows:  "It 
is  equitable  that  deserving  persons  who  during  the  prime  of  life  have  helped  to 
bear  the  public  burdens  of  the  colony  by  the  payment  of  taxes,  and  by  opening 
up  its  resources  with  their  labor  and  skill  should  receive  from  the  colony  pensions 
in  their  old  age."— Reeves,  State  Experiments  in  New  Zealand  and  Australia, 
p.  2B3.     [This  is  justice,  not  poor  law. — C.  R.  H.] 

*  New  Zealand  Official  Year  Book,  1902.  ^Reeves.  *  Reeves,  idem. 


3o6  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

all  of  them  are  unable  to  provide  for  or  maintain  the  claimant.  Mis- 
conduct will  nullify  the  pension. 

As  to  the  results  of  these  laws  after  the  few  years  of  trial  various 
opinions  are  held.^  In  March,  1902,  after  a  little  more  than  three 
years'  life  of  the  law  in  New  Zealand  there  were  12,776  pensions  in 
force  amounting  to  £217,192.  Payments  being  made  through  the 
Postal  Department  the  cost  of  administration  was  only  £2,535.-  The 
number  of  whites  over  65  were  in  1901  found  to  be  31,353,  showing 
that  a  little  more  than  one-third  of  those  over  65  were  on  the  pension 
list.  Reeves  states  (p.  273)  that  "at  the  present  time  in  New  Zea- 
land there  is  little  avowed  antagonism  to  the  broad  principle  of  mak- 
ing some  special  provision  for  old  age  with  the  help  and  under  the 
supervision  of  the  state."  Reeves  is  also  authority  for  the  state- 
ment that  the  death  rate  in  New  Zealand  is  the  lowest  in  the  world, 
viz.,  9.6  per  1,000,  and  that  the  average  worker  is  as  old  in  England 
at  60  as  in  New  Zealand  at  65.  An  editorial  in  the  Charity  Organi- 
zation Review  for  February,  1903,  says  that  the  "Australian  states 
which  have  adopted  systems  of  old  age  pensions  seem  at  the  present 
time  to  be  laboring  rather  heavily  under  the  enormous  financial 
burdens  they  have  taken  on  their  shoulders,"  and  that  the  Premier  of 
Victoria  in  a  recent  speech  regretted  the  present  expenditure  as  too 
burdensome.  Also  that  sons  and  daughters  have  in  great  numbers 
in  Victoria  shifted  on  the  state  burdens  which  they  could  easily  bear. 
It  is  admitted  on  all  hands  that  the  pension  act  has  cost  more  than 
had  been  calculated  and  that  the  present  systems  are  all  defective. 
Nevertheless  the  attempt  to  establish  a  Federal  system  of  pensions  in 
accordance  with  the  powers  of  the  central  government  is  now  being 
made.^  The  same  journal  speaks  of  this  and  similar  legislation  as 
"most  demoralizing  and  pauperizing  legislation."* 

The  arguments  urged  against  an  old  age  pension  of  this  nature 
are  that  it  discourages  thrift ;  tends  to  loosen  family  obligations  to 
care  for  the  aged — obligation  as  binding  as  to  care  for  the  young; 
that  it  offers  an  extensive  field  for  corruption  in  administration ;  and 
that  it  lays  upon  society  a  heavy  financial  burden.  These  arguments 
are  well  balanced  by  those  on  the  other  side,  as  can  be  imagined, 
inasmuch  as  at  the  time  of  the  reenactment  of  the  law  in  New  Zea- 
land in  1901,  1,400  speeches  were  made  for  and  against  the  law.     All 

'New  Zealand  Official  Year  Book,  1902.      ^  Reeves. 

^Ch.  Org.  Review,  Feb.  1903.  *  C.  O.  R.,  1904,  p.  136. 


THE  BRITISH  EMPIRE 


307 


writers  with  socialistic  tendencies  find  much  to  admire  in  these  ex- 
periments, while  others  are  inclined  to  view,  them  askance.  It  were 
indeed  strange  if  any  satisfactory  trial  could  be  made  with  this  or 
any  other  kind  of  legislation  in  the  few  years  which  have  passed  since 
these  laws  went  into  operation. 

Legislation  in  New  Zealand  divides  the  three  islands  into  thirty 
hospital  districts  to  be  presided  over  by  elective  boards,  designated 
"Hospital  and  Charitable  Aid  Boards,"^  with  revenues  from:  (i) 
Endowments  vested  in  the  board  or  set  apart  for  particular  institu- 
tions; (2)  voluntary  contributions;  (3)  grants  from  contributory 
local  authorities;  (4)  subsidies  from  the  Consolidated  Fund 
[which  subsidies  are  granted  at  the  rate  of  los.  for  every  £1  of 
bequests  up  to  £500  for  one  bequest,  £1  4s.  for  every  £1  local  con- 
tribution, £1  for  every  £1  received  from  local  authorities].  These 
District  Boards  are  empowered  to  assess  the  County  and  Borough 
Councils  and  Boards  of  Road  and  Town  Districts  for  their  proper 
contributions. 

A  State  Children's  Department  in  South  Australia  looks  after 
destitute  and  incorrigible  children.  A  Destitute  Board  has  care  of 
destitute  poor  supported  or  relieved  by  the  government.  New  South 
Wales  has  a  council  which  deals  with  subsidized  children  and  those 
at  service.^  Victoria  has  no  council  but  a  very  strong  central  depart- 
ment with  county  committees  organized.^ 

B.  Public  Poor-Relief  Administration.* — The  above-men- 
tioned boards  for  hospital  and  charitable  aid  distribute  alms  from  the 
principal  towns  in  each  district.  "Outside  relief"  is  distributed  to 
the  lowest  bidder,  but  "rations"  are  distributed  under  an  officer.  The 
board  also  employs  a  "relieving  officer"  who  investigates  all  applica- 
tions for  relief. 

^N.  Z.  Official  Year  Book,  1902. 

"Congress  of  Charities,  Chicago,  1893,  voL  II. 

^J.  G.  Gray  in  his  book  "Australasia  Old-New,"  1901,  says:  "It  is  absurd  to 
claim  that  New  Zealand  has  shown  the  world  how  to  deal  with  its  aged  poor,  or 
given  it  an  object  lesson  in  social  economics  that  it  can  profit  by.  There  is 
nothing  of  statesmenlike  character  in  the  hap-hazard  plan  which  has  been  adopted 
\n  that  colony,  nothing  which  imparts  to  it  any  measure  of  permanence  or  an 
assured  finance.  [The  individualistic  bias  of  English  writers  must  be  considered. 
See  chapter  on  Germany. — C.  R.  H.] 

*  Coglan,  A  Statistical  Account  of  the  Seven  Colonies  of  Australasia. 


3o8  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

A  liberal  amount  of  outdoor  relief^  is  given  in  all  the  Australasian 
colonies ;  the  returns  are  imperfect,  but  the  sum  of  public  and  private 
aid,  indoor  and  outdoor  is  equal  in  the  seven  colonies  to  £1,250,000 
per  annum.  Charitable  institutions,  hospitals  included,  are  supported 
by  grants  from  the  state  and  municipalities,  by  inmates'  payment,  by 
voluntary  contributions,  in  Victoria.^  The  number  of  persons  re- 
ceiving charitable  relief  in  the  colony  in  one  year,  not  including  old 
age  pensioners,  was  127,037,  of  v^^hom  96,483  were  outdoor  patients. 

C.  Private  Charity. — Australasia  has  a  liberal  amount  of 
private  charities.  New  South  Wales  had  in  1900  40  metropolitan 
and  49  country  benevolent  associations  recorded,^  with  a  combined 
expense  of  £37,138,  which  furnished  outdoor  and  other  relief  to 
33,553  persons  out  of  a  population  of  one  and  one-third  millions. 
The  Government  aided  65  of  these  societies  to  the  amount  of  £24,979. 
South  Australia  has  one  in  ten  of  the  population  in  Friendly  societies, 
Victoria,  one  in  fifteen. 

There  were  in  1897  in  Australasia*  3,306  branches  of  friendly 
societies  with  276,772  members,  or  6.24  per  cent,  of  the  population 
v.ith  a  revenue  of  £1,012,608.  Of  these  Victoria  had  1,088;  New 
South  Wales,  817;  Queensland,  328;  South  Australia,  487;  Western 
Australia,  68;  Tasmania,  130;  New  Zealand,  388.  These  societies 
and  associations  generally  have  their  own  independent  boards,  yet  co- 
operate by  exchanging  reports  and  information  frequently.^ 

Indiscriminate  charity  is  rigorously  discouraged.  Applicants, 
instead  of  receiving  alms,  are  directed  to  those  institutions  created 
to  find  suitably  employment  for  those  able  to  work,  or  are  investi- 
gated if  destitute  and  unable  to  work. 

D.  Ecclesiastical  Charity.^ — In  New  South  Wales  there 
are  20  charitable  institutions  under  the  Catholics  with  over  1,000 
inmates.  None  of  these  are  aided  by  the  Government.  The  Church 
of  England  maintains  four,  one  of  which  is  partly  supported  by  the 
Government.  The  Salvation  Army  has  seven  institutions — homes 
for  women — all  with  Government  aid,  while  the  Wesleyans  have  one 

^  Seven  Colonies  of  Australasia,  1899-1900. 

*  Ch.  Org.  Review,  Feb.,  1903. 
•Statistical  Register  of  N.  S.  W.,  1900. 

*  Australasian    Statistics,    1898. 

"  CoRlan,  Statistical  Account  of  Seven  Colonies  of  Australasia,  1902, 

*  Statistical  Review  of  N.  S.  Wales,  1900, 


THE  BRITISH  EMPIRE 


309 


orphans'  home.  The  Society  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul  has  29  branches 
and  distributes  outdoor  reHef.  The  CathoHc  institutions  named  above 
are  for  homeless  women,  for  aged  poor,  rescue  homes  for  the  intem- 
perate and  fallen,  female  night  refuges  and  soup  kitchens,  Michael 
Davitt  says  ■}  "To  the  Salvation  Army  belongs  greatest  credit  of 
any  Christian  body  in  New  Zealand  for  its  thoroughly  practical  and 
unselfish  efforts  to  ameliorate  and  elevate  the  fallen  of  both  sexes." 

The  same  general  conditions  of  ecclesiastical  work  prevail  in  all 
the  colonies,  and  no  small  part  of  the  relief  work  is  done  in  this 
way. 

E.  Co-operation  and  Co-ordination  of  Public  and  Private 
Relief. — As  already  noted,  the  Government  cooperates  with  re- 
ligious societies  in  charitable  work  and  with  the  friendly  societies  and 
benevolent  associations,  and  with  the  local  district  and  municipal 
boards  of  various  kinds,  making  grants  of  money  and  powers,  but 
leaving  in  general  the  details  of  legislation  and  administration  to  the 
local  bodies.  To  illustrate,  in  New  South  Wales^  156  charitable 
associations  and  societies  are  reported  which  expended  in  1900 
£219,516;  of  these  106  receive  Government  aid  to  extent  of  £150,347. 

Movements  toward  establishment  of  "clearing-houses"  are  also 
noted. ^  The  Melbourne  Charity  Organization  Society  promoted 
recently  a  conference  in  which  were  represented  26  charitable  so- 
cieties, which  formed  an  agreement  to  establish  a  common  register 
of  those  helped  "for  mutual  protection  against  imposition." 

F.  Indoor  Poor-Relief  (in  institutions).  Public  and  Pri- 
vate.— Australasia  is  well  supplied  with  institutions  for  indoor  re- 
lief.* In  the  Commonwealth  of  Australasia  11,614  were  cared  for 
in  Destitute  Asylums  in  one  year;  (including  New  Zealand),  12,794, 
at  a  cost  of  £308,315.  All  large  centers  have  institutions  for  the 
destitute  managed  on  a  practically  uniform  plan.^  The  government 
of  the  colony  generally  grants  half  the  cost,  remainder  comes  from 
local  sources.  Adalaide  Asylum  (for  destitute)  answers  for  the 
whole  colony  and  the  state  (South  Australia)  contributes  the  entire 
expense.  The  cost  per  inmate  is  annually  about  £15.  Official  sal- 
aries take  but  a  small  proportion  of  the  income.     The  condition  of 

^  Life  and  Progress  in  Australasia,  1898. 
^Statistical  Register  N.  S.  Wales,  1900. 

*  Charity  Org.  Review,  1902,  p.  218. 

*  Seven  Colonies  of  Australasia,  1899-1900.  **  Davitt,  p.  163  ff. 


310  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

admission  is  a  bona  fide  inability  to  earn  a  livelihood.  "There  is 
no  social  stigma  attached  to  the  inmates  of  these  institutions.  .  .  . 
The  work  of  providing  a  shelter  free  from  the  idea  of  shame  for 
people  thus  circumstanced  is  considered  in  a  high  spirit  of  public 
duty,  and  not  as  an  act  of  municipal  or  state  obligation.  [The  Au- 
stralians] are  careful  not  to  sap  the  dignity  of  manhood  and  woman- 
hood in  their  methods  of  ministering  to  the  needs  of  those  who  be- 
come destitute.  They  have  not  copied  the  professional  charity  of 
the  old  world  in  dealing  with  their  unfortunate  fellows."  Western 
Australia  had  three  charitable  institutions,  two  in  Perth,  one  at 
Freemantle,  supported  by  public  funds,  with  659  inmates  (December 
31,  1902). 

New  Zealand  has  nineteen  benevolent  asylums  for  indigent  per- 
sons, with  1,167  inmates. 

G.  Vagrants,  Homeless  Men  and  Women,  Asylums,  Ref- 
uges, Colonies. — There  are  no  "tramps"  in  New  Zealand.  Persons 
out  of  employment  are  helped  by  relief  boards.  If  a  man  is  an  im- 
poster  his  own  district  is  held  responsible  for  repayment  of  aid  given. 
The  police  have  power  to  arraign  before  a  magistrate  any  person 
with  no  visible  or  with  insufficient  means  of  support.  For  begging 
there  is  a  three  months'  imprisonment  as  penalty.  Begging  alms  or 
subscriptions  under  false  pretences  is  punished  with  one  year's  im- 
prisonment.    The  result  is  that  begging  is  almost  unknown. 

For  the  reformation  of  vagrants  the  Government  establishes  "vil- 
lage settlements"  where  land  can  be  had  on  most  favorable  terms. 
Also  the  "Improved  Farm  Settlements"  mentioned  above  is  the  New 
Zealand  substitute  for  poorhouses  and  jails.  To  found  one  of  these 
a  tract  of  Crown  land  is  selected,  and  laid  out  into  farms  from  10 
to  200  acres  each.  A  party  of  unemployed  is  then  sent  out  by  the 
Labor  Department.  Shelter  and  work  await  them.  Money  is  loaned 
on  the  value  they  create.  No  rent  is  asked  until  an  outlet  for  their 
products  is  provided.  In  one  settlement  98  sections  were  taken  at 
once.^  About  fifty  settlers  remain.  Seven  years  ago  this  tract  was 
an  unbroken  forest.  The  department  advances  everything  except 
food,  but  gives  nothing.  These  settlements  are  not  all  successful, 
but  there  were  in  1899  2,093  men  settled  on  lands,  with  families,  a 
total  population  of  6,509.  Of  these  improved  farm  settlements  there 
were  in  1899  in  New  Zealand  45,  of  the  village  homestead  settlements, 

'Lloyd,  Newest  England,  1900. 


THE  BRITISH  EMPIRE  31 1 

165;  the  area  covered  by  both,  109,109  acres,  with  improvements 
amounting  to  £180,822,  and  rent  and  interest  paid  in  a  year  equal 
to  £5,588.  The  Unemployed  Advisory  Board  of  New  South  Wales 
recommends  a  state  farm  as  a  transit-station  for  the  unemployed,  as 
an  indispensable  part  of  its  plan  to  educate  the  unemployed.  New 
Zealand  has  such  a  state  farm  at  Levin,  where  the  tramp  is  sent  to 
learn  to  work,  if  no  private  employer  wants  him,  or  no  settlement  is 
ready  or  proves  attractive  to  him. 

The  Bureau  of  Public  Works^  cooperates  in  the  suppression  of 
vagrancy  by  throwing  open  public  works  to  a  cooperative  system  of 
working.  A  government  engineer  makes  an  estimate  of  the  cost  of 
constructing  a  railroad  for  instance.  Bids  are  taken  and  the  work 
let  to  gangs  of  laborers  banded  together  for  that  purpose,  who  re- 
ceive the  same  rate  per  yard  for  earth  or  rock  excavation  as  if  the 
work  were  let  to  a  contractor.  "The  system  works  admirably.  It 
imbues  the  laborers  with  the  spirit  of  self-reliance  and  independence 
so  often  unknown  among  laborers."  The  practical  efforts  of  the 
Government  for  the  prevention  of  distress  has  been  blessed  with 
signal  success.     The  law  in  Victoria  also  forbids  begging. 

H.  Medical  Relief.  Public  and  Private  Hospitals,  Nurses, 
Convalescents.^ — The  Commonwealth  of  Australia  possesses  278 
hospitals,  while  New  Zealand  has  43,  making  a  total  of  321.  Of 
these  New  South  Wales  has  118,  with  618  nurses,  of  which  105  are 
subsidized,  three  are  not  subsidized,  one  is  privately  endowed,  one 
is  supported  by  the  Government  alone.^  ....  The  admissions  in 
1900  were  28,691,  while  61,192  cases  of  outdoor  relief  were  given; 
the  total  income  from  all  sources  was  £191, 029.^*  The  sources  of  in- 
come are  Government  subsidies,  subscriptions,  donations,  contribu- 
tions by  patients,  interest  on  invested  funds,  and  municipal  support. 
Western  Australia  has  27  government  hospitals,  2  public  hospitals, 
II  assisted  hospitals  and  numerous  private  hospitals. 

A  Hospital  for  Consumptives  Fund  was  started  in  New  South 
Wales  at  the  time  of  the  Queen's  Diamond  Jubilee.^  Victoria  has  two 
Convalescent  Homes. 

^Vagrancy,  Pub.  Charities  in  Foreign  Countries,  U.  S.  Document,  1893. 

''Coglan,  Statistical  Account  of  Seven  Colonies  of  Australasia,  1902. 

'Wealth  and  Progress  of  N.  S.  Wales. 

*Statis.  Reg.  of  N.  S.  Wales,  1900. 

"Coglan,  Wealth  and  Progress  of  N.  S.  Wales. 


312  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

J.  Care  of  Defectives,  Public  and  Private. — All  of  the  seven 
colonies  have  institutions  for  the  insane  which  are  under  Government 
control.  In  one  year  (1898  in  some,  1899  in  others)  17,070  patients 
were  treated  at  a  cost  of  £370,940.  Asylums  for  the  afflicted,  incur- 
able, insane,  are  all  regarded  as  Government  affairs  and  supported 
out  of  the  general  revenue.  There  is  at  Darlinghurst  a  Reception 
House  for  the  insane,  where  transfers  are  made.  The  total  trans- 
fers, deaths,  and  discharges  in  1900  were  581.  Paramatta  has  an 
institution  for  the  criminal  insane.  A  Lazaret  at  Little  Bay  had  13 
lepers  at  close  of  1900. 

In  New  Zealand  the  Jubilee  Institute  for  the  Blind  at  Auckland 
(private)  receives  aid  at  times  out  of  the  Consolidated  Revenue  Fund 
and  from  the  Education  Department  on  account  of  pupils  for  whose 
tuition  the  department  is  responsible.  The  Sumner  Institute  is  for 
deaf  mutes.  A  home  for  inebriates  is  at  Waitati,  to  which  patients 
are  committed  by  judge  or  magistrate.  There  are  7  public  lunatic 
asylums  in  the  colony,  maintained  wholly  or  in  part  out  of  the  public 
revenue.  There  is  also  one  private  asylum  licensed  by  the  Governor 
for  the  reception  of  lunatics. 

A  law  was  passed  in  1902  to  compel  parents  of  blind  children 
and  deaf  mutes  to  send  them  to  school  and  to  contribute  toward  the 
expense  as  they  were  able.^  The  result  has  been  an  increase  in  the 
number  of  candidates  for  entrance  at  the  Sumner  School  for  Deaf 
Mutes.  The  Jubilee  Institute  for  the  Blind  at  Auckland  receives 
pay  from  the  state  for  all  state  children  educated  there. 

There  are  seven  hospitals  for  the  treatmnt  of  the  insane  in 
New  South  Wales  under  supervision  of  the  Government,  six  for 
ordinary  insane,  one  for  criminal  insane.^  There  are  also  four 
licensed  private  institutions  for  insane.  Juvenile  lunatics  are  sent 
to  the  Newcastle  Hospital.  The  average  weekly  cost  of  maintain- 
ing insane  patients  in  hospitals  in  1898  was  lis.  63^d.  per  head,  of 
which  the  state  paid  9s.  5d.,  the  rest  being  made  up  by  friends. 

K.  Treatment  of  Children.^ — In  New  South  Wales  there  is 
a  State  Children's  Relief  Board,  with  the  Central  Home  at  Padding- 
ton,  where  children  remain  only  until  they  are  boarded  out.  There 
were  under  control  in  April,  1900,  a  total  of  3,844  boys  and  girls; 

^  25th  Annual  Rep.  of  Minister  of  Ed.  of  New  Zealand. 
*  Wealth  and  Progress  in  N.  S.  Wales,  1898-99. 
'Statistical  Register,  New  South  Wales,  1900. 


THE  BRITISH  EMPIRE 


313 


there  were  placed  out  in  the  year  to  April  i,  1901,  596,  and  dis- 
charged in  same  year  514,  making  a  total  under  control  April  i, 
1901,  of  3,910.  Of  these,  2,478  were  supported  by  the  Government, 
143  adopted  without  payment,  and  1,289  apprenticed.  Since  1881, 
10,862  have  been  received  and  6,952  discharged  or  died.  These  chil- 
dren were  received  by  the  State  Children's  Relief  Board  from  34 
different  institutions,  including  8  hospitals,  4  benevolent  asylums  and 
13  Government  institutions.  The  net  expenditure  for  a  year  is 
£42,422. 

There  is  a  Children's  Protection  Board,  which  registered  from 
lying-in  homes,  etc.,  in  1900,  1,321  infants,  of  which  there  were  re- 
turned to  parents  or  adopted,  742. 

There  are  four  orphan  asylums  in  New  Zealand ;  one  is  under 
a  District  Hospital  Board,  one  under  the  Church  of  England,  two 
under  the  Roman  Catholic  Church.  Three  of  them,  constituted 
"industrial  schools,"  receive  at  the  charge  of  the  state,  orphan,  desti- 
tute and  other  children  committed  to  them  by  the  stipendiary  magis- 
trate. 

South  Australia  has^  a  State  Children's  Department,  composed 
of  a  Council  of  12  ;  2  inspectors,  an  inquiry  officer,  accountant,  clerks, 
inspectress  of  foster  mothers  and  lying-in  houses,  matron  of  Indus- 
trial School,  superintendent  of  Protestant  Boys'  Reformatory,  super- 
intendent of  Catholic  Boys'  Reformatory,  matron  of  Protestant  Girls' 
Reformatory,  matron  of  Catholic  Girls'  Reformatory,  and  a  medical 
officer. 

Here,  as  in  New  Zealand  and  New  South  Wales,  the  boarding- 
out  system  is  employed.  A  visiting  committee  in  each  county  is 
maintained  to  work  under  the  two  inspectors.  Foster  mothers  are 
licensed;  lying-in  homes  are  licensed.  All  maternity  homes  require 
to  be  licensed  by  the  State  Board  of  Health.  The  total  number  of 
children  under  control  of  the  Council  June  30,  1899,  was  1,223  I  of 
these  63  were  in  industrial  schools,  128  in  reformatories,  1,004  placed 
out,  others  in  various  asylums. 

The  department  collects  money  from  defaulting  parents  and  the 
fathers  of  illegitimate  children  and  pays  the  money  thus  obtained 
to  the  mothers  of  the  children  and  thus  prevents  the  committal  of 
many  children.     Parents  deserting  to  other  colonies  are  traced  at 

^Report  of  State  Children's  Council,  Adalaide,  1899. 


314  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

infinite  pains  through  cooperation  with  the  police  in  other  colonies. 
Expense  of  Council,  1899,  was  £16,677. 

The  trials  of  children  in  South  Australia  were  in  1899  conducted 
in  Police  Court,  where  the  charge  was  felony.  Departmental  courts 
exist,  but  not  for  felony.  The  Council  recommends  a  separate  court 
for  the  trial  of  all  children. 

The  care  of  dependent  children  has  come  to  be  regarded  as  edu- 
cational rather  than  as  charitable  in  Australasia.^  Everywhere  the 
Government  accepts  the  position  as  parental  guardian  to  those  chil- 
dren who  fall  into  its  custody.  The  system  is  not  merely  official,  but 
in  all  the  colonies  volunteer  inspectors  cooperate  and  thus  lessen 
the  cost  of  supervision  and  make  the  method  more  popular. 

South  Australia  has  a  "Destitute  Asylum"  for  unwedded  mothers, 
where  the  mother  is  required  to  stay  six  months  with  the  child  and 
is  then  placed  in  service  with  her  child  if  possible. 

The  Council  of  the  Melbourne  Charity  Organization  Society-  has 
lately  formed  a  Child  Protection  Committee  for  promoting  the  co- 
operation of  child-saving  societies,  legislation  for  protecting  child- 
hood. The  report  of  the  State  Children's  Council  for  South  Au- 
stralia says  that  juvenile  crime  is  increasing.^ 

South  Australia  has  a  system  of  outdoor  relief  which  prevents 
many  children  being  thrown  on  the  state.*  The  Government  aids  a 
widow  with  children.  She  is  supposed  to  maintain  herself  and  one 
child.  For  two  children  one  ration  is  allowed  her,  for  three  one 
and  one-half  rations  in  food  and  other  necessities. 

L.  Care  of  Youth,  12-18  Years  of  Age. — Orphanages  and 
industrial  schools  for  abandoned  children  or  children  of  incapable 
parents  and  reformatories  for  incorrigible  children,  and  the  placing 
out  as  apprentices  are  the  usual  methods  in  the  colonies. 

Under  the  First  Offenders'  Probation  Act  in  New  Zealand,  83 
per  cent,  of  the  prisoners  placed  on  probation  have  done  well ;  2.41 
per  cent,  have  eluded  the  probation  officers  and  absconded.  The 
probation  officer's  work  is  done  gratuitously. 

M.  Preventive  Work. — The  Public  Trustee  of  New  Zealand 
takes  charge  of  estates  where  no  will  is  left,  lunatics'  estates,  funds 
left  for  charitable  purposes,  funds  for  relief  of  widows  of  men  killed 

^Congress  of  Charities,  Chicago,  '93.  ''Char.  Org.  Review,   1903. 

'Char.  Org.  Review,  1902. 

*  International  Cong,  of  Charities,  Chicago,   1893. 


THE  BRITISH  EMPIRE 


315 


in  accidents,  and  maintains  a  number  of  cottages  in  which  certain 
poor  people  are  allowed  to  Hve.  The  Unemployed  Advisory  Board 
of  New  South  Wales,  the  Labor  Bureau,  Land  Department  and  De- 
partment of  Public  Works  in  New  Zealand,  through  their  various 
agencies  mentioned  above,  work  effectively  to  prevent  a  large  part 
of  the  pauperism  seemingly  inevitable  in  other  lands.  ^Also  the 
general  government  has  labor  bureaus  established  throughout  the 
colonies,  where  information  is  always  available  as  to  where  employ- 
ment can  be  found.^  The  Prison  Brigade  Homes  of  the  Salvation 
Army  for  prisoners  who  have  served  sentences,  have  each  a  few 
acres  attached  which  help  them  to  be  self-sustaining.  Ex-prisoners 
may  wait  here  until  employment  is  found  for  them.  The  "Army" 
has  also  labor  bureaus  and  renders  invaluable  aid  to  those  seeking 
employment. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY   ON   AUSTRALASIA 

Australasian  Statistics,  1898,  compiled  by  Gov't  of  Victoria. 

Aldis,  W.  S.,  Charity  Organization  Review,  1903.  Art.  Old  Age  Pensions  in 
N.  Zealand. 

Burdett's  Hospitals  and  Charities,  1896,  and  1903,  London. 

Bliss,  W.  D.  P.,  Cyclopedia  of  Social  Reform,  New  York,  1897. 

Charities  Register  and  Digest,  Annual,  London,  1903. 

Charity  Organization   Review,  February,   1903. 

Charities  Review,  vol.  VI,  Art.  Hindoo  Charity  (unsigned). 

Charity  Review,  The  Quarterly,  Melbourne,  Australia. 

Congress  of  Charities,  Chicago,  1893,  vol.  II.     Art.  Care  of  Children. 

Coglan,  T.  A.,  A  Statistical  Account  of  the  Seven  Colonies  of  Australasia,  1902. 

Coglan,  T.  A.,  The  Wealth  and  Progress  of  N.  S.  Wales,  1 898-1 899. 

Davitt,  M.,  Life  and  Progress  in  Australasia,  London,  1898. 

Fairclough,  P.  W.,  Old  Age  Pensions  in  N.  Zealand,  in  New  Century  Review, 
1900. 

Gray,  J.  Grattan,  Australasia,  Old  and  New,  New  York,  1901. 

Howe,  W.  F.,  Classiiied  Directory  to  the  Metropolitan  Charities,  1895. 

Hill,  Florence  Davenport,  Children  of  the  State. 

Lusk,  Hugh  H.,  Old  Age  Pensions,  The  Arena,  June,  1900. 

Lloyd,  Henry  D.,  Newest  England,  New  York,  1900. 

Montgomery,  W.  H.,  Old  Age  Pensions  in  N.  Z.,  Review  of  Reviews,  1898. 

New  Zealand  Official  Year  Book,  1902. 

New  Zealand,  Twenty-fifth  Annual  Rep.  Minister  Education,  1902. 

Report  of  State  Children's  Council  of  South  Australia,  1903. 

^  Davitt,  Life  and  Progress  in  Australasia. 


3i6  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

Report  of  Royal  Commission  on  Charities  in  Australia. 
Report  of  Inspector  of  Charitable  Institutions  in  Victoria,  1903. 
Report  of  State  Children's  Council,  year  end.  June  30,   1899,  Adalaide. 
Reeves,  W.  P.,  State  Experiments  in  Australia-New  Zealand,  London,  1902. 
Statistical  Register,  New  South  Wales,  1900. 
Seven  Colonies  of  Australasia,  The,  1 899-1 900. 
Statesman's  Year  Book,  1903,  1904. 
Sessional  Papers  of  House  of  Lords,  1898-99. 

Special  Consular  Report,  Washington,  D.  C,  1893  (Art.  on  Vagrancy  in  Public 
Charities  in  Foreign  Countries). 

South  Australia,  Statistical  Register,  Adalaide,   1900. 

Third  International  Congress  for  Welfare  of  Children,  Report,  1903. 

Vigoroux,  Evolution  Sociale  en  Australasia,  Paris,  1902. 

Walker,  Henry  De  Rosenbach,  Australian  Democracy,  London,  1897. 


SECTION  6. -CANADA 

BY    C.    R.    HENDERSON 

The  Dominion  of  Canada  is  composed  of  seven  provinces — Que- 
bec, Nova  Scotia,  Ontario,  New  Brunswick,  Manitoba,  British  Co- 
lumbia, Prince  Edward  Island,  and  the  Territories.  The  govern- 
ment is  administered  by  a  legislative  body  of  two  chambers,  the  Par- 
liament of  the  Dominion  being  a  Senate  and  a  House  of  Commons. 
The  chief  executive  is  the  Governor-General,  assisted  by  a  responsible 
Privy  Council.  Each  province  has  its  own  Parliament  and  admin- 
istration, the  right  to  regulate  its  own  local  affairs  and  dispose  of 
its  revenues,  provided  that  it  does  not  interfere  with  the  action  and 
policy  of  the  general  government.^ 

The  population  of  Canada  in  1901  was  5,371,315  (2,751,708  males 
and  2,619,607  females),  which  showed  an  increase  since  1891  of  11. 13 
per  cent.  There  were  3,428,265  English-speaking  persons,  1,404,974 
French-speaking,  and  108,112  Indians.  The  largest  cities  are  Mon- 
treal (267,730),  Toronto  (208,040)  and  Quebec  (68,840).  The  in- 
crease of  population  in  Manitoba  alone  is  due  to  growth  of  rural 
population.  Ontario  lost  in  rural  population  but  gained  greatly  in 
the  industrial  and  commercial  centers. 

In  1 90 1  there  were  17,987  immigrants  from  the  United  States, 
9,401  from  England, — in  all  49,149. 

*  Statesman's  Year  Book,   1904. 


THE  BRITISH  ExAIPIRE 


317 


There  is  no  church  established  by  law  in  British  North  America. 
The  Church  of  England  has  about  1,000  clergy,  the  Catholic  about 
1,500,  the  Presbyterian  about  1,400,  the  Methodists  1,950  and  the 
Baptists  about  500.  The  adherents  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church 
are  the  most  numerous  of  any  single  sect, — 2,229,000  out  of  a  total 

of  5.371,315- 

Education  is  nominally  compulsory,  but  the  law  is  not  very  strictly 
enforced.  Funds  for  schools  are  generally  supplied  from  Govern- 
ment grants  and  local  taxation.  In  Ontario,  Quebec,  and  the  North- 
west Territories  there  are  separate  schools  for  Roman  Catholics ;  in 
the  other  provinces  the  schools  are  unsectarian. 

In  the  strict  sense  of  the  word  there  is  no  "poor  law"  in  Canada. 
"There  are  no  poor  rates  levied  in  Canada,  and  nearly  all  the  relief 
is  distributed  through  private  or  benevolent  organizations ;  they, 
however,  receiving  the  bulk  of  their  funds  from  the  municipalities" 
(J.  J.  Kelso). ^  It  might  have  seemed  more  logical  to  discuss  Cana- 
dian charities  in  close  connection  with  the  French  system,  since  in 
the  Province  of  Quebec  the  methods  of  the  Latin  countries  are  fol- 
lowed, and  the  same  tendencies  are  observed  even  in  the  Protestant 
provinces.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  Canada  is  a  part  of  the  British 
Empire  and  English  law  and  administrative  ideals  are  rapidly  shap- 
ing institutional  life.  Close  relations  with  the  United  States  have 
increasing  influence,  and  we  already  see  the  extension  of  provincial 
care  of  dependents.  The  Government  has  brought  the  insane  under 
its  direction,  and  both  outdoor  and  indoor  relief,  as  well  as  child- 
saving  work,  are  coming  under  the  regulation  of  law  and  receiving 
help  from  general  and  local  governments. 

There  is  complaint  in  the  Province  of  Quebec  that  the  laws  do 
not  prevent  the  sending  of  paupers  to  Montreal  from  the  rural  neigh- 
borhoods and  from  other  provinces  and  from  the  United  States. 
There  is  a  growing  demand  for  stricter  settlement  laws ;  and  it  seems 
entirely  probably  that  the  immigration  and  settlement  of  foreigners, 
and  the  changes  wrought  by  urban  growth  will  necessitate  the  devel- 
opment of  a  poor  law.  For  the  state  will  not  suffer  its  poor  citizens 
to  perish  and  the  methods  of  the  former  days  will  not  give  security 

^Charity  Organization  Review,  1900,  p.  90. — Proc.  National  Conference  of 
Charities  and  Corrections,  Reports  from  States,  1901,  1902,  1903,  by  A.  M.  Rose- 
brugh,  B.  Balderston,  L.  Borden,  H.  Boyd,  etc.  Paper  by  F.  H.  McLean,  N.  C.  C, 
1 90 1,  p.  139  ff. — Rep.  Inspector  of  Prisons  and  Public  Charities  of  Ontario,  1895. 


3i8 


MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 


to  citizens  recently  arrived  and  without  family  and  ecclesiastical  con- 
nections to  protect  them.^ 

A.  Outdoor  Relief  (Quebec). — The  poor  in  the  old-fashioned 
French  villages  are  helped  by  their  neighbors,  often  almost  as  poor 
as  themselves,  yet  taught  charity  by  the  village  priest,  whose  word 
is  a  higher  law.  First  of  all,  the  family  is  expected  to  care  for  one 
of  its  members  who  is  destitute,  and  mendicancy  is  exceptional. 
Now  and  then  an  aged  day  laborer  must  be  supported  by  his  neigh- 
bors. Alms  are  collected,  generally  in  kind,  and  the  collection  is 
made  a  religious  ceremony  and  festival.  So  long  as  the  community 
is  not  invaded  by  "civilization"  and  its  personal  ties  are  not  yet  cut 
apart  by  modern  industry  this  simple  and  primitive  charity  is  suffi- 
cient for  all  ordinary  requirements,  and  the  insane  can  be  taken  to  an 
asylum.^ 

The  vicissitudes  of  industries  are  already  making  themselves 
felt  in  a  population  far  more  mobile  and  composite  than  that  of  earlier 
days. 

"The  phenomenon  of  partial  pauperization,  occasioned  by  the 
severe  winters  and  the  cutting  off  of  industries  should  not  be  passed 
by.  There  are  hundreds  of  families  who  seek  aid  as  a  matter  of 
right  during  the  severe  winters  who  never  by  any  chance  apply  for 
relief  at  other  seasons  of  the  year,  no  matter  how  things  may 
come  out.  During  the  periods  of  begging  you  could  imagine  you 
were  dealing  with  English  paupers  and  yet  at  a  given  point  the 
deceit  and  hypocrisy  are  put  away  for  the  next  season.  Of  course, 
the  true  pauper  is  present  in  plenty,  but  the  partial  pauper  is  a  type 
in  himself."     (F.  H.  McLean.) 

Outdoor  Relief  (Ontario). — Apparently  the  influence  of  the 
French  ideas  of  private  charity  is  strongly  felt,  even  in  Ontario, 
where  British  and  Protestant  influences  are  so  strong;  for  there  the 
outdoor  relief  in  cities  is  largely  supplied  and  directed  by  voluntary 
agents.  The  number  of  recipients  in  cities  is  very  large,  owing  to 
the  severity  of  the  winters,  the  presence  of  a  large  number  of  defec- 

^  Another  aspect  is  presented  in  a  letter  from  Mr.  F.  H.  McLean,  "The  'backing 
up'  of  undesirable  immigrants  trying  to  get  into  the  United  States  by  the  back 
doors  and  failing,  owing  to  the  recent  thorough  work  of  the  Immigration  Depart- 
ment, has  forced  the  whole  question  of  immigration  to  the  fore." 

^  L'Habitant  de  Saint  Justin,  par  M.  Gerin,  in  Proc.  and  Trans,  of  the  Royal 
Society  of  Canada,  1898,  p.  139. 


THE  BRITISH  EMPIRE 


319 


tives^  sent  over  by  philanthropic  societies  across  the  Atlantic,  to 
causes  inherent  interest  in  human  nature  everywhere,  and  to  defects 
in  organization.  In  Toronto  a  system  has  been  employed  which  re- 
sembles at  some  points  the  Elberfeld  system ;  for  the  city  is  divided 
into  districts,  in  each  of  which  applicants  for  relief  are  visited  by  un- 
paid male  agents.  Able-bodied  men,  as  a  condition  of  receiving  aid, 
must  cut  wood  or  break  stone  as  an  earnest  of  sincerity.  The  writer 
here  quoted  says :  "There  have  not  been  lacking  demands  for  a 
national  system,  which  should  at  least  possess  the  advantages  of 
unity  and  of  equalization  of  pressure  of  a  burden  which  now  weighs 
heavily  on  the  benevolently  disposed.  Yet  many  thoughtful  Cana- 
dians would  deprecate  the  adoption  of  anything  resembling  the  Eng- 
lish poor  law  system,  which  has  produced,  as  we  believe,  so  rank  a 
crop  of  pauperism.  For  the  touch  of  the  state,  in  administering 
charity,  is  cold  and  lifeless."  Yet  on  another  page  it  is  said  of 
Toronto  that  in  1896  there  were  8,000  persons,  or  about  one  in 
twenty-two  of  the  population,  who  received  aid,  "which  is  nearly 
double  the  corresponding  proportion  in  London,  England."  The 
committee  which  manages  the  "House  of  Industry"  is  severely  criti- 
cized by  some  observers  on  the  ground  that  they  permit  themselves 
to  be  imposed  upon,  and  that  respectable  and  hardworking  families 
are  discouraged  by  seeing  drunken  and  unworthy  persons  freely  as- 
sisted. Their  own  report  for  1901-2  shows  that  they  gave  relief  to 
1,459  families,  $9,749.79  for  all  expenses,  an  average  to  each  family 
of  $6.68.  They  add :  "Whether  it  would  be  better  to  give  assist- 
ance to  a  less  number  of  families  and  to  increase  the  amount  to  those 
receiving  aid,  is  an  open  question.  The  most  valuable  assistance 
that  any  family  in  need  can  receive  is  a  visit  by  a  wise,  sympathetic 
friend,  and  such  we  believe  all  our  visitors  to  be."  They  assert 
that  the  investigations  of  their  50  visitors  are  both  thorough  and 
sympathetic.  "The  wonder  is  that  so  many  men  can  be  found  who 
are  willing  and  have  the  qualifications  which  fit  them  for  this  delicate 
and  benevolent  work."  In  1894  the  number  of  outdoor  poor  relieved 
was  11,498;  in  1901,  with  much  greater  population,  only  5,713.  Per- 
haps criticism  has  improved  the  methods.  Relief  is  given  in  kind, — 
food,  fuel,  etc.  The  able-bodied  applicants  are  subjected  to  a  labor- 
test  in  the  stoneyard,  breaking  stone.  The  grants  from  the  Ontario 
government  were  $3,662.47;  from  the  city  corporation,  $14,000.00; 

^  A.  M.  Machar,  in  The  Charities  Review,  6:461   (1897). 


220  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

from  gifts,  $2,498.11.  The  city  gave  grants  to  about  30  charity 
associations  in  1900.  The  Toronto  Rehef  Society  is  administered 
by  women  and  they  also  have  visitors  for  districts. 

One  of  the  effects  of  lack  of  outdoor  relief  is  mentioned  by  Mr. 
Kelso  in  his  report  for  1903 :  "Our  present  system  of  relief  is  woe- 
fully lacking.  If  a  mother  is  left  with  several  little  ones  whom  she 
is  unable  to  support,  they  are  placed  in  public  institutions  or  other- 
wise scattered,  and  the  unoffending  children,  and  in  most  cases 
equally  innocent  mother,  are  separated  to  the  permanent  injury  of 
both  and  to  the  detriment  of  society." 

New  Brunswick  made  grants  in  1901  for  public  charities  and  re- 
form to  the  amount  of  $63,000. 

B.  Public  Administration  (Province  of  Quebec). — While 
the  reformatories,  industrial  schools  and  asylums  for  the  insane  are 
under  private  management,  yet  they  receive  public  subsidies  and  are 
subject  to  inspection  by  officials  of  government.  The  list  of  insti- 
tutions receiving  subsidies  in  1901  included  general  hospitals,  orphan 
asylums,  a  shelter  for  women,  78  in  all,  and  the  sum  divided  was  only 
$44,570.75. 

The  municipality  shares  with  the  province  the  cost  of  maintain- 
ing the  insane.  The  arrangement  for  destitute  children  is  not  so 
definite,  and  generally  the  municipality  cares  for  them. 

In  New  Brunswick  outdoor  relief  is  given  from  public  funds  by 
the  Almshouse  Commission  after  investigation. 

C.  Private  Charity  (Nova  Scotia). — Supported  by  volun- 
tary contributions  are  several  hospitals,  associations  for  relieving 
needy  families,  the  Society  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul,  Society  for  the 
Prevention  of  Cruelty,  a  Protestant  industrial  school,  a  house  of  in- 
dustry for  girls,  an  infants'  home,  a  Protestant  orphans'  home,  homes 
for  the  aged,  and  various  institutions  for  youth,  for  sailors,  etc. 

In  the  Province  of  Quebec  there  is  a  mixture  of  English  and  Latin 
ideals.  In  Montreal  the  substitute  for  the  poorhouse  is  licensed  beg- 
ging^ in  the  streets,  as  in  Italy.  At  the  same  time  one  observes  the 
generous  spirit  of  philanthropy  manifested  in  the  voluntary  support 
of  relief  societies,  churches  and  individual  acts  of  kindness.  Indeed, 
practically  all  the  charities  of  the  Province  of  Quebec  are  supported 
and  controlled  by  private  associations,  many  of  them  under  the  direc- 
tion of  the  church,  although  not  without  aid  from  public  funds. 

^Richard  H.  Lane,  N.  C.  C,  1903,  p.  112. 


THE  BRITISH  EMPIRE 


321 


In  1902  Mr.  F.  H,  McLean  expressed  the  judgment,  in  a  survey 
of  the  situation,  that  there  was  adequate  provision  for  children  and 
the  acutely  sick ;  that  there  were  no  places  of  refuge  for  the  abjectly 
miserable  and  degraded  who  are  not  in  prisons, — no  almshouses; 
that  there  was  fair  provision  for  the  respectable  aged ;  that  there  was 
inadequate  provision  for  incurables, — those  suffering  from  chronic 
diseases,  the  blind,  the  feeble-minded,  homeless,  convalescents,  etc. 
Since  that  time  a  refuge  for  incurables  has  been  erected. 

E,  Co-operation  (New  Brunswick). — The  Associated  Chari- 
ties of  St.  John  was  organized  in  1889,  in  response  to  the  conviction 
that  concerted  action  was  desirable  to  secure  more  effective  help  to 
the  needy  and  to  prevent  imposture. 

Cooperation  (Quebec). — The  C.  O.  S.  movement  has  slowly  but 
quietly  won  its  way  in  the  cities.  In  1903  it  was  reported  from  Mon- 
treal that  cooperation  was  more  heartily  accepted ;  that  the  laws 
against  unlawful  begging  were  better  enforced;  that  deserters  of 
families  were  being  brought  back  to  their  duty  of  support.  The 
C.  O.  S.  of  Montreal  and  the  League  for  the  Prevention  of  Tuber- 
culosis, under  the  patronage  of  the  Governor-General,  are  working 
out  plans  for  arresting  the  spread  of  consumption  and  for  helping 
the  sick  and  poor. 

F.  Indoor  Relief  (Prince  Edward  Island). — There  is  a 
poorhouse,  sustained  by  the  province,  which  has  a  population  of 
about  50  paupers. 

(Ontario). — As  late  as  1895  the  Inspector  of  Prisons  and  Public 
Charities  of  Ontario  reported  that  there  were  strong  protests  from 
judges,  grand  jurors  and  others  against  placing  the  county  poor  in 
the  gaols.  Old  people  had  been  committed  to  these  places,  designed 
for  criminals,  under  the  vagrancy  act,  solely  on  account  of  their  pov- 
erty, had  been  clothed  in  prison  clothes  and  fed  upon  the  diet  pre- 
scribed for  felons.  The  Government  stimulated  the  counties  to  build 
proper  asylums  by  offering  them  grants  to  aid  in  erecting  the  homes, 
and  the  counties  were  rapidly  responding  to  the  appeals  for  change. 
The  province  contributes  not  to  exceed  $4,000  toward  the  cost  of 
erecting  the  building,  other  expenses  being  defrayed  by  the  county. 
In  Toronto  there  is  "The  House  of  Industry,"  where  funds  are  fur- 
nished by  the  municipality  and  whose  affairs  are  managed  by  a  com- 
mittee of  citizens.  The  House  of  Providence,  under  Catholic  control, 
has  about  600  inmates,  from  infants  to  old  people,  and  incurables. 


322  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

It  is  supported  in  part  by  an  allowance  from  the  Government  and 
from  the  city.^ 

The  number  of  the  inmates  of  the  Toronto  House  of  Industry 
in  1901-2  was  341;  the  daily  average  140;  the  cost  $9,315.63;  the 
per  diem  cost  per  capita  18.1  cents.- 

The  typical  House  of  Industry  is  on  a  farm  of  from  45  to  125  acres 
situated  within  easy  reach  of  the  town.  The  statute  places  it  under 
the  County  Council,  but  a  special  committee  with  an  inspector  di- 
rectly administers  its  affairs.  Each  institution  has  its  superintendent, 
matron  and  consulting  physician.  The  expense  for  maintenance  is 
met  by  a  general  tax  and  by  special  assessments  for  local  municipali- 
ties for  the  support  of  inmates  sent  by  them. 

In  1 90 1  there  were  reported  to  be  nineteen  poor  farms  and 
asylums  in  the  Province  of  Nova  Scotia. 

There  are  six  almshouses  in  the  Province  of  New  Brunswick. 
There  are  also  private  institutions  for  aged  females,  penitents, 
orphans,  and  the  sick. 

Indoor  Relief  in  Quebec. — We  have  in  the  experience  of  the 
Province  of  Quebec  an  interesting  social  experiment  to  show  the 
effects  on  charity  methods  of  the  absence  of  poorhouses.  The 
causes  for  this  absence  go  back  to  the  primitive  settlement  of  the 
country  by  a  people  homogeneous  in  religious  faith,  with  a  strong 
family  and  neighborhood  feeling,  frugal  in  habits  and  hospitable  to 
the  destitute.  Their  habitations  served  for  refuges  of  distress.  Iso- 
lation cut  them  off  from  the  development  which  went  forward  in 
France  and  elsewhere ;  strong  tradition  and  custom  upheld  the  an- 
cient ways ;  and  so  it  happened  that  there  were  no  almshouses  for  the 
most  miserable  and  wretched  of  all  the  destitute,  those  who  were 
not  wanted  in  habitations  and  were  not  fit  to  mingle  with  the 
respectable  and  tidy  poor.^ 

Mr.  McLean's  observations  in  Montreal  led  him  to  these  con- 
clusions :  The  absence  of  poorhouses  does  not  materially  increase 
the  number  of  those  who  give  to  private  charity.     The  burdens  of 

^Twenty-eighth  Annual  Report  on  Gaols,  etc.,  1895,  p.  2. — Poor  Relief  in 
Canada,  by  J.  J.  Kelso,  Charity  Organization  Review,  1900,  p.  89  ff.  K.  W.  Mc- 
Kay, Municipal  Organization  in  Ontario,  1903  (in  University  of  Toronto  Studies, 
vol.  II,  No.  2). 

*  6sth  Annual  Rep.  House  of  Industry,  1901-02. 

*Mr.  F.  H.  McLean  brought  out  these  significant  points  at  the  National  Con- 
ference of  Charities  in  1901  (N.  C.  C,  p.  139  ff). 


THE  BRITISH  EMPIRE 


323 


private  charity  in  the  support  of  non-residents  are  increased,  be- 
cause the  government  is  not  concerned  and  does  not  give  the  pro- 
tection of  settlement  laws  and  does  not  provide  funds.  The  private 
institutional  relief  is  also  affected  by  the  lack  of  poorhouses  :  discrimi- 
nation in  regard  to  applicants  is  made  more  difficult ;  yet  there  is 
no  assurance  anywhere  that  a  particular  applicant  will  be  received 
and  find  shelter;  and  proper  classification  is  rendered  impossible, 
while  the  service  often  deteriorates.  The  effects  on  outdoor  private 
relief  are  also  serious.  The  absence  of  a  place  of  final  resort,  though 
it  would  only  be  required  in  a  comparatively  few  cases,  weakens  the 
spirit  of  sympathetic  firmness  which  is  often  required  in  giving  or 
withholding  aid.  There  is  an  unusual  amount  of  indiscriminate 
relief  even  among  the  more  intelligent,  and  this  makes  it  more  dif- 
ficult to  secure  means  to  help  the  helpable  cases.  Private  outdoor 
charity  has  taken  on  some  of  the  worst  features  of  public  outdoor 
relief, — stereotyped  amounts  of  relief,  neglect  of  investigation  and 
personal  service,  doles,  officialism,  and  methods  of  relief  which  mean 
degradation  and  humiliation  to  applicants.  The  custom  of  requir- 
ing the  applicants  to  herd  together  in  a  room  while  the  boards  meet 
and  to  submit  to  questions  before  the  full  board  in  a  public  office, 
without  friendly  visits  at  homes,  tends  to  harden  both  officials  and 
recipients. 

This  analysis  does  not  reflect  on  the  disposition  of  the  people, 
for  nowhere  are  men  more  sympathetic  and  generous ;  but  it  reveals 
the  importance  of  modern  system  and  methods,  and  shows  that  the 
spirit  of  charity,  in  order  to  produce  the  effect  which  it  seeks,  can- 
not dispense  with  science  and  suitable  mechanism. 

The  Roman  Catholic  Archbishop  of  Montreal  has  recently  estab- 
lished, under  the  management  of  the  Sisters  of  Providence,  the 
Hospice  des  Incurables ;  and  this  will  give  some  relief. 

H.  Medical  Relief. — The  absence  of  a  system  of  outdoor 
relief  and  even  of  county  poorhouses  in  many  parts  of  the  Dominion 
throws  the  care  of  the  destitute  sick  and  injured  upon  private  charity. 
In  the  vast  regions  not  yet  settled  and  brought  under  tillage  the  ar- 
rangements remain  very  primitive  and  inadequate.  Nowhere  does 
voluntary  philanthropy  supply  medical  relief  with  that  certainty  and 
comprehensiveness  which  are  found  in  the  established  public  systems 
of  older  peoples.  There  must,  in  the  nature  of  the  case,  be  much 
neglect  in  rural  neighborhoods  remote  from  centers  of  population; 


324  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

although  wherever  physicians  are  found  we  may  be  sure  that  poverty 
will  not  be  refused  the  aid  of  their  skill.  In  Canada,  quite  as  much 
as  elsewhere,  the  heaviest  part  of  the  burden  of  medical  charity  falls 
on  the  members  of  the  healing  profession.  Such  deeds  cannot  be 
chronicled,  save  in  the  forgiven  accounts  of  country  doctors  and  in 
the  golden  books  of  the  recording  angels.  Statistics  in  this  region 
are  dumb. 

With  the  growth  of  wealth,  science  and  cities  the  people  push 
forward  the  establishments  of  hospitals.  Physicians  desire  to  have 
them  for  the  more  effective  treatment  of  private  patients  and  for 
instruction  and  clinical  experience  of  students.  Charity  lends  its 
own  motive  in  happy  union  with  science  and  personal  interests ;  and 
so  we  find  in  Mr.  Burdett's  list  the  descriptions  of  hospitals  sup- 
ported by  fees  of  pay-patients,  gifts  of  benevolent  persons,  contribu- 
tions from  churches,  grants  and  subsidies  from  public  authorities. 

General  Hospitals  (Public).  —  The  Statistical  Year-Book  of 
Canada  for  1901  gives  these  data :  In  1900  there  were  in  Ontario 
52  general  hospitals,  with  29,761  patients ;  in  Nova  Scotia,  2  hospitals 
with  1,868  patients;  in  New  Brunswick,  4  hospitals  with  1,492  pa- 
tients ;  in  Manitoba,  7  hospitals  with  5,933  patients ;  the  Territories, 
10  hospitals  with  2,142  patients. 

The  expenditures  on  general  hospitals  from  government  and  other 
sources  were:  Ontario,  $570,150  (government  gave  of  this,  $110,- 
000)  ;  Nova  Scotia,  $55,957  (government,  $49,756)  ;  Manitoba, 
$213,719  (government,  $47,089)  ;  Territories,  $53,893  (government, 

$24,519)- 

The  Prince  Edward  Island  Hospital  was  built  and  equipped  at 
a  cost  of  $20,000  by  voluntary  gifts  and  on  ground  given  by  a  clergy- 
man. There  are  now  two  hospitals  supported  by  subscriptions,  and 
about  one-half  the  patients  are  unable  to  pay. 

New  Brunswick  has  a  general  hospital  at  St.  John,  and  at  Fred- 
ericton,  Chatham,  Campbellton,  Scton  Falls,  and  St.  Stephens.  At 
Tracadie  a  hospital  for  lepers  was  founded  in  1858  by  the  Sisters  of 
the  Hotel  Dieu  of  Montreal,  which  had  in  1901,  21  patients. 

Mr.  Burdett  gives  the  cost  of  maintenance  and  treatment  in 
typical  Canadian  hospitals.  The  cost  per  in-patient  per  day  at  the 
Montreal  General  was  $1.37  and  at  the  Winnipeg  General,  $1.13. 
The  former  are  old  figures.  In  the  English  general  hospitals,  with- 
out medical  schools,  the  rates  vary  from  $.81  to  $1.60  in  London,  and 


THE  BRITISH  EMPIRE 


325 


in  the  provincial  institutions,  from  $.59  to  $1.42.  In  hospitals  with 
medical  schools  the  rates  are  higher, — from  $1.05  to  $1.73.^ 

Nursing  (Province  of  Quebec). — The  Victorian  Order  of  Nurses 
provides  for  district  nursing  in  the  city  of  Montreal.  The  training 
of  nurses  continues  to  attract  the  attention  of  medical  men  and  of 
the  philanthropic  public,  and  is  recognized  as  a  necessary  element  in 
the  service  of  hospitals. 

Tuberculosis  (Ontario). — The  National  Sanitarium  Association 
has  an  establishment  in  the  famous  health  resort  at  Muskoka,  North- 
ern Ontario,  and  the  general  hospitals  set  apart  special  rooms  for 
consumptive  patients.  In  Toronto  a  society  has  been  formed  for  the 
purpose  of  providing  proper  treatment  of  the  consumptive  poor  of 
that  city. 

J.  Blind. — Prince  Edward  Island  has  no  institution  for  the 
blind,  but  the  province  pays  for  the  education  of  blind  children  in 
a  school  at  Halifax,  Nova  Scotia. 

The  Institution  for  the  Blind  of  the  Maritime  Provinces  is  at 
Halifax,  Nova  Scotia. 

Deaf  Mutes  (Prince  Edzvard  Island). — At  Halifax  is  a  school 
for  deaf  mutes  to  which  the  children  of  this  class  are  sent  for  instruc- 
tion and  their  expenses  are  paid  by  the  province. 

Insane. — For  New  Brunswick  is  claimed  the  honor  of  being  the 
first  of  the  old  British  North  American  provinces  to  make  special 
provision  for  its  insane.  At  first  each  county  cared  for  its  own 
insane,  and  they  were  kept  in  jails  or  poorhouses.  A  provincial 
asylum  was  established  in  1832  and  it  has  been  improved  and  en- 
larged from  time  to  time.  In  1893  a  board  of  visitors,  representa- 
tives of  various  religious  denominations  and  other  social  interests, 
was  appointed  to  safeguard  the  welfare  of  patients  and  assure  the 
public  that  they  were  faithfully  served.  The  province  recognizes  the 
duty  of  the  state  to  care  for  all  the  insane  and  seeks  to  provide  for 
them  in  hospitals  rather  than  in  poorhouses. 

In  Ontario  the  first  movement  on  behalf  of  the  insane  was  made 
in  1830,  but  went  no  further  than  to  legalize  the  payment  for  main- 
tenance in  county  jails,  their  only  public  shelter  and  refuge.  In 
1841  the  old  jail  of  Toronto  was  transformed  into  an  asylum  for 
this  class  of  patients.     After  a  history,  often  marked  by  ignorance, 

^  Burdett,  Hospitals  and  Charities,  1903,  p.  161  ;  and  on  pages  791-805  a  list  of 
Canadian  hospitals  in  all  the  provinces. 


326  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

neglect  and  cruelty,  a  really  modern  institution  was  developed  and 
humane  and  scientific  treatment  afforded.  Other  institutions  (at 
Kingston,  Hamilton,  Minico,  and  Brockville)  have  been  erected  to 
meet  the  growing  needs  of  a  larger  population,  and  all  are  conducted 
according  to  the  demands  of  modern  science. 

There  were  i8  asylums  for  the  insane  in  the  Dominion  in  1900-1 
and  during  the  year  indicated  11,879  persons  were  treated,  of  whom 
6,116  were  males  and  5,581  females.  The  apparent  increase  of  in- 
sanity during  the  forty  years  1861-1901  is  shown  in  the  fact  that 
the  total  number  of  insane  and  idiots  officially  known  in  1861  was 
1,631,  or  I  to  856  of  the  population;  and  in  1901  the  number  was 
5,880,  or  I  to  371  of  the  population.^ 

The  expenditures  were  as  follows:  Ontario  (1901),  $623,676; 
Quebec  (1900),  $321,979  (government  paid  all)  ;  Nova  Scotia,  the 
government  paid  $69,029;  New  Brunswick,  $57,834  (government, 
$36,000)  ;  Manitoba,  $82,491  (all  by  government)  ;  British  Columbia, 
$49,262  (government,  $43,828)  ;  Prince  Edward  Island,  $21,123  (^^^ 
by  government). 

Quebec  is  the  only  one  of  the  provinces  of  the  Dominion  in  which 
there  are  no  state  institutions  for  the  care  of  the  insane,  its  provision 
for  this  unfortunate  class  consisting  of  four  proprietary  establish- 
ments, and  one  incorporated,  charitable  institution,  the  latter  the 
Protestant  Hospital  for  the  insane. 

During  the  latter  part  of  the  eighteenth  century  dangerous  luna- 
tics were  intrusted  to  the  care  of  religious  orders,  with  a  payment 
from  the  Legislature.  It  became  manifest  that  these  persons  were 
not  trained  to  care  for  the  insane  and  that  they  could  not  give  them 
suitable  shelter. 

In  1884  Dr.  D.  Hack  Tuke,^  the  eminent  alienist,  visited  the  asy- 
lums of  Quebec  and  published  very  severe  criticisms  of  their  condi- 
tion. He  found  them  crowded,  the  patients  without  occupation  or 
recreation,  held  under  excessive  restraint,  and  the  government  visit- 
ing physicians  without  authority  to  correct  the  abuses  which  they 
found.  The  medical  men  united  in  a  complaint  to  the  government 
and  in  1885  an  act  was  passed  placing  the  medical  control  of  these 
establishments  in  the  hands  of  the  government,  which  reserved  to 

^  The    Canadian    Annual    Review,    1902,   pp.    397-398. — Statistical    Year    Book, 
1901,  pp.  590,  592. 

^  The  Insane  in  the  United  States  and  Canada  (1885). 


THE  BRITISH  EMPIRE  327 

itself  the  appointment  of  a  medical  superintendent  and  assistant  phy- 
sicians for  each  of  them.  There  was  resistance  to  the  new  order 
at  Beauport  Asylum,  disagreeable  revelations  of  abuses,  and,  in  1893, 
a  transfer  of  proprietorship  to  the  Sisters  of  Charity  of  Quebec, 
with  whom  the  government  made  an  agreement  for  the  maintenance 
of  the  public  insane  at  $100  the  person  annually.  The  buildings  were 
modernized  and  the  entire  administration  and  service  improved. 

The  lesson  from  the  painful  history  revealed  by  Dr.  Tuke  was 
that  the  kindness,  tidiness,  and  self-sacrificing  devotion  of  religious 
women  is  no  substitute  for  the  firm  and  humane  direction  of  a  mod- 
ern physician,  expert  in  psychiatry  and  familiar  with  scientific 
methods.^ 

One-half  the  cost  of  pauper  patients  is  met  by  the  municipalities 
in  which  they  were  committed.  The  number  supported  by  provincial 
and  local  funds  in  1900  was  2,953,  at  a  cost  of  $321,979.  The  per- 
centages of  cures  to  admission,  as  claimed  by  the  institutions,  were 
27.49,  27.23  and  37.41.  The  percentage  of  patients  able  to  work  was 
65.49  in  the  Verdun  Asylum  and  58  in  the  St.  Jean  de  Dieu. 

The  Protestant  Hospital  of  Quebec  was  established,  after  many 
delays  and  trials,  in  1890.  The  capacity  in  1898  was  412.  The  insti- 
tution is  governed  by  a  board  and  is  subject  to  government  inspection. 
The  average  annual  rate  of  maintenance  is  $175  and  the  government 
subsidy  is  only  $150  per  patient.  There  is  some  endowment  and 
deficits  are  made  up  by  voluntary  contributions.  The  non-restraint 
policy  is  carried  out  in  treatment  of  patients. 

There  is  a  hospital  for  the  insane  of  New  Brunswick  at  St.  John. 

In  1901  in  Nova  Scotia  there  were  nineteen  poor  farms  and  asy- 
lums for  chronic  harmless  insane  in  the  province.  The  Nova  Scotia 
Hospital  for  Insane  had  under  treatment  in  1901,  538  patients. 

The  insane  of  Prince  Edward  Island  are  treated  in  a  provincial 
hospital.  In  1901  there  were  on  an  average  195  inmates,  and  the 
cost  to  the  province  was  $22,472.76. 

Insane  Paupers  (Ontario). — The  insane  population  of  the  Prov- 
ince of  Ontario  is  about  4,500,  and  about  1,000  of  them  are  thought 
to  be  simple  cases  of  senility  or  dementia.  The  policy  has  been  to 
care  for  such  cases  of  chronic  pauper  insane  in  local  poorhouses  and 
at  local  expense.     The  provincial  authorities  seek  to  avoid  crowd- 

'  Address  of  T.  J.  W.  Burgess,  in  Proc.  and  Trans,  of  Royal  Society  of  Canada, 
1898,  sec.  iv,  p.  I  ff. 


328  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

ing  the  hospital  with  such  patients.  In  1903  it  was  declared  that 
fifty  or  sixty  of  the  insane  were  confined  in  county  jails  awaiting 
admission  to  the  asylums,  and  some  controversy  has  arisen  between 
the  provincial  and  local  authorities  over  the  problem. 

By  special  arrangement  with  the  Dominion  Government  insane 
patients  from  the  frontier  regions  of  the  unorganized  territories  of 
the  Northwest  are  cared  for  in  the  provincial  asylums  of  Manitoba, 
the  rate  paid  being  one  dollar  per  day  for  each  patient. 

Feeble-Minded  (Quebec). — In  1873  the  government  made  a  con- 
tract with  the  Sisters  of  Charity  to  care  for  the  idiots  who  were  up 
to  that  time  held  in  asylums  for  the  insane  at  excessive  cost  and  under 
unsuitable  conditions. 

Prince  Edward  Island  has  no  school  for  feeble-minded  children. 

Feeble-Minded  (Ontario). — There  is  a  state  institution  for  feeble- 
minded children  and  youth  at  Orillia  founded  in  1876,  and  the  ques- 
tion of  providing  for  the  custodial  care  of  weak-minded  women  of 
child-bearing  age  has  been  discussed  by  the  Canadian  Conference  of 
Charities  and  Correction  and  by  the  National  Council  of  Women  of 
Canada,  but  the  government  has  not  moved  in  the  matter;  but  the 
idea  of  custodial  care  was  in  some  degree  realized  at  Orillia  earlier 
than  elsewhere  in  America. 

Epileptics  (Ontario). — Separate  institutions  for  epileptics  have 
been  favored  by  competent  leaders  but  have  not  yet  been  provided  by 
the  province.  A  number  of  these  patients  are  in  the  state  institu- 
tion for  the  feeble-minded  and  a  few  are  in  the  county  houses  of 
refuge,  but  these  are  probably  only  about  one-quarter  of  all  who  need 
public  care.^ 

Children  and  Youth  (Ontario). — The  preventive  work  of  the 
Province  of  Ontario  has  been  developed  under  the  leadership  of 
Mr.  J.  J.  Kelso.  There  are  27  children's  aid  societies  acting  under 
his  superintendence.  These  agencies  have  prevented  abuse  and 
cruelty  in  homes  and  have  found  foster  homes  for  many  children 
who  were  a  public  charge.  About  two  thousand  children  have  been 
placed  out  and  their  interests  are  carefully  safeguarded  by  a  system 
of  supervision.  About  380  delinquent  children  were,  at  the  last  re- 
port, in  various  institutions  of  the  province,  and  they  are  gradually 
being  transferred  from  a  reformatory  to  the  industrial  schools,  a 
signal  mark  of  the  modern  spirit  in  dealing  with  such  children.     The 

*  A.  M.  Rosebrugh,  M.  D.,  N.  C.  C,  1902,  p.  114. 


THE  BRITISH  EMPIRE 


329 


Ontario  Legislature  passed  an  act  providing  for  the  absorption  of 
the  Ontario  Reformatory  by  the  Victoria  and  St.  John  schools,  and 
raised  the  age  for  commitment  to  industrial  schools  from  fourteen  to 
sixteen  years.  Children  found  begging,  or  without  a  home,  or  neg- 
lected and  unsuitable  for  placing  out,  or  exposed  to  moral  dangers 
by  dissolute  parents,  or  guilty  of  petty  crimes,  or  expelled  from  school 
for  vicious  conduct,  may  be  sent  to  the  industrial  school.  Children 
discharged  from  school  are  to  be  supervised  by  its  officers,  and  are 
under  guardianship  until  21  years  of  age.  The  population  of  four 
schools  (in  1903)  was  267.  The  Manitoba  Legislature  is  working  in 
the  same  direction.^ 

Ontario. — There  is  as  yet  in  Ontario  no  system  of  probation 
officers,  except  a  few  agents  of  the  Children's  Aid  Societies.  ''At 
present  boys  who  commit  minor  offences  are  allowed  to  go  on  sus- 
pended sentence,  and  they  often  return  to  the  same  surroundings  and 
the  same  temptations,  with  the  additional  difficulty  that  they  have 
attained  a  bad  reputation  and  are  more  liable  than  ever  to  go  astray." 
(Mr.  Kelso).  Such  lads  need  a  friend  to  advise  and  help  them, 
to  warn  the  junk  dealer  and  idle  companions  not  to  tempt  them,  and 
to  win  them  to  a  better  way. 

The  last  Legislature  passed  a  law  which  may  open  the  way  for 
the  appointment  of  probation  officers.  When  a  child  under  sixteen 
years  of  age  is  charged  with  any  offense  the  judge  may  place  him  in 
the  care  of  a  probation  officer  who  is  required  to  report  on  his  prog- 
ress and  conduct.  The  law  does  not  state  who  shall  appoint  proba- 
tion officers  and  says  nothing  about  payment  for  their  services.  At 
the  last  report  very  little  use  had  been  made  of  the  act. 

The  same  Legislature  passed  a  law  forbidding  the  confinement  of 
children  under  the  age  of  fourteen  in  jails,  and  requiring  that  they 
be  placed  in  the  custody  of  a  friend  or  society  until  the  time  of  trial. 
But  this  law  does  not  apply  in  cases  of  violation  of  the  penal  code  of 
the  Dominion,  but  only  when  the  provincial  acts  have  been  violated ; 
and  the  sheriffs  do  not  carry  it  into  effect  even  when  it  applies.  Until 
a  corps  of  reliable  agents  are  provided  and  paid  these  excellent  laws 
will  be  in  great  part  a  dead  letter. 

Prince  Edward  Island. — The  province  has  no  institution  for  desti- 
tute children,  but  supports  them  in  private  families. 

Eleventh  Report  of  Superintendent  of  Neglected  and  Dependent  Children  of 
Ontario,  1903.     All  the  reports  of  Mr.  Kelso  are  valuable  and  interesting. 


330  MODERN  AIETHODS  OF  CHARITY 

Children's  Courts,  Province  of  Quebec. — The  trials  of  children 
are  held  in  places  apart  from  the  ordinary  court-rooms,  gen- 
erally private.  The  regulation  was  made  a  part  of  the  penal  code 
in  1892,  antedating  most  of  the  Children's  Courts  established 
in  the  United  States.  Children  must  be  kept  in  separate  rooms  in 
jails  and  prisons  apart  from  other  offenders  while  awaiting  trial. 
In  Montreal  they  are  placed  in  an  industrial  school,  and  are  never 
confined  in  the  jail.  The  new  city  charter  of  Montreal  provides  that 
children  under  sixteen  years  of  age  and  having  no  one  to  give  them 
proper  care,  may  be  sent  by  a  recorder  to  an  institution,  apprenticed, 
or  confided  to  a  suitable  person  to  the  eighteenth  year. 

In  the  five  reformatory  schools,  three  for  boys  and  two  for  girls, 
there  were  in  1900,  259  inmates,  and  the  cost  of  maintenance  was 
$34,945.70.  In  the  industrial  schools  there  was  a  population  of  304, 
and  the  cost  of  maintenance  was  $20,603.41. 

Prisons  and  penitentiaries  of  Quebec  are  maintained  and  admin- 
istered by  the  province ;  but  reformatories  and  industrial  schools  for 
youthful  delinquents  are  under  private  control,  and  for  these  a  per 
capita  allowance  is  paid  for  their  maintenance. 

The  Ontario  law  prohibits  the  admission  into  any  poorhouse  or 
institution  where  adult  dependents  are  kept  of  any  child  between  the 
ages  of  two  and  sixteen. 

There  are  nine  societies  in  England,  both  Protestant  and  Catholic, 
which  send  out  waifs  and  poor  adults  to  find  homes  in  Canada.  The 
most  famous  of  these  is  the  National  Incorporated  Waifs'  Associa- 
tion, otherwise  known  as  Dr.  Barnardo's  Homes.  This  society  has 
distributing  homes  in  various  places,  as  at  Peterborough,  Ontario 
(for  girls)  ;  Toronto  (for  older  lads),  and  in  Winnipeg.  These 
children  have  first  been  tested  for  a  time  in  the  homes  in  England. 
The  number  emigrated  in  1901  by  Dr.  Barnardo  was  1,053.  There 
seems  to  be  now  little  opposition  to  the  immigration  of  these  children 
since  the  system  of  testing  at  home  and  supervision  in  the  provinces 
was  introduced. 

In  March,  1903,  the  Local  Government  Board  of  England  urged 
the  Board  of  Guardians  to  emigrate  orphans  and  deserted  children ; 
stated  that  the  average  cost  was  not  to  exceed  £15,  including  the 
expense  of  inspection ;  and  quoting  the  Commissioner  of  Emigration 
of  the  Dominion  of  Canada  as  saying  that  "at  no  previous  time  in 


THE  BRITISH  EMPIRE 


331 


Canada  have  there  been  so  many  opportunities  as  at  present  for 
absorbing  in  a  satisfactory  manner  young  emigrants." 

The  Province  of  Ontario  keeps  an  inspector  in  Liverpool  who  is 
required  to  reject  children  who  are  diseased,  defective,  immoral  and 
not  furnished  with  clothing  for  both  summer  and  winter.  They  are 
usually  old  enough  to  render  some  assistance  in  domestic  or  agricul- 
tural work,  and  they  have  some  training, 

M.  Preventive.  Care  for  Discharged  Prisoners. — There  is  a 
Prisoners'  Aid  Association  in  Ontario  which  urges  reforms  and  looks 
after  discharged  prisoners  upon  release.  This  society  advocates  the 
indeterminate  sentence  and  parole  system,  the  extension  of  probation 
for  first  offenders,  and  a  more  scientific  treatment  of  inebriates. 

Preventive  Work  (Province  of  Quebec). — In  Montreal  the 
Park  and  Playground  Society  was  organized  to  establish  model 
playgrounds  in  small  public  squares ;  and  a  Decimal  Stamp  Savings 
Fund  for  the  encouragement  of  thrift. 

Mutual  Benefit  Associations. — About  30  societies  of  wage- 
workers  were  reported  in  1900  as  furnishing  sick  and  funeral  bene- 
fits, and  six  which  gave  indemnities  akin  to  life  insurance.  The 
number  of  members  in  each  society  ranged  from  23  to  920,  none 
being  of  great  extent.      (Labour  Gazette,^  1901.) 

The  principle  of  state  care  of  wage-earners  through  compulsory 
insurance  is  hardly  discussed,  even  as  a  theoretical  possibility,  in 
Canada.  Industries  must  be  much  further  developed  than  now 
before  a  general  conviction  of  need  of  such  legislation  will  be  felt. 
But  the  Dominion  government,  with  its  department  of  labor  and  its 
official  Labour  Gazette,  gives  evidence  of  the  interest  of  men  of  state 
in  the  life  conditions  of  the  rapidly  growing  group  of  industrials, 
and  this  department  is  administered  in  a  thoroughly  modern  spirit. 

^  Information  kindly  supplied  by  Dr.  W.  L.  M.  King,  Deputy  Commissioner  of 
Labour. 


CHAPTER  V 
HOLLAND 

BY   PROFESSOR   ROMANZO   ADAMS,    PH.  D. 

Historical  Introduction. — During  the  Middle  Ages,  the  poor 
of  Holland  were  assisted  either  through  unorganized  private  benefi- 
cence, or  by  the  church,  which  administered  charity  through  the 
parish  organization.  With  the  decline  of  this  parish  administration 
came  numerous  hospitals  and  other  institutions  for  the  needy,  most 
of  which  were  founded  by  civic  orders  and  by  religious  guilds  and 
brotherhoods.  After  the  fourteenth  century  there  was  an  overseer 
of  the  poor  who  looked  after  the  indoor  poor. 

In  spite  of  the  relief  ofifered  by  these  various  agencies,  or,  perhaps, 
on  account  of  the  relief,  the  number  of  beggars  and  vagrants  became 
so  great  that  the  state  and  city  were  often  impelled  to  issue  police 
orders  against  them.  These  orders  were  ineffectual.  The  chief 
difficulty  lay  in  the  practice  of  indiscriminate  giving  on  the  part  of 
the  private  citizens  and  in  the  lack  of  unity  among  organized  chari- 
ties. It  was  to  secure  the  desired  unity  that  the  ordinance  of  1531 
was  passed.  This  ordinance  was  modelled  upon  a  system  which  had 
been  introduced  in  Ypern  and  which  had  been  praised  by  the  faculty 
of  the  Sorbonne  in  Paris.  To  the  end  of  gaining  unity,  it  was  de- 
creed that  all  charitable  institutions  should  have  a  common  purse. 
But  the  times  were  unfavorable  for  carrying  out  the  provisions  of 
this  ordinance.  The  princes  were  occupied  with  the  political  dis- 
turbances of  the  Reformation  and  were  unable  to  execute  reforms 
which  conflicted  with  so  many  private  interests.  The  greater  num- 
ber of  the  old  institutions  founded  by  private  beneficence  remained 
with  regulations  but  slightly  changed. 

In  the  latter  part  of  the  sixteenth  century  the  old  system  of  parish 
administration  was  revived  by  the  Old  Church  and  by  the  Reformed 
Church.     Later  the  other  churches,  Catholic,  Lutheran  and  Jewish, 

332 


HOLLAND 


333 


also  adopted  the  system.  There  were  two  important  features  in 
this  later  parish  system.  In  the  first  place,  provision  was  made  for 
the  selection  of  capable  deacons  who  were  to  give  their  time  to  the 
work  of  administration.  Secondly,  the  poor  received  individual 
treatment,  since  a  part  of  the  deacon's  duty  was  to  visit  each  poor 
family,  giving-  counsel  as  well  as  material  assistance. 

The  poor  who  were  not  members  of  any  church  were  cared  for 
either  by  institutions  supported  by  the  cities  or  by  the  institutions 
of  the  deacons  in  the  Reformed  Church.  The  cities  paid  these  dea- 
cons for  caring  for  those  who  were  not  members  of  the  Reformed 
Church  and  through  these  payments  came  to  have  oversight  of  the 
institutions,  thus  preventing  the  development  of  an  independent  eccle- 
siastical administration.  The  most  confused  diversity,  as  to  methods 
of  relief,  ruled  in  each  district.  There  were  at  least  two  ways  of 
giving  aid  in  almost  every  institution.  In  the  first  place  there  were 
homes  into  which  were  brought  the  sick,  the  aged,  the  defective  and 
orphans,  for  permanent  support.  Then  there  were  those  to  whom 
transient  support  was  given  in  their  own  homes.  The  work  of  these 
charity  organizations  was  supported  by  Sunday  collections,  house 
to  house  collections  and  by  legacies. 

That  the  poor-relief  of  Holland  in  the  seventeenth  century  was 
inefficient  is  proved  by  the  high  rate  of  mortality,  by  the  great  num- 
ber of  hospitals  and  pest  houses,  and  by  the  large  numbers  of  beg- 
gars, tramps  and  foundlings.  During  the  latter  part  of  the  seven- 
teenth and  the  first  half  of  the  eighteenth  century,  the  situation  was 
improved.  This  period  was  marked  by  the  building  of  almshouses 
richly  supported  by  legacies  and  bequests,  and  by  the  employment 
of  the  poor  in  industrial  undertakings  and  in  workhouses,  although 
this  last  was  almost  without  results. 

Toward  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century  the  burden  of  pauper- 
ism had  become  so  great,  as  a  result  of  the  unfavorable  industrial 
situation  and  the  confusion  in  charity  administration,  that  the  state 
was  compelled  to  do  something  that  would  bring  relief.  The  wars 
of  the  Revolution  had  increased  the  burden  of  taxation  and  brought 
about  a  stagnation  of  business,  thus  depriving  large  numbers  of  the 
means  of  support.  It  has  been  estimated  that  in  Amsterdam  not  less 
than  fifty  per  cent,  of  the  people  received  support,  while  the  propor- 
tion thus  aided  in  Delft,  Leiden  and  Rotterdam  was  thirty,  twenty- 
five  and  eighteen  per  cent.,  respectively.     According  to  the  constitu- 


334 


MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 


tion  of  1798,  the  poor  administration  of  the  whole  republic  was  to 
be  regulated  according  to  a  single  uniform  plan.  Accordingly  a  gen- 
eral law  for  the  regulation  of  charities  was  passed  in  1800.  This 
law  provided  for  the  erection  of  public  poorhouses  by  each  parish, 
which  were  to  be  the  principal  means  of  furnishing  relief  to  the  needy. 
Although  the  law  left  private  and  ecclesiastical  institutions  undis- 
turbed, in  so  far  as  they  were  able  to  prove  that  they  possessed  re- 
sources sufiEicient  to  enable  them  to  do  efficient  work,  they  felt  that 
their  prestige  was  endangered  and  so  opposed  it.  The  law  was  never 
made  effective,  and  in  181 5,  with  the  establishment  of  the  kingdom 
of  the  Netherlands,  the  old  system  was  restored,  but  with  some 
modifications. 

The  fundamental  law  of  181 5  lays  upon  the  government  the  duty 
of  providing  institutions  for  the  welfare  and  education  of  the  poor, 
but  almost  no  one  at  that  time  thought  of  a  single  unified  regulation 
of  the  whole  poor  system.  Nevertheless,  provision  was  made  for 
annual  reports  to  be  made  by  each  institution  to  the  government. 
The  law  of  1818  had  two  important  provisions  and  these  remained 
in  force  until  1854.  The  first  provided  that  when  any  request  for 
aid  was  apparently  well  founded  and  still  of  such  a  character  that 
the  parish  or  institution  took  some  time  to  investigate,  it  had  to  sup- 
ply immediate  urgent  needs  provisionally,  and  that  such  parish  or 
institution  should  be  reimbursed  for  such  expenditure  by  the  parish 
properly  charged  with  the  support  of  such  persons.  The  second  pro- 
vision determined  the  domicile  of  various  classes  of  persons  for  pur- 
poses of  support.  The  place  of  birth  was  designated  as  the  place 
of  residence,  but  this  could  be  lost  by  four  years'  continuous  residence 
in  another  place.  By  marriage  the  woman  took  the  domicile  of  her 
husband,  and  minor  children  had  the  residence  of  their  parents.  For- 
eigners could  gain  a  settlement  by  six  years'  residence  in  the  same 
place.  This  law  worked  well  at  first,  but  was  gradually  made  un- 
suitable through  a  series  of  decrees  which  tended  to  bring  the 
church  institutions  under  the  control  of  the  state  and  thus  aroused 
their  opposition.  Finally,  in  1851,  a  bill  was  proposed  designed  to 
limit  the  sphere  of  all  ecclesiastical  institutions  and  increase  that  of 
the  public  institutions.  This  bill  called  forth  a  storm  of  petitions 
from  all  parts  of  the  kingdom.  These  petitions  were  the  forerunners 
of  the  crisis  which  ended  with  the  resignation  of  the  ministry  in 
1853. 


HOLLAND 


335 


The  relative  importance  of  the  three  classes  of  charitable  institu- 
tions, public,  church,  and  mixed,  may  be  seen  from  the  following  sta- 
tistics :  In  185 1  there  were  in  all  3,506  institutions  for  indoor  relief. 
Of  these,  2,230  belonged  to  the  churches,  1,179  were  public  and  79 
mixed.  Of  those  belonging  to  the  churches  the  great  majority  were 
wholly  supported  by  freewill  offerings,  only  454  receiving  contribu- 
tions from  the  civil  parish  resources. 

At  this  point  the  notable  experiment  made  by  the  "Maatschappy 
van  Weldadigheid"  (Society  of  Beneficence)  in  establishing  farm 
labor  colonies  should  receive  some  attention.  These  colonies  were 
founded  in  18 18  and  have  continued  with  a  somewhat  varied  ex- 
perience to  the  present  time.  On  account  of  the  special  interest 
attaching  to  their  experiment  it  will  be  given  a  separate  section  at  the 
close  and  there  accorded  a  more  extended  treatment  than  could  be 
given  here  without  destroying  the  unity  of  the  presentation. 

The  law  under  which  the  charities  of  Holland  are  administered 
to-day  was  passed  in  1854  and  amended  in  1870.  The  purpose  of 
this  law  was  to  bring  the  whole  system  of  poor-relief  into  some  sort 
of  unity.  As  the  church  institutions  of  charity  were  determined  to 
maintain  their  independence,  the  plan  of  the  law  was  to  secure  as 
great  a  unity  as  was  possible  without  encroaching  upon  their  inde- 
pendence. Four  classes  of  institutions  were  recognized  :  (a)  Public 
institutions  of  charity — state,  provincial,  and  municipal — under  the 
control  of  the  civil  authorities;  (b)  institutions  founded,  supported, 
and  controlled  by  church  congregations  for  the  benefit  of  the  poor 
of  a  specified  faith;  (c)  institutions  founded  and  supported  by  pri- 
vate organizations;  (d)  mixed  institutions  ruled  and  administered 
by  the  civil  authorities  in  union  with  church  congregations  or  pri- 
vate organizations. 

The  main  idea  is  that  the  support  of  the  poor  is  to  be  kept  as  a 
rule  to  churches  and  private  societies.  The  public  charitable  insti- 
tutions were  empowered  to  give  aid  only  in  cases  of  extreme  neces- 
sity where  the  needy  were  unable  to  receive  help  from  any  other 
institutions.  The  church  and  private  institutions  were  to  have  the 
largest  possible  sphere  of  service,  but  each  was  required  to  furnish 
regular  reports  containing  information  as  to  its  burdens,  regulations 
and  administration.  Moreover,  for  all  collections  except  those  made 
in  church  the  consent  of  the  city  government  had  to  be  obtained. 
The  policy  of  the  civil  poor  administration  was  to  assist  the  poor 


33^ 


MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 


to  the  natural  means  of  support,  so  far  as  possible,  rather  than  to 
give  money.  All  institutions  and  administrative  bodies  had  a  right 
to  be  recompensed  by  relatives  of  the  persons  supported.  It  was  ex- 
pected that  each  institution  would  keep  the  others  informed  as  to 
its  internal  organization  and  the  result  of  its  activities.  The  unity 
of  the  system  was  to  be  secured  through  the  information  thus  fur- 
nished each  to  others.  Moreover,  each  civil  parish  had  to  keep  a 
current  record  of  the  institutions  within  its  borders. 

The  definitions  of  domicile  for  the  purposes  of  support  consti- 
tuted a  fruitful  source  of  inequality  and  contention.  The  trouble 
arose  out  of  the  fact  that  there  had  come  to  be  a  large  number  of 
people  who,  leaving  the  place  of  their  birth,  moved  from  place  to 
place  in  the  larger  cities,  not  staying  anywhere  long  enough  to  acquire 
a  residence.  Four  years'  continuous  residence  in  one  place  was  nec- 
essary in  order  to  gain  a  settlement.  After  spending  the  better  years 
of  their  lives  working  in  large  cities,  many  laborers  were  compelled 
to  ask  for  support  in  their  old  age.  Not  having  acquired  a  settle- 
ment in  the  city,  they  had  to  be  cared  for  by  the  parish  of  their  birth- 
place, or  if  cared  for  by  some  institution  in  the  city  the  home  parish 
was  compelled  to  pay  the  expense.  This  had  the  effect  of  giving 
the  working  years  of  a  man's  life  to  the  city  and  the  years  of  his 
dependency  to  the  poor  rural  parish.  Many  of  the  contests  that 
grew  out  of  such  cases  had  to  be  referred  to  the  King  for  decision. 
Similarly,  the  parishes  of  their  former  home  were  often  called  upon 
to  pay  for  the  support  of  women  at  maternity  hospitals  in  cities. 
The  opposition  to  these  payments  by  the  rural  parishes  led  to  an 
amendment  of  the  law  in  1870,  by  which  the  burden  of  assisting  such 
persons  was  placed  upon  the  parishes  in  which  they  resided  at  the 
time. 

There  has  come  to  be  a  great  dissimilarity  in  the  scope  and  method 
of  poor-relief  due  to  the  changes  of  conditions.  In  the  large  cities 
there  are  old  institutions  with  large  and  increasing  endowments. 
Here  also  are  large  parish  contributions,  extensive  private  beneficence 
and  abundant  means  of  employment.  In  the  rural  districts  all  these 
are  lacking.  In  the  poorer  parishes  the  legal  provision  for  poor- 
relief  falls  far  short  of  that  which  in  the  more  prosperous  parishes 
would  be  secured  through  private  benevolence  alone.  Moreover, 
there  has  been  a  gradual  shrinkage  of  the  provisions  made  by  the 
church.     This  shrinkage  is  made  up,  not  by  the  public,  but  by  insti- 


HOLLAND 


337 


tutions  of  private  beneficence.  Of  the  total  expenditures  for  charity 
in  1854,  40.1  per  cent,  was  made  by  public,  50.4  per  cent,  by  religious, 
and  9.5  per  cent,  by  private  institutions.  In  1896  the  proportions 
were,  public,  41.8  per  cent. ;  religious,  43.4  per  cent,  and  private,  14.8 
per  cent.  It  is  estimated  that  there  are  in  all  7,476  charitable  insti- 
tutions in  Holland.  Of  these,  1,198  are  under  civil  administrations, 
3,057  are  controlled  by  churches  and  exist  for  the  general  care  of  the 
poor,  and  the  rest,  including  710  for  the  aged  and  712  for  the  sick, 
offer  relief  for  special  classes  of  dependents. 

While  these  three  classes  of  institutions  do  not  specialize,  each 
treating  certain  sorts  of  cases,  there  is  a  tendency  toward  such  spe- 
cialization. In  Amsterdam,  for  instance,  where  there  are  105  insti- 
tutions and  organizations  of  a  charitable  character,  those  controlled 
by  the  civil  authorities  have  charge  of  82  per  cent,  of  the  cases  need- 
ing medical  aid,  and  but  20  per  cent,  of  the  orphans  who  receive 
support,  while  religious  institutions  care  for  over  70  per  cent,  of  the 
orphans  and  but  10  per  cent,  of  the  sick  and  infirm.  Similarly,  but 
in  a  less  marked  degree,  cases  for  permanent  support  go  to  religious 
and  those  calling  for  temporary  assistance  to  the  public  institutions. 
There  are  certain  private  organizations  which  have  the  special  func- 
tion of  finding  work  for  the  able-bodied  needy. 

The  share  which  the  civil  parish  has  in  the  support  of  the  poor 
varies  in  different  cities.  In  Amsterdam  the  levy  is  about  $.88,  in 
Groningen  it  is  about  $1.04  per  capita,  while  in  Rotterdam  and  The 
Hague  it  is  only  $.60  and  $.64,  respectively.  The  civil  parish  is  the 
basis  of  public  charity  organization.  The  mayor  alone  or  the  mayor 
aided  by  the  council  or  a  regular  relief  officer  transacts  the  business. 
Sometimes  the  means  of  a  private  association  are  placed  at  the  dis- 
posal of  the  public  officials.  The  almshouses  and  hospitals  are  sup- 
ported almost  entirely  by  the  civil  parishes.  The  name  diaconate 
(Diakonie)  is  the  technical  term  for  all  sorts  of  provisions  for  poor- 
relief  made  by  the  evangelical  churches.  This  name  is  used  in  all 
cases,  whether  there  are  special  members  of  the  congrgation  ap- 
pointed for  this  work  or  whether  the  parish  vestry  itself  assumes  this 
duty.  The  Catholic  church  works  according  to  parishes  with  one 
or  more  parish  boards.  In  Amsterdam,  however,  the  city  is  di- 
vided into  fifty  administrative  districts.  Extensive  aid  is  given 
by  the  Society  of  St.  Vincent  of  Paul,  and  that  of  considerable 
variety  and  extent.  In  this  association  the  religious  conduct  of 
22 


338 


MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 


the  indigents  is  of  great  importance,  unchristian  conduct  leading 
to  exclusion  from  aid. 

The  aims  of  private  charities  are  very  numerous,  practically 
every  cause  being  represented  among  them.  The  purposes  and 
methods  of  a  few  of  the  many  private  organizations  will  be  described 
below.  District  nursing  is  established  in  Deventer.  Whenever  the 
physician  believes  that  the  woman  of  the  house  is  unable  to  take 
proper  care  of  the  sick  he  may  call  for  a  trained  nurse.  These  nurses 
are  chosen  with  great  care,  so  that  only  those  of  approved  moral 
character  and  skill  are  employed.  Their  work  is  supervised  by  a 
woman  overseer  who  visits  each  house  unexpectedly  several  times  a 
week.  The  family  is  expected  to  maintain  the  nurse  during  her 
stay,  which  is  not  to  extend  beyond  six  weeks. 

A  society  recently  established  at  The  Hague  has  for  its  object 
the  saving  of  broken  food.  All  otherwise  worthless  leavings  from. 
the  tables  of  the  wealthier  houses  are  collected  and  worked  over  to 
be  sold  to  the  poor.  In  order  to  prevent  an  undesirable  competition 
the  rule  of  the  society  is  to  sell  only  to  the  poor  people  who  could 
not  otherwise  obtain  similar  food. 

Several  organizations  assist  the  poor  by  securing  for  them  an 
opportunity  to  work.  Sometimes  temporary  or  permanent  employ- 
ment is  found  in  the  cities  and  sometimes  the  poor  are  sent  to  the 
farm  labor  colonies.  Of  particular  importance  is  the  work  of  the 
"Society  for  Beneficence"  which  will  be  described  later.  The  rural 
colony  of  the  Salvation  Army  rents  land  at  low  rates  in  order  to 
allow  its  tenants  to  become  free  land  owners.  In  Friesland,  where 
the  soil  is  of  unusually  poor  quality  and  the  people  correspondingly 
poor,  there  is  a  unique  association,  the  Door  Arbeit  tot  Verbeetung, 
which  aims  to  improve  the  soil,  otherwise  almost  or  quite  useless,  by 
means  of  the  labor  of  those  who  otherwise  would  be  unemployed. 
Many  parishes  have  joined  in  this  enterprise  with  most  beneficial 
results,  the  number  of  needy  persons  being  considerably  reduced. 

Of  special  importance  is  the  great  Amsterdam  benevolent  society, 
Tiefdadigheit  naas  Vermogen  (Charity  according  to  means).  This 
society  has  existed  for  forty  years.  Its  work  embraces  the  whole 
city,  which  is  divided  into  thirty-four  districts,  each  with  a  superin- 
tendent at  its  head.  The  superintendent  is  assisted  by  helpers,  both 
men  and  women.  The  society  has  2,881  members,  each  of  whom 
pays  about  $1.60  annually,  and  3,298  friends  who  have  contributed 


HOLLAND 


339 


to  its  support.  The  society  gives  help  by  obtaining  work,  by  tem- 
porary or  permanent  support,  and  by  loans  without  interest.  The 
amount  of  a  loan  may  not  exceed  eighty  dollars.  Moreover,  this 
society  aims  to  cooperate  with  all  other  organized  charities,  to  com- 
bat the  habit  of  indiscriminate  almsgiving  and  to  educate  the  public 
as  to  the  best  methods  of  relief  work.  For  its  district  workers  it 
publishes  careful  directions  with  a  view  to  individual  relief.  The 
greatest  stress  is  laid  upon  personal  visits  and  the  help  of  man  to 
man.  The  good  offices  of  private  individuals  are  thought  to  be  very 
important.  Those  familiar  with  charity  organization  work  in 
America  will  recognize  that  the  aim  of  this  society  is  to  a  consider- 
able extent  similar  to  that  of  the  Charity  Organization  Society  in  our 
larger  cities.  The  income  of  the  society  in  1900  was  about  $66,000. 
The  number  of  needy  persons  helped  was  2,067,  at  an  expense  of 
about  $38,240.00.  In  the  proportion  of  income  devoted  to  material 
aid  the  society  differs  from  the  Charity  Organization  Society,  which 
aims  to  use  its  income  chiefly  for  administrative  purposes,  that  is, 
for  forms  of  assistance  which  help  persons  to  support  themselves. 

In  recent  years  there  has  been  considerable  effort  made  toward 
reform.  The  present  system  of  providing  for  the  poor  in  Holland 
is  far  from  satisfactory  to  those  who  are  most  familiar  with  the  situa- 
tion. The  board  of  directors  of  the  society  mentioned  above,  in  its 
report  for  1900,  is  unanimous  in  recommending  reforms.  The 
grounds  of  opposition  to  a  regular  system  of  charities  are  considered 
in  the  same  report.  This  opposition  has  its  origin  in  the  general 
ignorance  as  to  the  extent  of  poverty  and  the  best  methods  of  treat- 
ing it,  and  in  the  hopeless  disorganization  of  Dutch  relief  methods. 
There  is  no  unity  between  the  individual  institutions.  Each  goes 
its  own  way  without  reference  to  the  others.  General  leadership  is 
lacking. 

Public  care  of  the  poor  is  closely  restricted  by  the  existing  law. 
Through  the  lack  of  a  strong  central  organization  there  may  be  estab- 
lished institutions  that  are  absolutely  superfluous  and  injurious,  while 
many  others  which  are  doing  the  most  valuable  and  necessary  work 
are  hindered  in  their  development.  Then,  too,  lack  of  organization 
leads  to  the  waste  of  money  through  the  multiplication  of  administra- 
tions.    Falkenberg  and  Smissart  express  similar  opinions. 

The  efforts  toward  reform  are  along  the  line  of  strengthening 
the  public  relief,  the  introduction  of  regular  supervision  and  the 


340 


MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 


establishment  of  a  rational  union  between  the  various  charitable 
organizations.  An  encouraging  feature  of  the  situation  is  the  growth 
of  public  opinion  in  favor  of  reform  founded  upon  expert  knowledge. 
In  1897  the  political  parties  declared  in  favor  of  reform.  In  1895 
the  Society  for  Public  Welfare  through  its  delegates,  men  of  high 
standing  in  Holland,  reported  very  minutely  concerning  the  present 
condition  of  poor-relief.  In  the  second  part  of  this  report  there  is 
a  detailed  outline  for  a  new  poor  law. 

In  January,  1900,  Dompierre  de  Chaufepie,  Blankenberg,  and 
Smissart  established  a  periodical,  Tijdschrift  voor  Armenzorg,  the 
purpose  of  which  is  to  enlighten  public  opinion  and  give  information 
to  existing  organizations.  This  periodical,  which  appears  bi-monthly, 
undertakes  the  observation  of  all  existing  organizations,  follows 
critically  the  transactions  of  law-givers,  giving  needed  advice,  and 
furnishes  information  concerning  the  poor-relief  of  foreign  countries. 
The  same  men  have  published  the  Gids  der  Nederlandsche  Weldadig- 
heit  (Guide  of  Netherland  Charities).  This  contains  a  description 
of  all  the  arrangements  for  the  public,  religious  and  private  care  of 
the  poor,  and  is  indexed  according  to  subjects  and  provinces,  so 
that  it  is  easy  to  find  out  whether  in  a  certain  place  there  is  an  organi- 
zation of  a  certain  kind  or  not.  Altogether  7,476  organizations  are 
considered  in  the  work.  These  various  efforts  toward  reform  have 
met  with  some  success.  In  June,  1891,  the  government  submitted 
to  the  second  chamber  an  outline  of  a  new  system  of  poor  laws. 
While  this  has  not  been  accepted  as  yet  it  may  be  worth  while  to 
notice  its  provisions.  In  the  first  place  the  law  is  not  radical  in 
character.  Its  purpose  is  to  strengthen  the  position  of  the  govern- 
ment with  reference  to  the  existing  institutions.  It  is  not  intended 
to  limit  the  religious  and  private  charities  further  than  is  necessary 
in  order  to  secure  the  general  welfare.  Without  prejudice  to  their 
principles,  which  may  be  quite  different  from  those  of  the  civil  organi- 
zations, they  must  keep  the  government  more  fully  informed  as  to 
their  doings.  The  government  shall  have  authority  to  require  infor- 
mation of  each  institution  as  to  its  means,  the  terms  of  its  constitu- 
tion, the  composition  of  its  board  of  directors,  etc.,  and  to  punish 
failure  to  comply  with  such  requirements  by  fines. 

It  is  further  provided  that  in  every  parish  there  shall  be  a  central 
office  at  which  may  be  found  information  concerning  all  the  needy 
poor  of  the  district.     The  records  of  the  reputable  and  those  of  the 


HOLLAND 


341 


disreputable  poor  are  to  be  kept  separate.  The  information  is  to  be 
sent  from  the  different  institutions  to  the  central  office  and  correc- 
tions made  weekly.  It  is  recommended  that  local  associations  be 
formed  where  the  representatives  of  all  the  different  charities  may 
meet  for  the  exchange  of  experiences.  These  of  course  must  be 
voluntary. 

The  public  provision  for  the  care  of  the  poor  is  to  be  granted 
only  in  case  the  individual  is  unable  to  obtain  aid  elsewhere.  Thus 
the  strictly  subsidiary  character  of  the  public  system  is  retained. 
One  important  advance,  however,  is  made.  The  public  institution 
will  not  be  restricted  as  much  as  formerly  in  its  efforts  to  aid.  Even 
in  cases  where  other  agencies  have  given  aid  the  public  institution 
may  assist,  providing  there  is  an  agreement  between  those  interested, 
as  to  the  amount  and  kind  of  help.  It  is  prescribed  that  the  public 
system  must  have  an  organization  in  each  parish  adequate  to  its  needs, 
so  that  help  may  be  given  wherever  necessary.  Each  parish  must 
see  to  it  that  physicians  are  provided  for  the  sick,  and  midwives  for 
cases  of  confinement.  The  compensation  for  physicians  and  mid- 
wives  is  determined  by  the  council  after  the  sanitary  officials  and 
the  official  overseers  report.  The  pay  shall  be  in  the  form  of  a  stated 
fee  or  compensation  according  to  services  performed.  In  places 
where  there  is  no  druggist  other  means  are  taken  for  supplying  medi- 
cine. Each  parish  is  required  to  maintain  a  workhouse  in  which  the 
able-bodied  poor  who  are  responsible  for  their  own  need  may  find 
admission.  Such  persons  are  aided  only  on  condition  that  they  do 
the  work  allotted  to  them.  When  an  inmate  of  a  workhouse  leaves 
without  permission  the  police  and  poor  officers  must  be  notified. 
Should  anyone  refuse  to  accept  the  help  which  has  been  given  him 
under  the  conditions  of  his  admission  to  the  workhouse  and,  leav- 
ing the  workhouse  without  permission,  should  not  endeavor  to  sup- 
port himself  and  family,  he  may  be  sent  to  the  penitentiary  for  a 
term  not  to  exceed  three  years. 

These  and  many  other  specifications  give  the  character  of  the 
proposed  law.  At  all  points  the  effort  to  individualize  the  systems 
is  evident.  The  regulations  concerning  poor  boards  met  the  demands 
of  this  principle.  In  the  large  cities  poor  boards  are  to  be  estab- 
lished, while  in  the  smaller  the  mayor  and  councilmen  shall  have 
charge  of  the  poor  administration.  In  case  the  city  is  large  enough 
to  have  a  poor  board  it  may  be  divided  into  administrative  districts. 


342  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

Beside  the  district  superintendents  there  are  to  be  deputies  who  may 
be  either  men  or  women.  These  deputies  may  be  compensated  in 
case  a  sufficient  number  of  persons  do  not  volunteer  to  serve  with- 
out pay.  Deputies  who  receive  pay  are  not  permitted  to  follow  any 
trade  or  business  in  the  district  in  which  they  act. 

The  entire  system  is  to  be  placed  under  the  control  of  one  or 
more  inspectors  acceptable  to  the  Minister  of  the  Interior,  Each 
charitable  institution  is  to  be  subject  to  permanent  supervision.  The 
superintendent  must  place  at  the  disposal  of  the  inspector  all  ma- 
terials bearing  on  the  conduct  of  the  institution.  Furthermore,  all 
almshouses  and  workhouses  are  to  be  under  the  control  of  the  parish. 
In  case  any  institution  is  not  being  administered  according  to  the 
official  regulations,  it  is  given  six  months  to  make  the  necessary 
changes. 

In  recent  years  have  been  enacted  several  laws  which  have  to  do 
do  with  the  protection  and  care  of  children.  One  law  provides  for 
compulsory  education.  Another  has  to  do  with  the  punishment  of 
children.  The  power  of  the  parents  is  limited  and  the  child  may  be 
taken  from  the  parent  on  account  of  abuse,  gross  negligence  or  dis- 
solute conduct. 

The  Dutch  Home  Colonies. — A  notable  experiment  in  charitable 
methods  in  Holland  was  that  of  Maatschappy  van  Weldadigheit 
(Society  of  Beneficence).  The  idea  of  the  founders  of  this  society 
was  that  pauperism  might  be  prevented  to  a  large  extent  by  pro- 
viding agricultural  training  and  employment  to  able-bodied  deserv- 
ing destitute  persons.  In  more  recent  years  the  Salvation  Army 
in  England  and  America  has  made  use  of  the  same  idea.  In  Hol- 
land the  scheme  originated  with  General  van  den  Bosch  and  the 
society  was  organized  in  1816.  According  to  the  rules  of  this 
society  each  member  paid  a  little  more  than  a  dollar  a  year.  The 
membership  grew  rapidly,  reaching  twenty  thousand  within  a  year. 
The  society  established  two  sorts  of  colonies,  the  free  and  the  beggar. 
Frederiksoord,  Wilhelmsoord  and  the  Forest  colony  were  for  free 
colonists.  The  colonies  at  Omerschans  and  Veenhuisen  were  for 
beggars.  Frederiksoord,  the  first  colony  established,  had  at  first 
twelve  hundred  acres  of  heath  land  of  very  poor  quality.  It  was  flat, 
dry,  and  sandy  and  ill  suited  to  agricultural  purposes.  To  this  colony 
were  taken  fifty-two  families,  three  hundred  and  fifty-six  persons. 
Each  family  was  provided  with  a  house,  a  stable  and  cattle.     It  was 


HOLLAND  343 

expected  that  the  colonist  would  pay  for  the  cattle  after  a  little  time, 
but  the  hope  was  not  realized.  Those  members  of  the  colony  who 
were  not  members  of  families  were  taken  into  families  as  boarders 
and  paid  for  their  board  out  of  their  wages.  Families  also  received 
orphans  as  boarders,  the  society  or  parish  paying  for  their  support. 
The  members  of  the  colony  were  employed  in  two  ways.  Some  were 
employed  by  the  day  and  paid  wages.  Others  were  given  a  plot 
of  ground  to  cultivate,  paying  a  small  rental.  These  two  classes 
were  known  as  laborers  and  free  tenants.  It  was  the  desire  of  the 
society  to  have  as  many  free  tenants  and  as  few  laborers  as  possible, 
but  it  was  necessary  to  employ  most  of  them  as  laborers  at  first  be- 
cause they  were  not  competent  to  manage  any  independent  business. 
It  was  expected  that  the  colonist  would  be  self-supporting  in  either 
case  or  that  he  would  soon  become  so.  As  a  further  inducement  to 
good  conduct  and  industry  there  were  medals  offered.  In  general 
the  plan  of  Frederiksoord  was  the  plan  of  the  other  free  colonies. 
The  results  were  very  disappointing.  Very  few  of  the  colonists 
showed  any  ambition  to  better  their  condition.  They  were  sure 
of  a  living  in  any  case  and  the  desire  for  a  superior  status  was  not 
strong  enough  to  produce  effects  in  the  way  of  industry  and  econo- 
my. Only  a  few  were  self-supporting,  only  a  few  became  free 
tenants,  and  the  laborers  were  very  inefficient.  A  better  soil  with 
its  richer  harvests  might  have  induced  larger  numbers  to  try  free 
tenantry,  but  the  fundamental  difficulty  lay  in  the  character  of  the 
colonists  and  in  the  plan. 

Nearly  all  of  the  colonists  were  from  the  cities  and  consequently 
they  knew  little  or  nothing  about  farming.  Furthermore,  farming 
is  not  an  industry  in  which  it  is  easy  to  superintend  the  work  of  a 
large  number  of  incompetent  workers,  nor  is  it  suitable  for  the  most 
inefficient  workers.  Farm  labor  does  not  consist  in  a  few  simple 
processes  which  may  be  repeated  indefinitely.  In  the  variety  of  its 
occupations,  with  the  changing  seasons,  planting,  cultivating,  reap- 
ing, etc.,  there  is  great  educational  value  for  the  worker  as  com- 
pared with  that  of  the  laborer  which  merely  repeats  irksomely  a 
simple  process  throughout  the  year ;  but  when  we  consider  the  value 
of  the  product  the  tables  are  turned,  especially  if  the  laborer  is  de- 
ficient in  energy  and  intelligence. 

The  society  gave  most  aid  to  those  most  in  need,  that  is,  to  those 
who  were  least  industrious  and  thrifty.     As  fast  as  the  colonist  began 


344 


MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 


to  do  more  for  himself  the  society  did  less,  and  consequently  the  col- 
onist felt  that  there  was  little  or  nothing  gained  through  industry. 

After  experimenting  with  farming,  the  society  introduced  other 
industries  into  the  colonies.  Among  these  spinning  and  w'eaving 
were  the  most  important.  In  some  respects  these  were  more  success- 
ful than  farming.  For  several  years  the  product  was  sold  at  a 
profit.  But  the  profit  was  more  apparent  than  real,  since  the  product 
was  sold  to  the  government  for  more  than  the  ordinary  price,  thus 
balancing  the  society's  profits  with  a  government  loss.  The  labor 
of  these  industries  was  certainly  better  suited  to  the  capacity  of  the 
colonists  than  was  farming.  It  consisted  in  the  constant  repetition 
of  a  simple  and  mechanical  process  and  permitted  the  introduction 
of  piece  wages  instead  of  time  wages.  But  this  was  a  time  when 
even  the  thrifty  and  industrious  textile  workers  were  being  forced 
to  abandon  hand  methods.  Home  industry  was  already  doomed. 
Handworkers  could  not  compete  with  the  great  factories  with  their 
machinery  driven  by  water  or  steam.  Little  wonder  then  that  these 
industries  failed  in  the  pauper  colonies.  As  a  result  of  the  indus- 
trial inefficiency  of  the  colonists,  the  debts  of  the  societies  increased 
from  year  to  year  until  1859,  when  the  colonies  were  turned  over 
to  the  government.  At  that  time  the  total  indebtedness  was  about 
$3,200,000,  while  the  resources  amounted  only  to  about  $1,200,000. 
So  far  as  self-support  was  concerned  the  colonies  had  proved  to 
be  failures.  They  had  not  only  failed  to  be  self-supporting  but  had 
actually  increased  the  cost  to  the  public  of  maintaining  paupers. 

But  there  are  considerations  other  than  those  of  a  financial  char- 
acter. What  was  the  effect  of  the  system  upon  the  pauper  colonists 
themselves?  Here  again  the  verdict  must  be  unfavorable.  In  1853, 
out  of  many  thousand  colonists  only  twenty  had  become  free  tenants, 
the  renters  being  contented  to  go  on  working  for  the  society,  earn- 
ing part  of  their  support  and  being  given  the  rent.  They  did  not 
become  efficient  laborers  in  any  field  nor  did  they  make  a  reason- 
able eflFort  to  become  such.  Practically,  none  were  rescued  from 
pauperism  and  sent  back  into  society  as  self-supporting  workers. 
The  certainty  of  support  removed  the  stimulus  to  work.  The  chil- 
dren did  not  learn  self-reliance.  Brought  up  in  an  atmosphere  of 
pauperism  they  received  the  training  to  fit  them  for  a  life  of  pauper- 
ism. This  is  a  very  serious  criticism  upon  the  whole  system.  It 
is  right  that  society  should  provide  for  the  support  of  its  inefficient 


HOLLAND 


345 


members,  securing  from  them  such  labor  as  they  are  able  to  render, 
but  it  is  not  right  that  society  should  encourage  the  growth  of  a  per- 
manent pauper  class  by  maintaining  the  paupers  in  families  under 
conditions  that  pauperize  the  children.  If  it  is  conceded  that  any 
persons  are  so  inefficient  that  they  must  receive  permanent  support 
they  should  receive  that  support  under  conditions  that  will  render 
the  propagation  of  their  kind  impossible. 

After  the  colonies  passed  under  the  control  of  the  government, 
important  reforms  were  introduced.  Regulations  were  adopted 
which  had  the  effect  of  decreasing  the  inducements  to  labor  for 
wages  and  of  increasing  the  inducements  to  free  tenantry.  Model 
farms  were  established.  Weaving  was  abandoned  and  other  indus- 
tries substituted.  Colonists  were  allowed  to  keep  all  of  their  earn- 
ings and  piece  work  was  substituted  for  time  work.  As  a  result 
of  these  various  improvements  a  better  spirit  prevails  among  the 
colonists.  Their  labor  is  somewhat  more  efficient  and  a  larger  num- 
ber are  free  tenants.  Still  it  must  be  admitted  that  the  colonies 
have  not  solved  the  problem  of  caring  for  paupers.  It  is  still  true 
that  they  are  better  adapted  to  the  rural  poor  than  to  the  poor  of 
cities,  although  nearly  all  of  the  residents  are  from  the  cities.  An- 
other serious  objection  lies  in  the  fact  that  they  are  able  to  take  in 
but  very  few  families  from  year  to  year.  One  large  colony  takes 
in  less  than  six  families  a  year.  This  is  because  very  few  if  any 
are  fitted  for  independent  support. 

The  Beggar  Colonies  have  a  different  plan.  Mendicants  are 
sentenced  to  these  colonies  as  a  penalty  for  begging.  While  in  the 
colonies  they  are  required  to  work.  These  colonies  likewise  have 
failed  to  secure  the  desired  results.  Sir  T.  McNeil  reported  in  1853 
that  it  took  fifteen  colonists  to  do  as  much  work  as  one  good  laborer 
would  do.  The  cost  of  keeping  the  mendicants  in  the  colony  was 
greater  than  it  would  have  been  without  the  colony.  Furthermore, 
the  colony  has  no  reforming  influence.  There  is  at  present  very 
little  mendicancy  in  Holland,  but  this  is  not  due  to  the  deterrent  influ- 
ence of  the  penalty  imposed  in  connection  with  the  colonies.  They 
are  too  pleasant  places  of  residence.  Large  numbers  of  beggars 
return  time  after  time.  Some  have  been  known  to  beg  for  the  very 
purpose  of  being  sent  to  a  colony. 

There  is  this  to  be  said  in  favor  of  the  colonies,  both  free  and 
beggar,  that  they  do  provide  support  for  the  poor  who  are  helpless 


346  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

or  nearly  so  and  that  the  treatment  is  humane.  Their  failure  Hes 
in  their  inability  to  make  self-supporting  those  individuals  who  might 
become  so  through  proper  treatment.  The  cause  of  this  failure 
might  be  stated  in  a  general  way  as  follows :  The  colony  plan,  if 
adapted  to  any  class  of  paupers,  is  best  adapted  to  those  who  are  but 
little  below  the  plane  of  self-support.  Such  persons  might  be 
made  self-supporting  under  suitable  supervision  and  with  proper 
encouragement,  and,  becoming  self-supporting,  would  become  self- 
respecting,  and  thus  the  social  purpose  would  be  subserved.  Many 
of  the  paupers  sent  to  the  free  colonies  were  so  far  below  the  plane 
of  self-support  that  the  society  felt  under  obligation  to  adapt  its 
methods  to  the  needs  of  this  lower  class.  These  methods  were  of 
such  a  character  as  to  defeat  the  main  purpose  so  far  as  the  redeem- 
able members  were  concerned.^ 

K.-L.  Children  and  Youth. — The  penal  code  distinguishes 
(art.  38  and  39)  between  minors  who  act  with  and  without  discern- 
ment. Minors  convicted  as  having  acted  with  discernment  incur  the 
same  penalties  as  adults,  only  with  certain  mitigation.  Those  ac- 
quitted as  having  acted  without  discernment  are  sent  to  public  or 
private  houses  of  correction.  There  are  three  colonies,  two  for  boys 
and  one  for  girls,  and  a  private  colony. 

A  law  of  1886  regulates  the  conditions  of  placing  children  morally 
neglected  in  public  houses  of  education.  Private  charity  watches 
over  them  in  orphanages  and  homes.  The  Society  for  the  Education 
of  Orphans  in  Families  works  to  place  children  in  homes  of  farmers 
or  workmen  selected  by  them. 

M.  Preventive.  School  for  Training  Social  Workers. — Tn 
view  of  the  movements  in  London  and  in  American  cities  it  is  inter- 
esting to  note  that  they  were  anticipated  in  Holland.  Mr.  Janssen 
has  established  at  Amsterdam  "Ons  Huis"  (Our  House)  whose  pur- 
pose is  general  "extension"  of  school  work  for  the  people  without  re- 
gard to  religious  and  political  differences.  Here  also  is  a  course  of 
study  for  social  workers,  somewhat  similar  to  that  given  in  Berlin  for 
women  engaged  in  public  service.  The  Amsterdam  school  has  in 
view  a  systematic,  theoretical  and  practical  education  of  persons  of 
both  sexes  who  intend  to  give  themselves  to  earnest  labors.  The 
course  is  two  years  in  length.     The  first  year  is  devoted  to  obtaining 

^  Robin,   M.  le  pasteur ;   Hospitalite  et  travail,   Paris,   1887.    Riviere,  L.   Men- 
diants  et  Vagabonds,  p.  7,  1902. 


HOLLAND 


347 


general  social  knowledge  about  various  branches  of  philanthropic  en- 
terprise ;  and  at  the  close  of  the  first  year  the  pupils  decide  to  which 
branch  they  will  devote  themselves ;  and  in  the  second  year  they  make 
special  preparation  for  this  chosen  pursuit.  Pupils  are  also  received 
for  the  second  year  alone.  The  training  is  extended  at  present  to  the 
following  branches :  Poor-relief,  management  of  tenement  houses, 
care  of  children  who  are  deprived  of  their  parents,  and,  finally,  to 
that  which  is  the  principal  aim  of  the  House,  '"The  effort  to  put 
within  the  reach  of  workingmen  the  mental  development  which  they 
need,  and  to  further  friendly  relations  between  different  social 
classes."  This  is  very  similar  to  the  English  and  American  settle- 
ment activity.     Students  must  be  23  years  of  age  to  be  admitted. 

The  theoretical  instruction  is  in  economics,  state  administration, 
civil  law,  hygiene,  pedagogics,  poor-relief,  care  of  children,  tene- 
ment house  problems,  factory  laws,  workingmen's  insurance,  social- 
ism, alcoholism,  youthful  offenders,  savings  banks,  general  insur- 
ance, etc.  Practical  training  is  given  in  the  first  year  by  visits  to 
all  kinds  of  institutions,  and  in  the  second  year  by  actual  participa- 
tion in  particular  forms  of  work  under  the  guidance  of  experts.  It 
has  been  difficult  to  secure  suitable  practical  teachers,  but  progress 
has  been  made.  These  courses  have  now  been  given  since  1900. 
From  10  to  12  new  students  enter  each  year,  all  but  two  being 
women. ^ 

Schools  for  Nurses. — In  1884  Miss  Reijnsvaan  secured  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  school  for  nurses  at  Amsterdam  and  superintended  the 
pupils.  The  first  course  was  a  year,  but  the  time  was  afterward 
extended  to  three  years  and  an  examination  is  required.  By  means 
of  the  Netherland  Union  for  the  Treatment  of  the  Sick  this  form  of 
instruction  has  been  introduced  in  most  of  the  cities  of  Holland 
since  1893.  The  general  committee  issues  diplomas  to  approved 
graduates.  The  institution  of  the  White  Cross  in  Amsterdam  up  to 
March  31,  1901,  had  issued  652  diplomas.  The  schools  are  connected 
with  the  leading  hospitals. 

Workingmen's   Insurance.^ — In    Holland    we    can    observe    the 

^Zeit.  f.  d.  Armenwesen,  August,  1903,  p.  248. 

"Zachar,  Die  Arbeiter-Versicherung  in  Auslande,  Heft  XIII,  1901.  M.  Bellom, 
Les  lois  d'assurance  ouvriere  a  I'etranger,  II,  1896,  pp.  1163-1164.  J.  G.  Brooks, 
Compulsory  Insurance,  p.  349  (rev.  ed.).  T.  Bodiker,  Die  Arbeiter-Versicherung 
in  den  Europaischen  Staaten,  1895. 


348  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

gradual  approach  through  voluntary  associations  for  insurance 
to  a  measure  of  state  intervention  and  action.  In  respect  to  sick- 
ness Zacher  (1901)  showed  that  the  very  poor  are  generally  cast 
upon  public  charity,  since  they  are  unable  to  pay  premiums  into  a 
fund.  In  Amsterdam,  in  1895,  15  per  cent,  of  the  population  were 
dependent  on  free  medical  relief  at  home  and  10,531  persons  on  hos- 
pitals. In  The  Hague  9  per  cent,  of  the  population  were  treated 
by  medical  charity.  There  were  indeed  many  voluntary  societies 
which  collected  premiums  and  paid  sick  and  burial  benefits,  but  these 
associations  reveal  the  defects  of  their  kind.  Few  of  them  extend 
over  the  entire  country.  In  many  places  none  exist.  The  premiums 
are  not  paid  on  sound  actuarial  principles.  The  administrators  are 
not  always  competent  and  honest.  In  spite  of  many  abuses  laid  bare 
by  the  investigations  of  a  commission  the  people  are  generally  op- 
posed to  state  interference  and  supervision. 

The  necessity  for  old  age  pensions  and  invalid  benefits  has  been 
made  apparent  by  governmental  investigations.  Outside  of  a  few 
favored  localities  the  majority  of  workmen  who  live  beyond  65  years 
become  dependent  on  charity.  The  government  has  for  some  time 
provided  pensions  for  its  own  aged  servants  who  become  superannu- 
ated, and  this  emphasizes  the  injustice  of  the  situation  for  ordinary 
workmen.  Several  attempts  have  been  made  to  provide  for  old  age 
by  voluntary  organizations  of  workmen  and  of  employers,  but  with- 
out results  of  any  general  importance.  Zacher  gives  the  draft  of  a 
bill  prepared  by  the  government  for  compulsory  insurance  which 
shows  the  influence  of  the  German  law. 

In  respect  to  accident  insurance  Holland  has  made  much  progress, 
in  spite  of  the  laissez-faire  policy  so  long  followed.  Under  the  older 
law  a  workman  might  indeed  recover  damages  from  his  employer  if 
he  could  prove  that  his  injury  was  due  to  some  fault  of  the  employer 
or  his  agents.  This  was  mockery,  for  a  workman  could  not  aflford 
costly  litigation  and  fault  of  an  employer  is  impossible,  in  most  cases, 
to  prove.  In  case  of  sailors  and  railway  employes  the  law  was  more 
favorable.  The  first  step  of  the  government  was  to  make  it  the  duty 
of  employers  to  insure  their  employes  in  a  company,  but  this  half-way 
measure  left  most  of  the  wage-earners  still  without  protection.  After 
many  and  prolonged  discussions  in  the  National  Legislature  a  com- 
promise bill  was  enacted  January  25,  1901,  providing  for  the  legal 
insurance  of  workmen  in  case  of  injury  in  certain  occupations.     And 


HOLLAND  34g 


thus  Holland  takes  its  place  among  the  nations  which  give  solid 
guarantees  to  the  capable  and  industrious  citizens,  against  the  misery 
which  is  an  inevitable  incident  of  industry;  and  it  gives  promise  of 
further  developments  in  the  same  field. 


CHAPTER  VI 
SWEDEN  AND  NORWAY 

BY   C.    R.   HENDERSON 

Historical  Introduction. — Previous  to  the  political  organi- 
zation of  society  the  members  of  households,  clans  and  tribes 
were  dependent  on  each  other  for  assistance  in  time  of  need.  In 
Scandinavian  countries  at  this  stage  of  social  evolution  dependent 
persons  were  aided  by  relatives  (in  Sweden,  Aett,  Sippe,  Clan). 
The  ancient  laws  of  Iceland  were  based  on  communal  care  of 
the  poor,  and  even  after  the  introduction  of  the  Christian  Church 
they  retained  a  prevailing  secular  character.  In  Norway  the  evi- 
dences of  such  communal  relief  are  scant.  Indigent  persons  who 
had  no  relatives  bound  to  support  them,  were  to  be  cared  for  by 
the  peasants  by  boarding  them  around  in  turn.  From  about  the 
beginning  of  the  thirteenth  century  one-fourth  of  the  tithe  was 
devoted  to  the  poor,  and  the  system  of  relief  was  fairly  well 
developed.  This  arrangement,  after  the  loss  of  independence  and 
the  introduction  of  the  Reformation,  was  broken  down.  In  the 
first  half  of  the  seventeenth  century  the  tithe,  which  had  gradu- 
ally been  neglected,  failed  entirely  in  the  country  districts.  Even 
in  the  cities  the  poor  not  cared  for  in  institutions  were  assisted  by 
gifts  and  fines.  Deacons  administered  the  relief.  By  royal  ordi- 
nance of  1 741  the  principle  of  compulsory  contributions  was 
introduced;  idlers  and  beggars  were  sent  to  workhouses;  inno- 
cent dependents  were  boarded  around  and  given  material  relief. 

The  Mediaeval  period  saw  the  rise  of  the  state;  but,  as  in 
other  parts  of  Europe,  it  was  the  church  which  administered 
poor-relief,  through  parish  and  monastic  machinery.  Tithes 
were  paid  the  clergy  for  their  own  support  and  for  the  relief  of 
the  poor,  two-ninths  of  this  source  of  income  being  devoted  to 
the  poor.     The  Reformation  led  to  the  suppression  of  monas- 

350 


SWEDEN  AND  NORWAY  351 

teries  and  to  the  loss  of  many  customary  revenues.  Parallel  with 
the  movement  in  Great  Britain  we  can  trace  the  different  stages 
of  secularization  of  poor-relief.  Tribe  and  church  no  longer  per- 
form the  function ;  yet  during  the  transition  the  church  sought 
to  meet  the  need  by  appeals  to  voluntary  contributions.  A 
church  order  of  1571  commanded  the  various  parishes  to  show 
compassion  to  their  own  indigent  members.  As  the  roving  and 
resident  multitude  of  beggars  waxed  greater,  ordinances  were 
issued  to  direct  assistance,  as  in  1642;  and  in  1686  all  residents  of 
a  church  parish  were  required  to  make  a  contribution  for  the 
purpose.  As  these  doles,  none  too  systematically  collected,  failed 
to  supply  all  needs,  and  as  sturdy  beggars  made  police  measures 
necessary,  the  machinery  of  the  state  was  gradually  called  into 
requisition  in  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries.  Mendi- 
cants were  ordered  to  stay  in  the  bounds  of  their  own  native 
parishes,  where  they  were  known  and  had  relatives,  and  work- 
houses for  compulsory  labor  were  erected. 

In  1788  each  parish  was  authorized  to  refuse  settlement  to  a 
person  unable  to  support  himself  by  work,  and  this  law  was 
valid  until  1847.  ^  residence  of  three  years  would  confer  the 
right  to  settlement  and  relief. 

A.  Legislation. — The  present  poor  law  of  Sweden  was  enacted 
June  4,  1871,  and  has  been  amended  at  intervals  since,  and  is 
based  essentially  on  the  principles  of  earlier  legislation. 

The  present  law  of  Norway  was  enacted  in  1863,  which  modi- 
fied the  law  of  1845,  especially  in  the  direction  of  discouraging 
the  belief  that  the  poor  had  a  legal  claim  to  relief  which  had 
increased  the  burden  so  greatly  as  to  excite  deep  concern. 

Right  of  Settlement  (in  Sweden  and  Norway, — the  points  in 
common  in  the  two  countries  being  stated  together). — In  both 
Sweden  and  Norway  the  obligation  to  give  relief  rests  on  the 
communes.  The  principle  of  freedom  of  travel  for  all  citizens 
has  been  recognized  in  Norway  for  centuries  ;  in  Sweden  the  poor 
law  of  1847  conferred  this  right.  It  follows  that  the  communes 
have  no  means  of  protecting  themselves  against  the  burden  of 
immigrant  paupers  or  of  feeble  persons  liable  to  become  depen- 
dent. 

The  citizen  may  enjoy  an  original  settlement  as  an  inheritance 
from  his  parents;  or,  after  his  15th  year  of  age,  may  acquire  a 


352 


MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 


settlement  and  rights  to  poor-relief  in  need.  In  Sweden  settle- 
ment may  be  acquired  by  registration  in  the  place  of  residence, 
with  liability  to  taxation.  If,  by  a  residence  of  five  years  out- 
side of  the  commune,  a  citizen  loses  his  right  to  relief,  the  com- 
mune which  gives  help  may  upon  proof  receive  a  subsidy  from 
the  state  to  reimburse  its  expenditure.  If  a  new  resident  be- 
comes dependent  within  a  year,  or  has  received  aid  during  the 
year  before  he  migrated,  he  retains  his  right  to  relief  in  the  com- 
mune of  earlier  residence. 

In  Norway  the  rule  is  different ;  for  there  the  right  to  relief 
is  acquired  only  by  two  years  of  uninterrupted  residence  in  a 
commune.  The  law  of  July  27,  1896,  prevents  an  alien  from 
acquiring  the  right  to  settlement  and  relief.  In  Norway  a  citizen 
loses  his  former  settlement,  not  by  mere  absence  from  home  for 
a  period,  but  by  actually  acquiring  a  new  settlement.  After  a 
certain  age  (in  Sweden  60,  in  Norway  62  years)  the  place  of  set- 
tlement cannot  be  lost  and  a  new  one  acquired.  The  humane 
provision  of  modern  poor  laws  is  embodied  in  these  Scandina- 
vian regulations,  that  the  destitute  person  shall  be  relieved  by 
the  community  where  he  becomes  disabled,  helpless,  or  for  any 
reason  dependent.  If  this  commune  is  not  the  one  on  which  he 
has  a  claim  he  may  be  sent  to  the  place  of  his  legal  settlement 
which  must  bear  the  cost  of  transportation.  The  national  ad- 
ministration is  called  upon  to  repay  a  commune  for  relief  given 
to  a  foreigner,  and  alien  paupers  may  be  returned  to  their  own 
country. 

Disputes  Between  Poor-Relief  Officials. — In  Norway  these 
may  be  settled  by  the  ecclesiastical  ministry  or  by  resort  to 
courts.  Sweden  provides  a  superior  board  of  administration  and 
has  a  chamber  of  justice  where  such  dififerences  may  be  adjusted. 

Relatives. — In  the  administration  of  relief  the  general  prin- 
ciple is  observed  that  the  nearest  relative  must  support  as  far 
as  possible.  Parents,  children,  husband  and  wife  (in  Sweden,  the 
husband)  are  bound  to  relieve.  Also  in  Sweden  the  master  of 
a  household  must  aid  indigent  servants,  workmen  and  their  wives, 
and  the  minor  children  living  in  the  house, — a  relic  of  patriarchal 
times.  In  Norway  the  master  of  a  house  is  required  only  to  care 
for  his  servants  during  sickness  of  brief  duration. 

In  Sweden  the  Jews  are  required  to  aid  their  co-religionists. 


SWEDEN  AND  NORWAY 


353 


Seamen  and  their  families  are  aided  by  the  "shipping  boards," 
whose  funds  are  furnished  from  ship  taxes  levied  for  the  purpose. 

In  Norway  the  miners  are  required  to  establish  their  own 
poor  districts ;  and  other  large  industrial  establishments  are  per- 
mitted to  do  the  same.  The  duty  of  the  public  to  relieve  extends, 
in  Sweden,  to  dependent  children,  aged  invalids  or  persons  other- 
wise unable  to  labor.  In  Norway  orphans  and  homeless  chil- 
dren, the  insane,  the  aged,  the  defective  and  the  sick  when  the 
board  thinks  it  necessary  are  to  have  aid.  A  right  to  relief  can- 
not be  maintained  by  suit  in  the  courts. 

State  Subsidies  to  Relief. — In  the  case  of  indigent  soldiers  or 
foreigners,  or  when  the  legal  settlement  is  unknown,  the  burden 
of  relief  is  taken  from  the  commune  and  borne  by  the  state  treas- 
ury. By  the  law  of  June  27,  1891,  in  Norway,  in  rural  districts 
the  cost  of  caring  for  the  insane  who  are  indigent  is  borne,  four- 
tenths  by  the  state  and  six-tenths  by  the  province. 

Areas  of  Administration. — In  Sweden  the  communes  are  the 
relief  districts,  while  in  Norway  the  communes  may  be  divided 
into  several  districts,  each  one  corresponding  to  a  church  parish. 
In  both  countries,  however,  for  purposes  of  assigning  the  burden 
of  taxes,  the  poor  district  may  be  divided  into  smaller  areas. 
Each  commune  is  responsible  for  all  who  gain  settlement  within 
its  borders  and  cannot  transfer  the  burden  to  another. 

Organs  of  Administration. — In  Sweden  the  communal  board, 
which  is  the  seat  of  authority,  may  establish  a  poor  commission 
of  at  least  three  members.  In  cities  the  various  communes  form 
relief  boards  of  at  least  five  members.  The  parish  pastor  or  his 
representative  has  a  voice. 

In  Norway  each  district  has  its  poor  commission,  which  con- 
sists of  the  local  pastor  and  persons  chosen  by  the  council  of 
the  commune,  and  this  body  chooses  its  own  president.  In  the 
cities  a  magistrate  usually  acts  as  president.  The  council  of  the 
commune  rules  the  budget,  but  the  poor  commission  administers 
the  relief  and  carries  out  the  regulations  of  the  commune.  In 
order  to  secure  direct  and  individual  treatment  a  commissioner 
is  often  appointed  for  each  of  several  sub-districts,  so  that  he 
may  be  in  neighborly  contact  with  the  families  to  be  assisted. 
Attempts  to  introduce  the  German  municipal  ("Elberf'^ld")  sys- 
tem have  thus  far  not  been  very  successful;  but  one  feature  of 

23 


354  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

that  system  is  accepted, — any  citizen  may  be  required  to  act  as 
a  relieving  officer  without  pay.  The  communal  officer  may  also 
appoint  paid  officers. 

Taxation  and  Funds  for  Relief. — First  of  all  the  income  of  an- 
cient endowments  is  drawn  upon ;  and  there  are  revenues  from 
fines  and  gifts.  When  these  sources  are  exhausted  both  Norway 
and  Sweden  resort  to  taxation. 

In  Sweden  there  is  a  head  tax,  and  a  part  of  the  communal 
tax  is  added  if  necessary. 

In  Norway  (regulation  of  1882),  in  case  the  commune  is 
itself  a  poor  district,  no  special  poor  rate  is  levied,  and  the  gen- 
eral fund  is  used.  The  relief  may  be  given  by  citizens  in  goods 
or  in  boarding  the  dependent,  and  the  value  of  such  relief  is  de- 
ducted from  their  taxes ;  if  the  value  is  more  than  their  tax  the 
difference  is  repaid. 

One  source  of  income  is  the  repayment  of  the  expenditures 
for  aid.  When  the  indigent  person  becomes  able  to  return  to 
the  commune  what  he  has  received  he  is  required  to  do  so, — in 
Norway  after  the  15th  year  of  his  age.  In  Norway  the  commune 
becomes  a  legal  heir  to  the  property  of  inmates  of  poorhouses 
and  hospitals,  when  there  are  no  intestate  or  testamentary  heirs, 
and  this  even  before  the  state.  In  Sweden  the  poor  administra- 
tion has  paternal  power  over  dependents  and  the  boards  are  au- 
thorized to  require  the  able-bodied  to  work.  In  Norway  only 
supervisory  power  is  given  the  boards,  and  guardians  may  be 
appointed  on  request  of  the  board. 

Methods  of  Poor-Relief. — In  both  countries  the  communes  are 
generally  left  free  to  fix  their  own  methods. 

The  Boarding-out  of  Paupers. — This  system  comes  from  former 
ages  and  is  particularly  well  adapted  to  the  social  conditions  of 
the  rural  regions  of  Norway,  although  it  is  not  unknown  in  other 
Scandinavian  countries.  In  Norway,  where  the  population  is 
homogeneous  and  scattered,  and  the  erection  and  maintenance  of 
institutions  would  be  a  heavy  burden,  the  quartering  of  de- 
pendents on  families  is  accepted  as  a  duty.  Sick,  defective  and 
aged  paupers  may  be  sent  to  board  with  a  farmer  for  a  whole 
year  or  more.  A  modified  method  is  to  send  the  pauper  around 
in  a  circuit  of  farms  for  a  shorter  period,  but  care  is  taken  that 
no  more  moving  is  required  than  is  necessary.       The  commis- 


SWEDEN  AND  NORWAY  355 

sioners  of  the  poor  exercise  supervision  over  the  arrangement, 
and  if  the  indigent  person  is  not  properly  treated  he  may  be 
reheved  at  cost  of  the  responsible  farmer.  Not  only  small  chil- 
dren but  also  invalids,  and  the  insane  who  cannot  wait  on  them- 
selves, are  placed  in  charge  of  selected  families  who  will  give  to 
them  suitable  attention  and  sympathetic  care. 

As  the  modern  economic  methods  displace  patriarchal  tradi- 
tions, and  payments  in  money  are  substituted  for  barter  and  ex- 
change of  commodities  and  services,  the  boarding  system  will 
be  superseded.  It  is  actually  diminishing  in  extent  of  applica- 
tion. In  1866.  10.114  persons  were  thus  relieved;  in  1885,  4,496, 
and  in  1894,  only  2.610;  or  6  per  1,000  population  in  1866  (or  7.1 
per  cent,  of  population  in  the  country,  where  alone  the  custom 
continues)  ;  1885,  2.3  (and  2.9)  per  1,000;  and  1894,  1.2  (1.7)  per 
1,000.  In  comparison  with  the  number  of  paupers  in  the  whole 
kingdom  the  boarders  in  1866  were  14.8  per  cent.  (18.8  in  the 
country)  ;  1885,  ^-7  P^^  cent  (9.7)  ;  and  in  1894,  3.2  per  cent.  (4.9). 

Indoor  Relief. — Indoor  relief  in  poorhouses  is  more  general  in 
Sweden  than  in  Norway.  In  1895  Sweden  had  5,397  institutions 
for  this  purpose  (1,586  poorhouses,  214  poor  farmers,  38  work- 
houses, 16  places  for  children,  and  3,543  small  "poor  rooms")  ; 
and  at  that  date  44,404  persons,  or  17.3  per  cent,  of  all  assisted 
persons  were  cared  for  (of  whom  9,862,  or  3.8  per  cent.,  were  in 
the  small  "poor  rooms,"  and  34,542,  or  13.5  per  cent.,  were  in 
other  establishments).  In  hospitals  were  6,477  persons,  or  2.5 
per  cent,  of  those  assisted. 

In  Norway  in  1894  the  paupers  in  poorhouses  were  only  2,390, 
or  3  per  cent,  of  those  assisted.  Paupers  can  be  sent  to  insti- 
tutions only  in  exceptional  cases. 

Poor  farms  are  owned  by  the  communes  in  both  Sweden  and 
Norway  and  there  is  a  tendency  to  enlarge  the  scope  of  assistance 
by  means  of  agricultural  labor.  Sweden,  in  1895,  had  214  poor 
farms,  while  the  number  in  Norway  was  much  smaller. 

In  Norway  idleness  and  neglect  to  support  a  family  is  pun- 
ished by  imprisonment  and  labor  in  a  workhouse. 

Statistics  of  Poor-Relief. — The  number  of  paupers  is  relatively 
large.  Under  "direct  charges"  neither  the  wives  of  pauper  men 
nor  minor  children  are  included. 


356  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

Sweden  (1895) 
Direct  charges 

In  the  rural  districts 110,885   (2.8%  of  population) 

In  the  cities 46,804  (4-8%    "  "         ) 

In  the  kingdom,  total 157,689  (3.2%  "  "  ) 

All  paupers 

In  rural  districts 170,148  (4.3%  "  "  ) 

In  cities 86,447  (8.7%  "  "  ) 

In  the  kingdom,  total 256,595   (5.2%    "  "         ) 

Norway 
Direct  charges 

In  the  rural  districts  (1894)  53,365  (  3.5%  of  population) 

(1890)  110.809  (  7.2% 

In  cities (1894)  27,384  (  5.4% 

(1890)  54,807  (11.7% 

In  kingdom (1894)  80,749  (  3.9% 

(1890)  165,538  (  8.3% 

So  far  as  we  can  trust  the  older  statistics  it  appears  that  the 
paupers  per  hundred  in  the  last  30  years  have  diminished  in 
Norway  and  increased  in  Sweden. 

The  entire  expenditure  of  local  poor-relief  in  Sweden  in  1895 
was  12,169,000  and  the  average  expense  for  each  pauper  47.73  kr. 
(including  all  direct  charges  and  others)  :  in  rural  districts  44.39 
kr.  and  in  cities  54.25  kr.  The  average  has  risen:  in  1881  it  was 
37.5  kr.  (31. 1  kr.  in  rural  districts  and  58.7  kr.  in  cities). 

The  cost  for  each  direct  charge  in  1895  was  about  yy  kr.  per 
person. 

The  poor-relief  burden  in  comparison  with  the  population 
was: 
To  each  inhabitant  1886  1895 

Of  the  kingdom i .  96  kr.  2 .  47  kr. 

Of  the  rural  districts i  .44  "  2. 16  " 

Of  the  city 4.42  "  5.31   " 

which  indicate  considerable  increase. 

In  Norway: 
The  entire  cost  of  local  relief  and  the  average  cost  for  each 
pauper: 


SWEDEN  AND  NORWAY  357 

1873 4,632,208  kr.  34.0  kr. 

1878 5.601,870  "  43-0  " 

1885 5,813438  "  38.7  " 

1890 6,163,508  "  37.2  " 

In  1890  the  average  cost  in  the  rural  district  was  32.7  kr.  and 
in  the  cities  47.6  kr.  For  each  direct  charge,  1890,  84  kr.  and 
1894,  85  kr. 

The  cost  per  inhabitant  in  Norway: 

1885  1894 

Of  the  kingdom 3 .  o  kr.  3  •  4  kr. 

Of  rural  districts 2.2"  2.4" 

Of  cities 5.7  "  5.9  " 

Norway — Statistics  of  1899:^ 

Rural  communes :  Number  of  heads  of  families  (or  single 
persons)  aided,  50,867,  to  be  repaid  3,363.  Persons  assisted  out- 
side of  comune,  3,682.     At  charge  of  commune,  51,186. 

Number  of  persons  assisted  directly : 

(a)  Not  having  received  other  aid  than  gratuitous  support 
at  home  or  hospital,  6,187. 

(b)  Assisted  for  the  first  time,  5,830. 

Total  expenditures,  4,086,335  kr. ;  per  head  of  family  (or  single 
person)  assisted,  80  kr. 

Urban  communes :  Number  of  heads  of  families  or  single 
persons  aided,  29,863. 

To  be  repaid 4,821 

Aided  out  of  commune 2,195 

At  charge  of  commune 27,237 

Number  assisted  directly: 

(0)  Not  having  received  other  than  aid  at  home  or  in  hos- 
pital, 3,790. 

(b)     Aided  first  time,  5,152. 
Financial: 

{Poor-relief  in  proper  sense 2,392,127  kr. 
Sick-relief 1,255,943  " 
Other  costs 920,145  " 

Total 4,568,215  kr. 

^  Statistisk  Aarbog  lor  Kongeriget  Norge,   1902,  pp.    106-107. 


358 


MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 


Total  net  expenditures,  3,577,444  kr. ;  per  head  of  family  (or 
single  person),  131  kr. 

For  Kingdom  of  Norway,  1899 : 

Number  assisted 80,730 

To  repay 4,821 

Aided  out  of  commune 2,195 

At  charge  of  commune 27,237 

Directly  aided: 

(a)  At  home  or  hospital 9»977 

(b)  First  aid 10,982 

Financial: 

{Poor-relief  in  proper  sense 5,270,482  kr. 
Sick-relief 2,327,404  " 
Other  costs 1,656,873  " 

Total 9»254,759  kr. 

In  goods. ...    170,701  " 

Total  net  expenditures,  7.663,779  kr. ;  average  per  head  of 
family  (or  single  person)  aided,  98  kr. 

G.  Vagrants,  Etc. — In  Sweden,  and  to  some  extent  in  Norway, 
the  poor  farms  help  wandering  dependents  by  furnishing  shelter 
and  food  in  return  for  labor,  under  control  of  the  authorities. 

H.  Medical  Relief. — In  Norway  about  60  per  cent,  of  cases  of 
dependence  are  due  to  illness  of  the  breadwinner  or  the  family ; 
10  to  II  per  cent,  to  old  age;  1.5  per  cent,  to  drink.  From  40  to 
45  per  cent,  of  aid  is  given  in  medical  care  and  nursing,  and  about 
30  per  cent,  in  cash.  These  figures  show  the  relative  importance 
of  this  form  of  help. 

The  prevalence  of  leprosy  gave  occasion  for  the  establish- 
ment of  four  hospitals  for  those  afflicted  with  this  disease.  In 
the  year  1866,  795  lepers  were  treated,  but  in  1895  the  number 
had  fallen  to  360,  and  one  of  the  hospitals,  at  Reknes,  was  made 
a  sanatorium  for  tuberculous  patients.  Another  hospital  for  con- 
sumptives has  been  planted  in  Lyster  in  Sogn,  in  a  well-wooded 
district,  1,600  feet  above  sea  level. 

In  Kristiania  is  a  general  hospital  belonging  to  the  state,  with 
medical  and  surgical,  and  special  wards.  The  daily  average  of 
patients  in  1895  was  376.     The  state  also  supports  two  lying-in 


SWEDEN  AND  NORWAY 


359 


hospitals,  in  connection  with  which  instruction  in  obstetrics  is 
given.  The  number  of  births  in  the  institution  at  Kristiania  was 
969  in  1895,  and  at  Bergen  112. 

Two  seaside  hospitals  for  scrofulous  children  (at  Fredriks- 
vern  and  Bergen)  enjoy  state  subsidies. 

Most  of  the  countries  support  infirmaries,  some  of  which  are 
open  only  in  the  fishing  season.  The  cities  support  their  own 
hospitals,  in  which  persons  suffering  from  epidemic  diseases 
are  treated.  In  Kristiania  is  a  special  hospital,  with  200  beds, 
for  treatment  of  patients  suffering  from  communicable  disease. 
There  are  also  hospitals  on  charitable  foundations,  as  St.  Jergen's 
Hospital  for  Lepers  in  Bergen,  Oslo  Lunatic  Asylum,  Our  Lady's 
Hospital,  the  Deacons'  and  Deaconesses'  Houses  in  Kristiania. 

There  are  several  sanitoria  for  convalescents  and  neuras- 
thenics, bathing  rooms  and  medical  spring  baths  are  made  acces- 
sible to  the  indigent  sick  in  some  instances. 

Nurses,  men  and  women,  are  trained  at  the  Deacons'  and 
Deaconesses'  Houses  in  Kristiania,  and  by  several  associations, 
as  the  Red  Cross  and  the  Norwegian  Women's  Hygienic  Union. 

Under  the  Department  of  Justice  in  Norway  is  a  civil  medical 
board  with  a  director.  In  districts  and  towns  medical  officers 
are  appointed  to  attend  the  sick  poor  and  dependent  insane. 
Boards  of  health  are  charged  with  the  duty  of  safeguarding  public 
health  by  enforcing  sanitary  regulations,  quarantine,  etc. 

J.  Defectives. — The  cost  of  maintenance  of  pauper  lunatics  in 
Norway  is  borne  partially  or  wholly  by  the  state  exchequer. 

There  are  three  state  hospitals  for  the  insane  with  capacity 
for  820  patients.  Another  is  projected  for  the  northern  part  of 
the  country,  and  the  Trondhjem  prison  has  an  asylum  for  30 
insane  convicts.  Occasionally  insane  persons  are  found  in  the 
county  infirmaries,  and  in  Kristiania,  Kristiansand,  Bergen  and 
Trondhjem  there  are  municipal  establishments  for  lunatics. 
There  are  two  private  institutions  for  the  insane. 

In  Norway  deaf,  blind  and  imbecile  children  are  educated, 
under  the  provisions  of  the  law  of  1881  and  under  the  direction 
of  the  Ecclesiastical  and  Educational  Department.  The  law 
makes  such  attendance  obligatory.  Elementary  institutions  and 
practical  training  for  industry  are  furnished  by  these  schools. 
The  course  is  ordinarily  8  years.     Deaf  children  are  received  at 


36o  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

7,  blind  children  at  9,  and  imbeciles  at  14  or  15  years  of  age. 
The  first  school  for  the  deaf  was  opened  at  Drontheim  in  1824. 
Instruction  is  at  cost  of  the  state,  but  expenses  of  support  are 
borne  by  the  municipalities.  The  government  has  five  schools 
for  deaf  children  and  the  lip  reading  method  is  used.  There  are 
three  state  institutions  for  feeble-minded  children.  In  1898-99 
there  were  420  pupils,  with  67  masters  and  governesses.  The 
state  has  two  schools  for  the  blind  and  maintains  an  institution 
under  private  care  for  blind  adults.  In  1898-99  there  were  130 
blind  pupils  and  20  teachers.  An  industrial  school  at  Kristiania 
in  1898  had  44  pupils.  There  are  several  societies  to  aid  adult 
deaf  mutes.  The  number  of  the  deaf  in  Norway,  January  i,  1891, 
was  2,139.     June  i,  1900,  there  were  309  pupils  in  all  schools. 

Sweden. — By  a  law  of  May  31,  1899,  the  school  attendance  of 
deaf  children  for  8  years  from  the  7th  to  9th  year  was  made 
obligatory.  There  are  8  institutions,  for  the  most  part  boarding 
schools,  with  100  to  170  pupils ;  also  2  private  schools  and  3  insti- 
tutions for  persons  beyond  the  school  age.  In  1898  there  were 
860  pupils  of  school  age  and  78  over  this  age  in  institutions  for 
the  deaf. 

There  is  a  school  and  home  for  the  blind  and  deaf,  with  6 
pupils,  and  also  8  feeble-minded,  hearing  blind  children  are  cared 
for.i 

K.  Children. — In  Sweden  public  relief  is  extended  to  dependent 
children  under  the  15th  year.  In  Norway  orphans  and  friend- 
less children  are  also  wards  of  public  charity. 

In  Sweden  it  is  expressly  provided  by  law  that  dependent 
children  shall  enjoy  Christian  education. 

In  Norway,  under  the  boarding  system  of  relief  dependent 
children  are  under  the  protection  of  special  regulations.  Small 
children  may  not  be  quartered  on  families  but  may  be  placed  in 
families  who  volunteer  to  care  for  them.  Older  children  are  kept 
for  several  years  in  the  same  home,  in  order  that  they  may  enjoy 
the  advantage  of  continuous  educational  influences. 

In  Norway  destitute  and  neglected  children  in  danger  of 
growing  up  criminals,  are  now  protected  and  cared  for  under  a 
law  passed  in  1896,^  in  such  a  way  that  no  child  under  14  years 

*  Zeitschrift  f.  d.  Armenwesen,  1903,  p.  169. 

*  Schriften  d.  Deutschen  Vereins  f.  A.  u.  W.     Heft  64,  p.  6. 


SWEDEN  AND  NORWAY  361 

of  age  shall  be  considered  responsible  for  crime,  but  shall  be 
placed  under  careful  educational  influences.  In  each  munici- 
pality a  Board  of  Guardians,  on  which  a  pastor,  a  magistrate,  a 
physician,  and  one  or  two  women  are  appointed,  decides  what 
shall  be  done  with  morally  imperilled  children.  This  board  may 
remove  a  child  from  the  parents,  place  it  in  a  home  or  school, 
or  safeguard  it  in  its  parental  home,  as  they  think  most  beneficial 
to  the  child.  The  schools  are  carefully  graded  to  prevent  the 
mingling  of  the  better  children  with  those  already  depraved. 
This  work  for  children  is  under  the  direction  of  the  Ecclesiastical 
and  Educational  Department,  and  the  cost  is  divided  between  the 
central  and  local  governments. 

Technical  schools  of  all  grades  are  supplied  in  Norway  with 
the  purposes  of  fitting  the  young  people  to  make  their  own  way 
in  life.  In  1897-8  there  were  13  technical  night  schools,  with 
2,443  pupils  and  239  teachers.  The  school  fees  are  2  to  5  kr.  a 
year.  In  some  towns  public  drawing  schools  are  maintained 
by  the  local  government  with  the  aid  of  a  state  subsidy. 

Employment  bureaus  are  provided  in  the  larger  municipali- 
ties, where  there  are  the  greatest  movements  of  working  men. 

M.  Workingmen's  Dwellings. — In  Norway  the  industries  are 
largely  in  the  country  (54  per  cent,  of  the  factories  and  48  per 
cent,  of  the  labor  counted  in  days). 

In  Kristiania  land  is  dear.  Private  companies  have  done 
something  to  meet  the  need  for  houses.  The  city  itself  has  built 
a  few  blocks  of  artisan  dwellings,  provided  sanitary  inspection 
and  regulated  the  condition  of  cellars.  The  government  has 
created  funds  to  be  lent  for  the  purchase  of  houses. 

Norzvay  (Protection  and  Insurance  of  Workingmen). — The  agi- 
tation for  state  regulation  and  help  began  about  1878.  Factory 
inspection  and  protection  of  laborers  in  mines,  handicrafts  and 
manufactories  have  been  provided.  The  work  of  children  is  re- 
stricted, education  insured,  and  conditions  of  health  required. 
Children  under  14  years  of  age  may  not  be  employed  in  fac- 
tories; youths  (14  to  18  years)  may  not  be  employed  over  10 
hours  a  day.  Women  may  not  be  employed  in  mines,  nor  at 
work  with  machinery,  nor  during  six  weeks  after  confinement. 
Adult  men  may  not  labor  after  6  P.  M.,  before  Sunday  or  a  holi- 
day, nor  until  10  P.  M.  on  Sunday  or  a  holiday. 


362  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

Norway  (Accident  Insurance). — By  the  law  of  July  23,  1894, 
working  people,  domestics,  miners,  quarrymen,  wharf  laborers, 
etc.,  are  assured  an  indemnity  in  case  of  accident.  Other  persons 
are  permitted  to  insure  themselves  in  the  state  office.  Laborers 
in  agriculture,  shipping  and  fishing  were  not  included  in  this 
law.  About  80,000  persons  in  about  10,000  occupations  were 
included.  The  indemnity  is:  Expenses  of  medical  treatment 
from  the  fourth  week  after  the  accident.  For  the  first  four  weeks 
the  sick  benefit  clubs  are  supposed  to  bear  the  expenses.  Sixty 
per  cent,  of  the  wages  of  the  injured  person  is  paid  in  case  of 
complete  disablement,  and  a  lower  rate  in  case  of  partial  inca- 
pacity to  labor.  If  accident  results  in  death  the  funeral  expenses 
(50  kr.)  and  an  annuity  to  the  bereaved  family  (not  more  than 
50  per  cent,  of  the  wage  rate)  are  paid.  If  the  man  is  to  blame 
for  the  accident  there  is  no  indemnity.  The  premiums  are  paid 
by  employers,  according  to  wages  up  to  1,200  kr.  per  year.  The 
premium  may  not  be  charged  to  employe.  A  law  for  insurance 
against  disablement  by  sickness  has  also  been  under  considera- 
tion for  several  years. 

There  are  private  sick  clubs,  burial  clubs  and  pension  funds 
in  Norway;  but,  like  all  voluntary  arrangements,  they  meet  the 
wants  of  only  a  part  of  the  working  people,  and  least  of  all,  those 
who  are  in  greatest  need  of  such  protection. 


CHAPTER  VII 
DENMARK 

BY   PROFESSOR   J.    M.    GILLETTE,   PH.  D. 

A.  Legislation. — The  fundamental  law  of  1849  enacts  that 
"whoever  is  unable  to  support  himself  or  those  dependent  on  him 
has  a  right  to  assistance  from  the  community,  if  his  support  is 
not  incumbent  on  others ;  but  he  is  subject  to  the  liabilities  which 
the  law  in  this  respect  imposes." 

This  recognition  of  the  right  of  the  indigent  to  aid  was  held 
in  view  both  in  law  and  practice  long  before  this.  The  scope 
was  enlarged  in  1708  so  as  to  include  the  able-bodied  indigent 
as  well  as  children,  the  sick  and  decrepit.  In  the  early  part  of 
the  sixteenth  century  poor-relief  organization  was  attempted  and 
laws  enacted  therefor,  but  it  remained  practically  undeveloped. 
A  specific  poor  rate  was  first  levied  on  landowners  in  1762.  An 
ordinance  of  1792  declared  for  poor  aid  through  organized  charity. 
A  commission  worked  out  the  plan  embodied  in  the  poor  laws 
of  1799,  which  served  as  the  basis  of  poor-relief  in  Copenhagen 
up  to  1891  and  which  is  even  now  dominant.  In  the  same  man- 
ner the  fundamental  law  of  1803  for  the  provincial  cities  and  rural 
regions  prevailed  until  the  same  date  and  was  not  fundamentally 
changed.  The  chief  changes  in  the  codes  of  1799  and  1803  took 
place  in  1849,  when  the  period  of  settlement  was  extended  from 
three  to  five  years;  in  1857  for  Copenhagen;  and  in  1867-8  for 
the  other  cities  and  country  when  the  system  of  administration 
was  municipalized  throughout  the  kingdom;  in  1873  when  relief 
officers  in  Copenhagen  were  placed  on  a  salary  instead  of  volun- 
tary basis;  and  in  1891  when  old  age  rehef  provisions  were  made. 
The  principle  of  state  aid  to  indigent  able-bodied  persons  involved 
the  imposition  of  such  severe  conditions  that  only  those  who  were 
driven  or  forced  to  be  idle  would  apply,  and  hence  the  transition 

363 


364 


MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 


of  assistance  through  private  charity  organizations  to  public 
reHef  chiefly  in  workhouses. 

Although  poor-relief  in  Denmark  divides  itself  into  three 
parts,  Copenhagen  distinct  from  the  rest,  the  so-called  "provin- 
cial cities"  or  "cities,"  and  the  country,  and  although  adminis- 
tratively they  are  different  each  from  the  other,  yet  the  same  gen- 
eral laws  prevail  in  all.  By  remembering  that  the  cities  are  di- 
vided into  districts  and  the  country  into  communes,  each  of 
which  constitutes  a  poor  district,  confusion  will  be  avoided. 

Qualifications  of  Right  to  Aid. — Certain  conditions  modify  the 
right  to  assistance.  Parents  must  maintain  legitimate  or  step- 
children up  to  the  i8th  year.  This  period  may  be  extended  for 
the  feeble-minded.  Separated  parents  who  are  financially  able 
must  maintain  the  children.  This  applies  to  adopted  children 
and  to  mothers  of  illegitimate  children.  A  man  must  contribute 
to  the  support  of  his  illegitimate  children.  Parents  of  disordered 
minds  are  sustained  by  their  children.  Wife  and  husband  are 
responsible  for  each  other's  support.  In  default  of  any  on  whom 
his  support  is  incumbent  the  pauper's  right  to  relief  is  not 
impaired. 

Liabilities  Consequent  on  Aid. — The  pauper  must  remain  in  the 
district  relieving  him ;  be  subject  to  superintendence,  to  needed 
discipline  and  punishment,  e.  g.,  placing  in  workhouse  with  hard 
labor  and  confinement,  or  even  to  imprisonment  in  jail;  prohibi- 
tion to  marry  and  removal  of  his  children  from  his  house  or  con- 
trol.^ Loss  of  general  electoral  rights,  e.  g.,  to  vote  for  mem- 
bers of  the  Folkthing  ensues  upon  application  for  and  acceptance 
of  public  aid.  To  prevent  pawning  of  property,  one  receiving 
continuous  support  is  registered  by  the  relief  officers.  The  state 
has  certain  rights  of  inheritance  against  the  heirs  of  a  pauper, 
especially  if  he  receives  hospital  relief.  In  some  instances  the 
state  may  claim  repayment  of  aid  given.  In  Copenhagen  a  re- 
stored pauper  is  primarily  liable  for  such  assistance  given.  In 
the  cities  and  country  such  liability  ensues  only  upon  his  death. 
The  last  four  consequences  ensue  to  anyone  who  fails  in  his  duties 
of  maintenance  of  those  dependent  on  him. 

Settlement. — The  working  principle  in  Denmark  is  that  tem- 

^  This  does  not  affect  those  who  repay  the  aid  granted  nor  those  aided  from 
the  "poor  fund"  who  are  not  yet  on  the  public  poor  list. 


DENMARK  365 

porary  relief  is  to  be  given  by  the  district  in  which  the  pauper 
appHes,  permanent  rehef  by  that  in  which  he  has  settlement. 
Settlement  is  established  by  five  years'  free,  continuous  residence. 
Continuity  is  interpreted  to  be  retention  of  domicile  or  service 
in  a  district.  Married  men  contributing  to  the  support  of  their 
family,  though  separate  from  the  latter,  retain  residence  and 
settlement  thereby.  Voluntary  residence  does  not  apply  to  the 
movements  of  minors,  idiots,  soldiers,  prisoners,  and  others  de- 
tained by  force.  In  default  of  five  years'  residence,  relief  is 
obligatory  on  the  indigent's  birthplace.  In  case  neither  residence 
nor  birthplace  can  be  established,  the  place  of  longest  residence 
during  the  last  five  years  is  bound  to  give  relief,  provided  the 
residence  was  over  one  year;  under  that,  local  relief  is  granted. 
Up  to  the  i8th  year  children's  residence  goes  with  the  parents' 
home  district,  and  illegitimate  children  have  the  residence  of  the 
mother.  If  the  parents  have  no  home  commune,  relief  of  the 
child  depends  on  the  commune  granting  aid  to  parents.  The 
domicile  of  wives  (not  divorced)  is  that  of  the  husband,  and  this 
holds  good  for  widows. 

Temporary  Relief. — Indigents  are  entitled  to  local  relief  and 
also  to^  sick  benefits  for  not  over  six  weeks,  if  they  have  a  resi- 
dence in  the  place  for  three  months.  Such  aid  does  not  include 
lodging  and  rent.  Three-fourths  indemnification  from  the  pau- 
per's residence  commune  may  be  obtained.  However,  this  repay- 
ment does  not  generally  include  expense  of  medical  attention, 
midwife  and  burial.  Either  district  concerned  may  insist  on  the 
transfer  of  a  dependent. 

It  is  illegal  to  expel  any  one  from  a  commune,  on  the  supposi- 
tion that  he  may  become  a  public  burden  or  to  prevent  his  settle- 
ment on  the  same  grounds,  if  he  supports  himself. 

Law  of  Outdoor  and  Indoor  Relief. — The  law  of  1891  provides 
for  assistance  in  homes,  private  families  and  public  institutions. 
Begging  and  giving  to  the  poor  of  institutions  are  prohibited. 
Poor-relief,  therefore,  provides  necessary  maintenance — in  sick- 
ness medical  attention  and  care — and  directs  the  mode  of  appli- 
cation for  each  person.  Those  not  adapted  to  aid  in  the  home  are 
to  be  removed  to  the  appropriate  public  institution.     On  advice 

^  The  law  of  1891  qualified  this,  as  also  for  domestic  servants. 


366  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

of  the  physician  a  sick  pauper  is  removed  to  a  hospital  or  the 
infirmary  of  a  charity  institution. 

B.  Administration  and  Organization. — The  administrative 
machinery  of  Denmark  is  three-fold :  that  for  the  country,  that  for 
the  cities  and  that  for  Copenhagen.  In  1867  the  principle  of  self- 
government  was  applied  to  local  affairs  in  Denmark  and  the  coun- 
try was  divided  into  communes,  each  of  which  composed  a  parish 
or  parishes  and  possessed  an  elective  council  of  four  or  five  mem- 
bers. This  council  has  complete  fiscal  and  administrative  au- 
thority and  has  in  charge  all  matters  of  poor-relief.  In  addition 
to  this  there  is  a  kind  of  supervision  of  the  prefectorial  commune 
(or  county),  chiefly  in  regard  to  secondary  financial  matters. 
In  rare  cases  appeals  may  go  to  the  Minister  of  the  Interior. 
For  purposes  of  relief  the  parish  constitutes  the  unit  or  district. 
Poor-reHef  may  be  administered  by  a  member  of  the  parochial 
council.  Usually  the  chairman,  who  is  also  communal  treasurer, 
administers  it.  He  receives  applicants,  makes  investigations,  de- 
cides the  kind  and  amount  of  relief  and  arranges  for  procuring 
the  relief.  The  council  meets  at  least  once  in  two  months  and 
to  this  the  chairman  or  deputed  poor-relief  officer  makes  a  formal 
report.     Poor-relief  budgets  originate  here. 

In  1868  the  municipal  affairs  of  Denmark  were  reformed. 
Town  councils  became  elective.  On  them  devolved  matters  of 
poor-relief  and  conduct  of  charitable  institutions.  Administra- 
tion is  by  standing  committees  or  by  other  chosen  means.  Un- 
paid overseers  may  be  delegated  to  look  after  the  needy.  The 
conduct  of  relief  work  pertains  properly  to  that  municipal  officer 
who  is  chairman  of  the  section  of  the  council  having  poor-relief 
business  in  charge.  He  may  personally  administer  relief  as  the 
chairman  of  the  parochial  council  cited  above,  or  by  unpaid 
overseers,  who  are  appointed  by  the  council  for  a  definite  time 
and  are  expected  to  make  those  investigations  before  assigning 
relief. 

In  respect  to  Copenhagen  the  administration  of  outdoor  relief 
is  divided  into  three  circuits,  the  east,  west  and  north.  Each 
circuit  consists  of  four  districts.  All  poor  matters  are  under  the 
control  of  the  third  section  of  municipal  administration,  spe- 
cifically under  the  second  secretary.  Here  is  lodged  final  au- 
thority for  aid  and  decisions  in  cases  of  reference.       Each  cir- 


DENMARK  367 

cuit  has  an  inspector.  Besides  having  immediate  direction  of 
all  matters  touching  the  aged  poor,  the  inspectors  form  a  medi- 
ating agency  between  the  section  and  the  district.  The  inspector 
does  not  receive  applicants  for  aid.  He  reports  to  the  section 
all  matters  which  must  go  before  it,  or  later  be  referred  to  it,  and 
also  advises  the  district  heads.  For  the  latter  purpose  he  meets 
them  in  a  weekly  conference  in  which  circuit  events  are  discussed. 
Out  of  these  conferences  come  a  uniform  principle  of  relief  and 
greater  cooperative  efficiency.  At  the  head  of  the  district  stands 
the  district  overseer.  He  is  the  one  who  enters  into  close  con- 
tact with  the  poor.  All  relief  requests  go  to  him  and  he  con- 
ducts all  investigations  into  the  concrete  individual  needs  and 
informs  the  section  about  the  kind  of  assistance  demanded.  He 
himself  may  grant  aid  in  kind  of  small  value  and  in  cash  until 
further  investigation.  If  needed,  unpaid  assistants  are  provided 
for  the  district  overseer.  Each  poor  district  is  divided  into  medi- 
cal districts,  in  each  of  which  resides  a  district  physician,  who  is 
obliged  to  give  aid  to  those  sent  to  him  by  the  district  overseer. 
Consultation  hours  are  daily  from  9  to  11  and  there  are  visits 
to  the  sick.  In  many  districts  nurses  are  salaried  for  care  of  the 
sick  in  their  homes.  Those  opposed  to  such  treatment  are  sent 
by  the  overseer  to  a  parish  society  which  undertakes  the  care 
of  the  sick.  The  bureau  of  the  overseer  is  located  near  the  center 
of  the  district.  Its  four  parts  are  waiting  room,  physician's  office 
and  offices  of  the  chief  and  assistant.  It  is  open  each  day  from 
9  to  I,  on  Sundays  and  holidays  from  8  to  9  A.  M.  After  office 
hours  the  district  chief  makes  his  visits,  investigations,  etc.,  in 
the  district.  So  far  as  he  is  able  he  adjusts  the  course  of  domes- 
tic and  private  relations  of  the  poor  and  controls  the  life  of  the 
pauper. 

Relief  in  Homes. — Copenhagen  is  a  good  example  of  poor- 
relief  administered  in  the  homes  of  the  indigent.  For  this  reason 
it  is  well  to  give  the  methods  employed  there  in  considerable 
detail,  as  outlined  by  A.  Krieger,  Denmark's  representative  at  the 
International  Congress  of  Public  Relief  and  Private  Charity, 
Paris. 

Instructions  to  the  district  chief  of  the  city  require  of  them 
three  principal  tasks:  (i)  To  decide  if  the  applicant  for  aid  is 
truly  indigent;  (2)  as  to  how  the  indigence  was  caused,  and  (3) 


368 


MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 


in  what  manner  it  may  best  be  remedied.  There  is  large  scope 
for  individuahzation  in  the  work  of  investigation  of  cases.  In 
order  to  secure  a  full  knowledge  of  the  applicant,  in  addition  to 
an  audience  with  him,  it  is  visual  to  address  letters  of  inquiry  to 
his  employer  or  last  employer  as  to  kind  of  work,  duration,  rate 
of  pay,  cause  of  discharge,  etc.,  all  the  information  the  employer 
is  able  to  give.  Often  a  personal  visit  to  the  employer  follows 
a  reply  to  the  letter  of  inquiry  for  fuller  knowledge.  This  with 
gleanings  from  neighbors,  owner  of  his  house,  etc.,  enables  the 
chief  to  make  a  fair  estimate  of  the  economic  condition  of  an 
applicant,  his  moral  worth  and  his  ability  to  earn  his  own  sup- 
port. The  principle  is  followed  that  relief  should  be  given,  not 
as  a  preventive  of  physical  indigence,  but  as  a  betterment  of 
economic  conditions  to  make  life  less  onerous  and  more  dignified. 
Such  results  are  left  to  private  beneficence  and  the  individual 
initiative  of  the  poor.  Thus  relief  is  relief  in  and  for  itself.  The 
bare  necessaries  of  life  are  included.  It  is  no  easy  task  to  esti- 
mate these.  On  one  side  is  the  minimum  of  the  means  of  ex- 
istence necessary  to  life  and  health  ;  on  the  other  is  the  income 
of  the  applicant.  The  difiference  between  these  is  the  basis  of 
the  amount  of  aid.  In  order  to  aid  the  overseers  in  deciding 
amounts  of  aid  they  are  provided  with  a  normal  tariff  containing 
a  rate  for  one  person  without  family  and  for  each  member  of 
a  family,  estimated  in  cash.  For  single  persons  this  is  12^ 
cents  per  day.  For  families,  the  head  received  621/2  cents  per 
week;  the  wife,  50  cents ;  children  10  to  18,  50  cents ;  children  5  to 
10,  373/^  cents ;  children  less  than  5,  25  cents  per  week.  To  this  is 
added  the  rent  paid  and  25  cents  per  week  for  fuel  in  winter. 
This  fixes  the  minimum.  The  overseers  are  not  bound  to  it 
rigidly. 

There  are  two  groups  of  public  relief,  aid  in  sickness  and  sub- 
sistence. Relief  for  maintenance  is  in  kind  and  in  money.  The 
former  is  regarded  as  more  efficient  and  less  liable  to  abuse.  In 
a  large  district  it  is  impracticable  to  give  relief  in  kind  to  all. 
Those  having  the  right  of  domicile  outside  of  Copenhagen  are 
commonly  so  assisted.  Aid  in  kind  is  given  as  bread,  food,  coal, 
clothing,  bedding  and  tools.  Normal  tariffs  for  the  first  three 
items  afford  a  basis  for  decisions.  Clothing  is  provided  mostly 
for  children  in  school  or  on  taking  their  first  communion,  etc.,  and 


DENMARK 


369 


to  adults  only  when  absolutely  necessary.  Bedding  is  given  in 
homes  with  the  understanding  that  it  must  not  be  disposed  of. 
It  remains  with  the  poor  so  long  as  they  are  under  poor-relief 
and  it  may  be  presented  them  at  the  end.  Tools  are  not  regarded 
as  public  relief  but  may  be  given  if  it  seems  they  will  assist  to 
final  independence.  A  public  relief  depot  is  maintained  by  the 
section  containing  the  last  three  items.  Money  aid  is  distin- 
guished as  temporary,  fixed,  and  that  for  children.  Temporary 
aid  is  intended  for  emergency  cases,  such  as  for  rental  when  the 
renter  will  otherwise  be  turned  out,  and  for  lodging  when  a 
month's  advance  will  procure  it  for  those  without.  In  amount 
temporary  aid  is  fixed  by  scale  according  to  the  number  of  per- 
sons in  a  family  and  by  the  current  rental  rates  of  the  district. 
For  a  single  person  it  is  $1.75  per  month;  for  a  family  of  two, 
$2.00;  for  three,  $2.25;  for  four,  $2.50;  for  five,  six,  $2.75;  for 
seven,  eight,  $3.00;  for  nine  or  more,  $3.25.  Children  under  18 
are  counted  in  the  family  when  they  live  at  home.  The  scale 
may  be  exceeded  in  certain  cases  of  sickness,  where  a  part  of  the 
apartment  is  used  for  shop  or  counter,  where  rent  has  uniformly 
risen,  etc.  Aid  is  never  given  to  pay  debts.  It  is  never  paid  to 
the  pauper,  but  always  to  the  proprietor  and  upon  his  signature. 
So  as  not  to  discourage  payment  of  rent  aid  is  given  to  the  same 
person  only  a  few  months  at  a  time,  generally  in  winter.  Con- 
stant rent  may  be  granted  to  the  honest,  diligent,  and  in  excep- 
tional cases.  Only  temporary  aid  is  granted  those  domiciled  out- 
side the  city.  Permanent  relief  is  limited  to  residents  of  Copen- 
hagen or  those  who  should  be  supported  in  the  city.  It  is  ac- 
corded for  one  or  two  years  at  a  time,  but  may  run  longer,  and 
even  be  made  for  life,  if  it  is  evident  that  the  person  will  always 
need  aid.  It  is  given  to  families  no  longer  than  the  first  com- 
munion of  one  of  their  children.  It  may  cease  on  betterment  of 
conditions.  As  in  preceding  cases  a  normal  rate  is  furnished  for 
adjusting  this  relief.  For  this  purpose  the  first  class  receives 
four  couronnes  ($14.00)  per  month,  and  includes  married  or 
unmarried  women  and  widows  with  two  to  three  children,  and 
families  (man  and  wife)  with  four  children.  The  second  class 
receives  6  couronnes  ($21.00)  per  month  and  includes  women  and 
widows  with  four  or  more  children,  and  families  (man  and  wife) 
with  four  or  more  children.  Fixed  relief  to  single  persons  in 
24 


370  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

regard  to  age  grants  $10.50  per  month  to  those  60  to  64  years  of 
age;  $14.00  to  those  65  to  69;  $17.50  to  those  over  70.  Without 
regard  to  age  upon  certificate  of  the  physician  and  advice  of  dis- 
trict overseer  persons  who  cannot  earn  a  HveHhood  but  do  not 
require  special  care  are  granted  up  to  $24.50  per  month.  Imbe- 
ciles, blind,  epileptics,  paralytics,  apoplectics  and  similar  persons 
may  receive  $35.00  per  month.  Childless  couples  receive  the 
same  aid  as  single  persons.  Bread  may  be  added  to  the  aid 
of  those  receiving  under  $21.00  per  month,  or  the  equivalent  in 
cash.  Supplemental  aid  in  kind,  clothing,  literature,  etc.,  may 
be  added.  Supplemental  aid  to  the  feeble,  to  the  aged  poor  with- 
out family,  or  to  those  couples  who  are  not  able  to  work  and 
are  without  homes  with  children,  or  others  who  have  a  right  to 
be  placed  in  a  general  hospital,  may  be  granted,  making  the  total 
fixed  relief  as  much  as  $35.00  to  $42.00  per  month  for  single  per- 
sons and  $60.00  to  $70.00  per  month  for  couples.  Defectives 
under  exceptional  cases  may  receive  further  aid. 

All  who  receive  public  aid  are  under  the  control  and  surveil- 
lance of  the  district  chief,  who  aids  and  advises  kindly  and  firmly 
for  better  domestic,  economic  and  moral  conditions. 

Extent. — The  extent  of  public  relief  can  be  given  in  terms  of 
numbers.  Since  reports  indicate  that  the  poor  are  well  cared 
for  the  numbers  will  also  indicate  approximately  the  extent  of 
need.  In  1890  those  given  fixed  relief  in  their  homes  were  5,904; 
temporary  relief  in  homes,  1,697  ^o^  Copenhagen  alone.  In  1898 
the  total  number  relieved  in  Copenhagen  by  public  aid  was  5,548, 
of  which  3,078  were  for  fixed  relief,  1,877  ^^^  temporary  and  592 
sick  in  homes.  The  total  number  aided  in  Copenhagen  has  de- 
creased in  proportion  to  the  population  since  1890,  although  the 
actual  decrease  is  partly  accounted  for  by  the  assignment  of  relief 
of  aged  to  another  agency.  No  data  occur  for  relief  in  homes 
outside  Copenhagen.  It  must  necessarily  be  a  small  part  of 
relief  work,  however,  since  the  total  city  population  outside  of 
Denmark  is  much  less  than  that  of  Copenhagen  alone  and  rural 
relief  is  mostly  of  the  indoor  sort. 

C.  Private  Charity. — It  is  difficult  to  speak  of  private  chari- 
table organizations  since  compulsory  state  aid  has  rendered  them 
largely  functionless.^     Still  there  are  numerous  charitable  estab- 

'  In    1870   Strochy  notes   that  only   one   or   two   charity   organizations   existed 


DENMARK  37 1 

lishments  founded  by  private  citizens  or  supported  by  voluntary 
contributions;  infant  asylums,  public  refectories  for  the  poor, 
hospitals  for  the  aged  and  infirm,  pious  foundations  of  all  kinds 
for  persons  in  need  of  them,  family  foundations  and  canonicates 
for  noble  ladies.  Among  workingmen's  associations  are  numer- 
ous societies  for  mutual  aid,  sickness  and  burial  funds,  aid  and 
relief  funds,  etc.  To  numerically  measure  this  branch  of  relief 
work  in  Denmark  is  impossible,  since  no  system  of  reporting 
such  data  is  organized.  In  Copenhagen  in  1900  there  were  56 
charitable  institutions  with  1,7/1  free  inmates  and  about  1,200 
low  pay  inmates ;  a  few  legacy-supported  institutions  with  income 
exceeding  1,000,000  kroner  ($250,000)  ;  and  a  multitude  of  benefit 
societies  expending  about  the  same  amount.^ 

E.  Co-OPERATION  AND  Co-ORDIXATION  OF  PuBLIC  AND  PRIVATE 

Aids. — The  great  extension  of  public  aid  diminishes  the  need  of 
private  organized  charity.  Cooperation  and  coordination  of 
public  and  private  aid,  therefore,  occurs  chiefly  between  public 
service  and  mere  individual  societies  and  establishments.  When 
indigents  first  apply  to  the  district  chief  in  Copenhagen  for  aid, 
he  seeks  to  find  means  of  lessening  public  aid.  Ordinarily  he 
first  sends  to  the  benefit  societies  which  are  located  near,  espe- 
cially to  the  ''Aid  Society  of  Copenhagen."  Public  aid  frequently 
assists  the  societies  and  furnishes  them  the  facts  necessary  to 
enable  them  to  determine  the  condition  of  the  poor.  Individuals 
without  work  are  sent  to  the  Salvation  Army  Bureau  of  Employ- 
ment and  to  the  Asylum  of  Employment  of  Copenhagen.  Par- 
ticularly in  assistance  of  sick  cases,  the  applicants  without  means 
of  help  are  sent  gratuitously  to  Frederick  Hospital,  Copenhagen, 
upon  certificate  of  the  district  physician  and  overseer. 

F.  Indoor  Relief. — Indoor  relief  in  Denmark  is  granted  in 
poorhouses,  almshouses  and  workhouses  and  elsewhere.     Aged 

outside  of  Copenhagen.  In  the  suburb  Fredericksberg,  there  was  one  which  di- 
vided that  city  into  10  districts,  investigated  and  relieved  cases  and  carried  on  its 
work  by  private  subscriptions.  In  Copenhagen  at  that  time  nine  private  societies 
operated,  by  districts,  granting  small  loans,  cash,  bread,  soup  and  other  food, 
tickets,  clothing,  etc.,  besides  furnishing  medical  help.  Their  joint  incomes  was 
about  $25,000. 

^The  Revue   Philanthropique,   tome   XIV,   pp.    161    and   325,  gives   a   list   and 
description  of  the  benevolent  societies  and  trusts  of  Denmark. 


372  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

and  infirm  persons  would  properly  be  sent  to  the  poorhouse, 
able-bodied  single  poor  to  the  workhouse,  bad  characters  to  the 
correctional  workhouse.  The  law  of  1683  prescribed  a  poorhouse 
for  each  parish.  The  latest  obtainable  figures  (1879)  gave  the 
county  communes  1,631  of  such  establishments  with  ca.  10,400 
inmates.  Strochy,  who  investigated  charity  work  in  Den- 
mark in  1870,  reported  that  these  establishments  were  generally 
defective  in  arrangement.  Workhouses  or  workyards  exist  in 
all  communes  and  there  are  many  larger  joint  establishments 
built  by  two  or  more  communes.  Of  this  latter  sort  there  were 
270  in  1879,  chiefly  of  recent  establishment  with  room  for  10,400 
inmates,  but  containing  only  about  5,000  to  6,000  transients. 
Correctional  workhouses  are  county  establishments,  but  not  all 
counties  have  them.  Paupers  guilty  of  misdemeanors  are  sent 
thither,  except  men  with  families.  The  families  of  the  latter 
would  then  come  on  the  public  for  aid.  The  labor  is  according 
to  a  code.  Parishes  not  having  sufficient  workhouse  room  may 
gain  permit  to  use  the  county  house.  Oakum  picking,  weaving, 
mat  and  broom  making  indoors,  and  stone  breaking,  etc.,  out  of 
doors  are  carried  on.  Paupers  follow  their  trades  if  possible.  In 
Copenhagen  exists  the  great  Workhouse  of  Ladegood.  As  far 
back  as  1870  it  contained  in  the  correctional  department  over 
4,000  persons,  more  than  three-fourths  of  whom  were  males. 
The  department  for  the  homeless  had  133  persons.  Families  may 
live  together  there  two  weeks ;  then  they  are  separated.  Profits 
from  the  industrial  work  amounted  to  over  $25,000.  In  1890  in 
Copenhagen  statistics  of  public  relief  give  the  number  as  aided 
in  all  institutions  of  the  city  at  1,809  permanently  assisted  and 
1,221  who  received  temporary  aid.  Besides  the  correctional  insti- 
tution above  cited  there  are  three  ordinary  workhouses  which 
contained  382  persons  at  the  end  of  1870. 

G.  Vagrants,  Etc. — The  general  law  makes  beggars  liable 
to  imprisonment  for  15  days  with  bread  and  water.  Vagrants 
are  punishable  by  30  days'  imprisonment  with  the  same  fare. 
Children  under  15  cannot  be  legally  punished,  but  conniving 
parents  may  be.  Vagrants  with  no  means  of  livelihood  may  be 
sent  to  their  residence  parish.  Copenhagen  enforces  these  rules 
very  strictly,  but  much  tolerance  of  local  beggars  exists  in  smaller 
places.     Foreigners  in  Denmark  conform  to  the  five  years  rule 


DENMARK 


373 


for  settlement.  Without  settlement  they  receive  local  relief. 
Paupers  from  other  lands  are  chargeable  to  their  country's  con- 
suls for  local  support  given  through  the  legitimate  channels. 

H.  Medical  Relief. — Medical  aid  and  that  of  the  midwife 
are  not  considered  poor  law  relief.  It  is  first  sought  then  (in 
Copenhagen)  to  procure  such  relief  through  establishments  of 
private  charity.  When  aid  to  the  sick  is  granted  it  is  given 
both  in  homes  and  hospitals.  In  homes  it  consists  in  medicine, 
nourishment  and  other  dietetical  remedies,  broths,  objects  nec- 
essary for  the  sick,  such  as  bandages,  glasses,  crutches,  etc., 
further  supplementary  food,  if  the  physician  deems  it  necessary 
to  reach  the  cause  of  the  disease,  and  attendance  of  the  sick  given 
by  a  nurse  engaged  by  the  public  relief  for  such  purpose.  The 
communal  physician  has  charge  of  sick  relief  along  with  the  dis- 
trict chief.  Certain  pharmacists  cooperate  by  arrangement.  The 
physician  may  prescribe  wine  and  white  bread.  Baths  are  pro- 
vided in  St.  John's  Hospital.  The  monthly  card  system  is  used 
for  the  temporary  sick,  presented  by  the  patient  and  renewed  at 
the  end  of  each  month.  Chronic  cases  may  extend  one  year. 
The  cards  contain  exact  information  as  to  name  and  residence. 
On  each  visit  to  the  doctor  the  card  is  presented.  It  is  usually 
received  by  the  applicant  after  right  of  domicile  is  established. 
The  card  is  good  for  but  three  days  in  case  of  urgency  aid  granted 
by  the  chief  or  doctor.  The  sick  domiciled  in  Copenhagen  re- 
ceive black  and  others  red  cards.  All  ordinances  and  rules  touch- 
ing the  sick  are  printed  on  paper  of  corresponding  colors.  The 
doctor  receives  the  card  upon  visits  to  patients  in  their  homes 
and  turns  it  in  when  the  case  is  disposed  of  in  any  way.  Upon 
the  doctor's  prescription  as  urgent  the  district  chief  accords  aid 
at  once.     Otherwise  it  is  given  by  the  section. 

J.  Defectives. — Various  institutions  for  the  education  of 
defectives  exist.  They  are  either  national  or  subsidized  and 
under  the  control  of  the  minister  of  instruction.  For  the  blind 
a  school  exists  at  Copenhagen  large  enough  for  the  whole  nation. 
It  is  coeducational  and  contains  about  loo  children  from  8  to  i8, 
who  are  boarded  and  lodged.  Roman  and  Braille  letters,  com- 
mon branches,  physical  sciences,  geometry,  drawing,  singing, 
instrumental  music  and  m.anual  training  are  taught.  Gymnastics 
and  natation  are  emphasized.     Instruction  is  furnished  in  skilled 


374  J^IODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

handwork  suitable  to  the  sexes.  Congenital  deaf-mutes  are  sent 
to  the  Royal  Institute  at  Frederica.  Others  who  are  familiar 
with  methods  of  speech  are  taught  at  State  or  communal  expense 
in  the  Keller  institution,  Copenhagen.  Those  capable  of  instruc- 
tion by  the  sign  method  go  to  a  third  institution.  The  school 
at  Frederica  is  thoroughly  modern.  The  method  of  articulation 
is  used.  All  students  eventually  become  day  students,  living  in 
city  families  for  experience  and  social  contact.  The  common 
branches,  gymnastics  and  manual  training  are  chiefly  taught.  It 
is  coeducational.  The  other  schools  resemble  it  in  program  and 
method.  The  Keller  institution,  formerly  philanthropically 
founded  by  Keller,  now  subsidized  by  the  government  and  fur- 
nished scholarships,  receives  the  feeble-minded.  In  1887,  the 
Keller  institutions  (asylum,  hospitals  and  educational)  received 
170  deaf-mutes  and  459  feeble-minded.  Two  hundred  and  thirty- 
one  of  them  are  being  educated  or  tested, — 154  boarders,  yj  day 
pupils.  The  preparatory  school  tests  them.  If  not  educatable 
they  are  sent  among  the  incurables.  If  educatable  they  go  to  the 
practice  school  and  later,  if  capable  of  higher  useful  education, 
to  that  of  theory.  The  basic  principle  is  to  teach  only  what  is 
within  the  capacity  of  the  pupil.  Save  for  gymnastics,  manual 
training,  etc.,  the  theory  school  is  about  equivalent  to  the  Ameri- 
can 8th  grade.  The  Keller  school  is  coeducational.  It  has  the 
full  confidence  of  citizens  of  Denmark.  Two-thirds  of  the  chil- 
dren sent  there  are  reclaimed  to  a  useful  life. 

As  the  department  of  instruction  does  not  extend  its  aid  to 
children  under  7,  institutions  have  been  provided  by  the  society 
for  the  establishment  of  asylums.  There  are  a  number  of  such 
asylums  for  children,  several  of  which  are  at  Odense.  The  latter 
at  any  rate  are  supervised  by  municipal  authorities.  Each  build- 
ing is  provided  with  suitably  equipped  school  rooms,  play  rooms, 
courtyards  for  recreation  and  kitchen.  Singing,  skilled  handi- 
work such  as  knitting,  folding  cloth,  weaving,  reading  and  writ- 
ing for  the  larger  children,  singing  Psalms,  and  object  lessons 
constitute  the  instruction  given  by  lady  members  of  the  society. 
A  directress  presides  over  individual  asylums. 

K.  Children. — In  Copenhagen  the  district  chief  is  charged 
by  the  law  with  the  supervision  of  children.  He  is  to  take  care 
that  they  are  not  neglected,  treated  badly,  nor  habituated  to 


DENMARK 


375 


mendicancy.  In  such  cases,  after  remonstrance  with  parents,  he 
shall  report  to  the  section  that  it  may  take  necessary  measures. 
Children  may  be  placed  out  with  foster-parents,  in  the  house  of 
reception  of  the  St.  John  institution,  or  aided  in  homes.  In  these 
cases  where  aid  is  given  normal  schedules  are  provided.  Great 
care  is  preserved  in  selecting  the  foster-parents.  In  case  of  tem- 
porary separation  of  parents  from  children  in  the  home  a  woman 
may  be  engaged  to  care  for  them  there.  Permanent  aid  is  given 
when  their  parents  are  dead,  have  left  the  country,  or  are  un- 
balanced physically  or  morally.  Ordinarily  children  are  placed 
in  the  country  with  particular  persons  instead  of  in  the  care  of 
asylum  wards.  This  is  accomplished  through  the  benevolent 
assistance  of  pastors,  teachers,  physicians,  etc.,  who  become 
responsible  for  the  control  of  the  children.  Beyond  this  the 
third  section  conducts  regular  inspections.  Those  charging 
themselves  with  the  control  of  children  numbered  461  in  1898. 
These  also  tried  to  locate  young  persons  in  service  or  apprentice- 
ship outside  the  city.  In  1898  the  number  of  dependent  children 
charged  to  Copenhagen  were  38,  to  the  country  655.  All  poor 
children  have  the  privilege  of  attending  free  schools  in  city  and 
country.  These  schools  are  reported  to  be  especially  good  in 
Copenhagen.  In  1895  about  24,000  attended  them  as  against 
11,300  in  commune  pay  schools.  In  institutions  where  there  are 
children  as  well  as  worthy  aged  and  infirm,  the  incompatible, 
lazy,  intemperate  and  other  disorderly  indigent  are  excluded 

There  is  one  richly  endowed  institution  for  helpless  and  de- 
serted girls.  It  was  founded  in  1874  by  the  Countess  Danne. 
The  poorer  classes  are  especially  eligible.  About  400  children 
attend.  They  are  admitted  from  2  to  4  years  of  age,  receive 
board  and  education  and  are  trained  especially  for  domestic 
service. 

M.  Preventive  Work. — Preventive  work  in  Denmark  is  in- 
direct and  direct.  The  indirect  comes  in  the  fostering  of  such 
educational  agencies  as  awaken  enterprise,  independence  and 
moral  will.  Ordinary  schools  are  provided  and  the  law  enforces 
attendance  from  7  to  14.  Religious  instruction  is  an  important 
element  in  the  schools.  The  state  gives  direct  aid  to  indigent 
pupils ;  also  to  teachers  for  aid  and  improvement.  It  subsidizes 
peasants'  and  people's  high  schools.     These,  founded  by  Bishop 


376  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

Grundtvig,  have  of  late  developed  remarkably.  Into  these  are 
gathered  mature  men  from  all  ranks  in  winter  and  women  in 
summer.  Tuition  and  living  is  made  cheap  and  frequently  aid 
given.  The  teaching  is  oral,  and  its  matter  is  mostly  historic 
and  whatever  will  enliven  and  awaken.  Patriotic  songs  are  sung. 
Love  of  country  is  fostered.  The  best  minds  from  these  schools 
saved  the  country  from  industrial  stagnation  and  poverty  twice 
since  1870  by  making  the  needed  adjustments.  At  the  end  of 
the  eighteenth  century  Denmark  was  one  of  the  poorest  coun- 
tries of  Europe.  It  is  now  one  of  the  richest  and  the  intellectual 
leader  of  the  Scandinavian  countries.  It  is  essentially  an  agri- 
cultural nation.  Leading  agriculturists  explain  the  high  organiz- 
ing and  cooperative  ability  of  farmers  as  due  to  two  causes:  (i) 
the  education  of  the  peasantry  as  already  explained,  and,  (2) 
the  forced  distribution  of  land  among  small  farmers,  since  the 
law  prevents  consolidation  of  farms  and  encourages  division.  In 
addition  to  the  schools  mentioned  manual  and  industrial  schools 
are  liberally  provided.  Direct  prevention  is  chiefly  embodied  in 
relief  of  the  aged  poor,  workingmen's  insurance,  state  railway 
pensions  and  teachers'  pensions. 

The  Aged  Poor-Relief  Law  was  passed  in  1891.  By  it  aid  to 
the  aged  poor  is  not  considered  poor-relief.  The  recipient  must 
be  free  from  certain  criminal  convictions,  from  debt  or  involving 
others  in  it,  must  be  60  years  old  and  have  lived  in  Denmark  dur- 
ing the  past  10  years,  and  not  have  received  poor-relief.  Aid 
consists  of  necessaries  in  health  and  illness  and  may  be  given  in 
kind,  cash  or  in  institutions  (not  in  poorhouses),  ceases  on  crimi- 
nality or  marriage,  and  the  amount  is  decided  by  the  residence 
commune  with  right  to  appeal.  The  residence  community  is 
obligated  for  the  amount  of  relief  to  three-fourths  compensation 
from  the  commune  in  which  the  indigent  is  entitled  to  relief. 
The  state  levies  a  fund  for  the  purpose  from  which  the  commune 
may  receive  one-half  of  its  expenditure  for  the  aged.  In  case 
of  shortage  each  commune  shares  the  rate. 

This  law  has  been  variously  estimated.  Geoffrey  Drage,  in 
the  Fortnightly  Review  (London,  October,  1899),  writes  that  his 
information,  gained  from  "the  best  known  statistician  of  Den- 
mark," supports  the  view  that  it  is  bad  in  results,  because  guard- 
ians never  withdraw  the  support  when  once  given,  since  the  state 


DENMARK  377 

pays  one-half  of  this  while  the  commune  would  pay  the  whole 
of  poor-relief;  that  employes'  benefit  funds  are  broken  up,  friend- 
ly societies  plunged  into  difficulties,  and  money  in  savings  banks 
is  withdrawn  because  of  certain  aid  in  old  age.  Further  the  poor 
refuse  to  make  provision  for  old  age,  children  who  are  able  refuse 
to  support  their  parents  and  ties  between  them  as  between  em- 
ployer and  employe  are  strained.  On  the  other  hand,  C.  H.  D'E. 
Leppington  (Charity  Organization  Review,  May,  1897)  holds 
that  it  is  generally  upheld  by  poor  law  administrators.  It  suc- 
ceeds in  reducing  pauperism  since  receipt  of  poor-relief  disquali- 
fies for  old  age  pension.  Schooling,  writing  in  1901,  pronounces 
it  a  success.  The  self-help  principle  is  chiefly  applied  in  Den- 
mark. A  large  number  of  institutions  have  been  established. 
One  thousand  sick  benefit  associations  existed  in  1885  with  164,- 
000  members.  Up  to  1893  the  government  had  done  little  besides 
appointing  savings  bank  inspectors,  although  an  investigating 
committee  in  1888  indicated  that  private  associations  tended  to 
insure  the  strong  instead  of  the  weak.  Suggestions  were  made 
for  legalizing  qualified  compulsory  insurance.  Denmark  has  the 
Workmen's  Compensation  Law,  enacted  since  1898,  in  line  with 
the  general  principles  of  the  laws  adopted  by  the  great  nations 
of  Europe,  such  as  Germany. 

Teachers'  Pensions. — Every  appointed  teacher  after  ten  years 
of  service  receives  a  pension  upon  disability  to  work  equal  to  half 
his  salary.  After  twenty  years,  equal  to  two-thirds  of  it.  Teach- 
ers' widows  receive  but  one-eighth  the  amount  of  the  salary,  but 
the  government  requires  some  insurance  provision  to  have  been 
made.  In  secondary  schools  one-tenth  of  the  salary  may  be  used 
after  two  years'  service,  and  the  maximum  pension  of  two-thirds 
the  salary  at  the  70th  year  of  age. 

Raihvay  Pensions. — The  state  owns  75  per  cent,  of  the  railways 
and  employs  7,103  persons.  Salaries  are  increased  every  five 
years,  according  to  class.  After  ten  years'  continuous  service 
those  retired  on  account  of  age,  poor  health,  etc.,  may  have  a 
pension.  Of  the  three  classes,  5  per  cent,  is  deducted  in  the  first, 
2J/2  per  cent,  in  the  second,  and  nothing  in  the  lowest  paid  class 
from  wages  to  form  a  pension  fund.  The  percentage  is  based 
on  salaries  and  all  perquisites.  On  accident  which  causes  dis- 
charge the  employe  receives  two-thirds,  one-half  or  one-third 


378  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

part  of  salary  for  pension,  according  to  class.  He  may  demand 
a  pension  at  70  after  ten  years'  of  continuous  service.  The 
widow  receives  one-third  of  husband's  salary,  children  under  18 
eventually  not  more  than  one-half  of  the  widow's  pension.  Or- 
phans eventually  receive  one-third  of  the  father's  wage  as  pen- 
sion. A  widow  receives  no  pension  if  her  husband  was  over  60 
at  marriage  or  married  him  on  his  deathbed,  or  if  divorced  before 
his  death.     It  ceases  upon  her  marriage. 

Strikes  are  unknown.  Employes  seem  satisfied.  Applicants 
for  positions  are  examined.  Most  conductors  are  soldiers  dis- 
charged upon  expiration  of  the  required  term  with  good  char- 
acters. 

Workingmen's  Building  Society. — Such  a  society  was  founded 
in  Copenhagen  in  1865  with  200  members.  In  1895  there  were 
about  17,000  members.  Up  to  1891,  831  houses  had  been  built 
at  a  cost  of  $1,659,625.11.  The  total  population  housed  is  7,000. 
Shares  may  be  subscribed  for  and  paid  for  in  weekly  payments. 
After  six  months'  membership  and  payment  in  dues  of  $5.36 
members  may  draw  houses  by  lot.  Purchasers  pay  6J/2  per  cent, 
yearly  installments  and  4  per  cent,  interest.  Deeds  are  given  at 
the  end  of  ten  years.  Annual  profits  to  the  society  equal  4  per 
cent.  All  above  a  10  per  cent,  reserve  fund  is  divided  among 
members  of  six  months'  standing.  It  carries  a  relief  fund  from 
extraordinary  receipts  and  donations  for  loans  to  house  owners, 
especially  widows.  The  houses  are  mostly  two-story,  five-room, 
brick. 

An  association  of  Denmark,  at  Copenhagen,  seeks  to  build 
cheap  and  healthful  dwellings  for  the  poorer  classes.  In  1891 
it  housed  2,505.  In  has  360  one-room,  324  two-room,  and  48 
three-room  tenements.    Rent  is  low.    It  has  no  commercial  object. 

Housing  of  Aged  Poor. — Large  cities  provide  well  equipped 
houses  for  the  aged  poor,  such  as  the  new  one  organized  under 
the  direction  of  Herr  Jacobi,  chief  of  the  poor  department,  Copen- 
hagen. The  small  ones  are  even  more  attractive,  as  the  one  at 
Fredericksburg,  the  joint  property  of  three  villages.  These  are 
provided  apart  from  the  paupers.  Some  communes  prefer  to 
have  their  own  houses  for  the  purpose. 

The  total  extent  of  poor-relief  in  Denmark  may  be  summar- 
ized.    In  Copenhagen  in  1890  the  total  number  receiving  public 


DENMARK  37g 

relief  was  10,631  or  3.39  per  cent,  of  the  population.  There  was 
expended  1,357,000  kroner  (ca.  $340,000).  The  total  expendi- 
tures for  the  cities  outside  Copenhagen  in  the  same  year  was 
1,023,000  kroner  (ca.  ^256,000).  That  for  the  country  was  5,034,- 
000  kroner  (ca.  $1,257,000).  Total  for  the  kingdam,  7,464,000 
kroner  (ca.  $1,866,000).  In  the  same  year  there  were  1,822 
in  prisons,  3,753  defectives,  39,014  public  paupers  and  57,999  pen- 
sioners in  the  kingdom.  For  the  last  item  about  $868,000  was 
expended.  The  total  public  and  private  expenditure  in  Copen- 
hagen in  1901  was  estimated  at  about  one  and  one-half  million 
dollars.  Income  for  public  relief  is  almost  wholly  raised  as  all 
other  public  funds.  There  are  some  specific  poor  rate  items  or 
form  of  taxes  in  Copenhagen. 

Experiments,  Criticisms,  Reforms. — Two  chief  results  which 
have  been  worked  out  as  the  result  of  long  testing  are:  (i)  sal- 
aried system  of  public  poor-relief.  All  officers  are  paid  except 
certain  district  assistants  of  the  overseer.  The  voluntary  or 
rather  unsalaried  appointive  system  proved  deficient  in  that 
thorough  investigations  would  not  be  made  for  various  apparent 
reasons ;  and  not  only  was  there  a  relative  decrease  of  relief  offi- 
cers to  the  population  but  an  actual  decrease  of  almost  one-half. 
The  government  commission  of  1867  criticised  this  severely;  (2) 
old  age  relief.  The  consensus  of  opinion  seems  to  be  that  this 
latter  is  a  success.  Financially  it  has  worked  well.  Copenhagen 
saves  about  150,000  kroner  yearly,  the  other  cities  100,000  kroner, 
and  in  the  country  there  is  no  gain  or  loss.  Another  item  the  com- 
mission of  1867  severely  criticised  was  the  lack  of  systematic 
coordination  and  cooperation  between  public  and  private  relief 
agencies  and  among  private  forces.  The  results  were  then  con- 
sidered demoralizing.  A  central  clearing  house  was  proposed 
with  the  same  field  officers.  The  government  did  little  more  than 
codify  existing  laws  up  to  1891.  While  there  is  a  tacit  coopera- 
tion of  agencies,  there  is  evidently  no  legal  basis  for  it. 


CHAPTER  VIII 
THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA 

Contributions  to  this  chapter : 

Causes  and  conditions  of  social  need,  Professor  C.  J.  Bushnell,  Ph.  D 

Extent  and  conditions  of  public  relief,  Ibid. 

Laws  and  methods  of  public  relief,  Ibid. 

Charity  work  of  women,  Florence  Ashcraft,  A.  B. 

Care  of  Children,  Ibid. 

Salvation  Army  and  Volunteers  of  America,  F.  G.  Cressey,  Ph.  D. 

The  remainder  by  C.  R.  Henderson. 

Introduction. 

Publicity  is  the  first  law  of  social  life.  The  best  corrective 
of  social  evils  is  not  official  coercion  nor  even  private  liberality, 
but  first  a  fair  public  knowledge  of  social  conditions.  Few 
persons  have  any  adequate  idea  of  the  magnitude  of  the  poor- 
relief  problem  in  such  modern  countries  as  the  United  States. 
The  well-to-do  and  intelligent  too  often  tend  to  bury  themselves 
in  their  own  private  afifairs  and  to  think  of  the  world  at  large 
as  mainly  composed  of  those  similarly  favored.  The  poor  and 
unenlightened  are  even  more  limited  in  their  outlook  and  in  their 
understanding  of  the  burdens  of  the  world. 
Causes  and  Conditions  of  Social  Need. 

I.  Wages  and  Cost  of  Living. — Any  careful  study  of  wages  and 
of  the  cost  of  living  among  manual  laborers  in  this  country, 
although  such  conditions  compare  favorably  with  similar  ones 
elsewhere,  is  not  wholly  reassuring.  Professor  Mayo-Smith  in 
his  work  on  "Statistics  and  Economics"  shows  that  in  1890  an 
income  of  $520  a  year  was  necessary  to  sustain  the  average  work- 
ing class  family  unless  such  important  articles  as  beef  and  milk 
were  dropped  from  the  diet.  A  comparison  of  the  average  per- 
centage of  increase  of  money  wages  of  skilled  workmen^  with  the 

^This  is  shown  by  the  United  States  Labor  Bulletin  of  July  i,  1900,  and  other 

380 


THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA 


381 


cost  of  living  of  typical  laboring  communities^ — particularly  in 
Chicago — would  indicate  that  real  wages  of  unskilled  workmen 
in  the  United  States  in  recent  years  have  indeed  maintained  a 
very  precarious  standing.  Official  reports  in  recent  years  show 
that  in  many  parts  of  the  country  incomes  of  working  class  fami- 
lies have  been  very  considerably  below  $520  a  year, — being  for 
miners  $285-  and  even  $232^,  for  slaughter-house  employes  from 
an  average  of  $347.36  for  unskilled  labor  to  an  average  of  $512.47 
for  skilled  labor*,  and  for  skilled  mill  hands  $350,  for  unskilled 
$180.^  The  report  of  the  Bureau  of  Labor  Statistics  of  Ohio  for 
1898  says :  "The  average  daily  wages  during  one  hundred  and 
fifty  days'  work  was  $1.27.  The  average  yearly  wages  amounted 
to  $192,  as  against  $221.56  in  1896."  And  it  should  be  remem- 
bered in  this  connection  that  the  Massachusetts  Bureau  of  Labor 
Statistics  in  its  report  for  1896  showed  that  the  average  Massa- 
chusetts workingman  was  unable  to  support  the  average  work- 
ingman's  family.® 

Standard  of  Living  of  a  Dependent  Family  in  Chicago,  IQ04. — 
"According  to  nationality  and  other  complicating  causes  the  esti- 
mates generally  ran  from  75  cents  to  $1.25  per  week  per  person 
in  an  ordinary  family,  exclusive  of  rent,  the  lower  range  being  for 
those  nationalities  which  were  the  most  economical  in  the  matter 
of  food."  If  the  earned  income  is  less  than  $1  a  week  per  person 
the  family  must  suffer  hunger  and  enfeeblement  or  receive  chari- 
table relief.'^ 

reports  to  have  been,  between  the  years  1895  and  1900,  for  a  large  number  of 
important  industries  6.8  per  cent. 

^  As  estimated  upon  the  basis  of  the  Seventh  Annual  Report  of  the  Depart- 
ment of  Labor,  page  864,  and  Bulletin  No.  55,  United  States  Dept.  of  Agriculture, 
Office  of  Experimental  Stations,  this  increase  appears  to  have  been  10.66  per 
cent,  for  articles  constituting  76.5  per  cent,  of  a  laboring  family's  total  expenses 
between  the  years  1897  and  1900. 

^  C.  B.  Spahr,  "Outlook,"  Sept.  29,  1900. 

'Illinois  State  Bureau  of  Labor  Report  for  1900,  with  deduction  for  days  un- 
employed according  to  the  statement  of  the  miners'  union. 

*  C.  J.  Bushnell,  American  Journal  of  Sociology,  Vol.  7,  No.  4,  page  458. 

"The  Twelfth  Annual  Report  of  North  Carolina  Dept.  of  Labor. 

'  See  details  in  Special  Report,  12th  Census  of  United  States,  Employees  and 
Wages,  1903. 

'Co-operation,  March  26,  1904,  p.  97.     Cf.  P.  Roberts,  Anthracite  Coal  Com- 


382  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

2.  Lack  of  Employment. — One  of  the  most  serious  causes  of 
this  poverty  is  the  involuntary  idleness  into  which  many  thou- 
sands of  honest  and  capable  workmen  are  annually  forced,  owing 
to  the  present  widespread  unconsciousness  of  the  conditions  of 
demand  and  supply  and  to  the  frequently  unintelligent,  hostile 
organization  of  industry.  In  1885  the  Massachusetts  Bureau  of 
Labor  Statistics  showed  that  in  that  year  26.6  per  cent,  of  all 
the  persons  engaged  in  gainful  occupations  in  the  State  were 
unemployed  at  their  principal  occupation  4.1 1  months.  Accord- 
ing to  the  United  States  Census  of  1890  the  total  number  of  per- 
sons who  were  unemployed  at  their  principal  occupations  during 
any  portion  of  the  census  year  was  15.3  per  cent.,  or  3,523,730 
of  the  total  number  engaged  in  gainful  occupations  in  1890.  In 
1893  and  1894  Bradstreet's  Commercial  Agency  estimated  the 
number  of  unemployed  in  thirty-eight  leading  cities  of  the  United 
States  at  581,950.  The  New  York  Labor  Bulletins  show  by 
quarterly  reports  that  unemployment  among  the  trades  unions 
of  that  State  (and  therefore  among  the  more  skilled  workmen) 
ranged  from  1897  to  1900  usually  at  not  less  than  10  per  cent., 
and  sometimes  at  nearly  30  per  cent,  of  the  membership  of  the 
unions  reporting. 

3.  Employment  of  Women  and  Children  in  Industry. — Another 
serious  cause  of  poverty,  at  once  a  sign  of  progress  and  an  at- 
tendant of  social  evils,  is  the  increasing  employment  of  women 
and  perhaps  of  children  in  public  occupations,  resulting  in  re- 
duction of  the  scales  of  wages  in  those  industries.^  For  every 
woman  clerk  employed  in  the  United  States  in  1870  there  were 
in  1890  170.  The  United  States  census  report  of  the  employ- 
ment of  women  and  children  seems  to  be  defective,^  but  correct- 
ing the  figures  given,  in  accordance  with  Pennsylvania  and  Mas- 
sachusetts factory  inspectors'  reports  it  would  seem  that  in  1870 
13.19  per  cent,  of  all  children  in  the  United  States  ten  to  sixteen 

munities,  wages  of  miners  in  Pennsylvania.  On  pp.  264-265  the  distress  arising 
from  accidents. 

^  Saleswomen  in  our  large  department  stores  earn  as  a  rule  less  than  $5  a 
week,  which  they  arc  expected  to  supplement  as  best,  or  as  worst,  they  can.  Cf. 
Miss  A.  M.  MacLean,  American  Journal  of  Sociology,  1899,  May,  page  721 
following. 

*  Cf.  H.  L.  Bliss,  American  Journal  of  Sociology,  1897,  page  3C6. 


THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA  383 

years  of  age  were  at  work.  In  1880,  16.82  per  cent.,  and  in  1890, 
21.62  per  cent,  ten  to  seventeen  years  of  age  were  at  work.  The 
Illinois  Bureau  of  Labor  Statistics  report  for  1899  shows  that  the 
number  of  children  under  sixteen  at  work  increased  in  one  year 
from  11,845  to  13,646, — a  more  rapid  increase  than  that  of  the 
adults  employed.  The  percentage  of  women  to  the  total  number 
of  employes  also  increased  in  one  year  from  18.2  per  cent,  to 
18.3  per  cent. 

4.  Sanitary  and  Social  Conditions  of  Labor  in  Communities. — 
One  of  the  greatest  if  not  the  greatest  cause  of  all  poverty,  crime 
and  dependence  is  the  condition  of  home  and  neighborhood  sur- 
roundings in  which  we  find  large  numbers  of  the  laboring  popu- 
lation, especially  in  the  great  cities.  The  sickening  squalor,  ill 
health,  and  degradation  of  these  slum  districts  of  the  cities  are 
often  due  to  the  brutal  cupidity  of  landlords  who  keep  their  tene- 
ments crowded  to  suffocation  by  ignorant  and  infected  humanity 
who  pay  the  most  remunerative  rent  returns  for  their  miserable 
accommodations.^  In  Baltimore  the  slums  contained  in  a  recent 
year  18,048  individuals  living  in  15,195  rooms,  an  average  of  1.19 
persons  to  a  room,  and  of  3.7  rooms  to  a  family.  Chicago  shows 
an  average  of  1.35  persons  to  a  room  in  similar  districts.  New 
York  1.38  persons,  Philadelphia  1.47^  persons.  The  Eleventh 
Census  of  the  United  States  indicates  that  the  number  of  persons 
to  a  room  in  the  slums  of  the  large  cities  is  usually  almost  double 
the  number  for  the  city  as  a  whole.  Chicago  had  15.51  persons 
to  a  dwelling  in  the  slums,  and  New  York  36.79  persons.  Rates 
of  rent  for  these  miserable  quarters  are,  in  New  York  slums,  for 
families  occupying  five  rooms,  an  average  monthly  rental  of 
$21.39,  four  rooms  $15.38,  three  rooms  $11.12,  two  rooms  $7.86, 
one  room  $5.04  per  month.  Although  the  rates  are  lower  in  some 
Western  cities  they  are  frightfully  severe,  requiring,  as  we  have 
noticed,  as  high  as  one-third  of  the  income  of  the  tenants.  Nor  is 
the  element  of  expense  the  worst  evil  connected  with  this  con- 
dition, for  as  the  Tenement  Commission  says,  "It  results  in  keep- 

'  It  is  not  very  uncommon  in  the  larger  cities  for  these  slum  tenements  to 
return  an  annual  rental  of  from  twenty  to  twenty-five  per  cent  of  the  total  valua- 
tion of  the  property,  at  the  expense  of  frequently  one-third  of  the  tenant's  income. 

'  Cf.  The  National  Bureau  of  Labor  Reports  on  the  slums  of  great  cities,  and 
the  Massachusetts  Bureau  of  Labor  Report  for  1892  on  the  tenements  of  Boston. 


384 


MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 


ing  children  up  and  out  of  doors  until  midnight  in  warm  weather 
because  the  rooms  are  almost  unendurable ;  making  cleanliness 
of  house  and  street  difficult ;  filling  the  air  with  unwholesome 
emanations  and  foul  odors  of  every  kind;  producing  a  condition 
of  nervous  tension  ;  interfering  with  separateness  and  sacredness 
of  home  life ;  leading  to  promiscuous  mixing  of  all  ages  and  sexes 
in  a  single  room ;  thus  breaking  down  the  barriers  of  modesty, 
and  conducive  to  the  corruption  of  the  young  and  occasionally 
to  revolting  crimes."  The  result  is  a  frightful  death  rate  and  an 
altogether  inhuman  life. 

5.  Relation  of  Factory  Industry  to  Poverty. — ^\Vhy,  it  may  be 
asked,  do  people  persist  in  living  in  such  districts?  The  answer 
is,  chiefly  because  they  have  to  live  near  their  work  in  the  fac- 
tories. A  careful  study  of  these  districts  in  any  of  our  great 
cities  will  show  an  intimate  relation  between  them  and  the  local 
factories.  Not  that  the  factories  are  primarily  or  chiefly  to  blame 
for  these  conditions,  but  the  rapid,  unregulated,  and  intensely 
competitive  development  of  modern  industry  has  certainly  neg- 
lected if  it  has  not  aggravated  the  evils  of  the  average  working- 
man's  home  and  neighborhood  surroundings.  A  recent  study 
of  the  stockyard  district  of  Chicago  in  comparison  with  the  ad- 
joining wealthy  district  of  Hyde  Park  shows  a  striking  contrast 
between  the  conditions  of  life  in  the  factory  district  and  those  in 
the  well-to-do  resident  district.^  Regarding  mortality  condi- 
tions, the  study  shows  that  the  average  death  rates  for  the  two 
districts  during  the  seven  years  from  1894  to  1900  are  for  all 
deaths  per  thousand  of  the  population  in  the  Hyde  Park  district 
10.65,  i"  the  stockyard  districts  14.21,  and  for  children  under  five, 
per  thousand  children  of  the  population  under  six,  in  the  Hyde 
Park  district  25.7  and  in  the  stockyard  district  38.7.  This  situa- 
tion is  typical  for  conditions  in  a  large  number  of  American  cities. 
The  ratio  of  the  population  in  these  two  districts  is  as  about  one 
to  two;  the  number  of  families  in  economic  distress,  however, 
registered  in  the  Bureau  of  Associated  Charities  during  1897,  ^vas 
for  Hyde  Park  98,  for  the  Stockyards  1,726.  In  1900  the  figures 
were  106  to  1,433.  T'^^  figures  for  the  average  monthly  rent  per 
family  in  1900  would  be  about  $25  for  Hyde  Park,  as  against  $10 
for    the    Stockyards,    while    the    probable    average    income    per 

^American  Journal  of  Sociology,  Vol.  7,  No.  3,  page  289,  ff. 


THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA  385 

family  for  the  same  year  would  be  $2,500  in  Hyde  Park,  as  against 
$500  at  the  Yards.  In  the  former  district  123/2  per  cent,  of  pri- 
mary and  grammar  grade  pupils  of  the  public  schools  in  1900 
were  in  the  first  grade,  and  8.3  per  cent,  were  in  the  eighth  grade, 
whereas  in  the  Stockyard  district  17.9  per  cent,  were  in  the  first 
grade  and  only  3.6  per  cent,  in  the  eighth  grade,  showing  the  large 
proportion  in  the  latter  district  who  leave  school  through  lack 
of  ambition  and  the  necessity  of  beginning  the  struggle  for  a 
livelihood  at  an  early  age.  The  total  number  of  arrests  regis- 
tered in  the  police  stations  in  Hyde  Park  was  in  1890,  1,440,  and 
in  1900,  845,  while  in  the  Stockyard  district  the  numbers  for  cor- 
responding years  were  respectively  6,160  and  5,084.  The  number 
of  saloons  in  1900  in  Hyde  Park  was  20,  in  the  Stockyard  district 
500,  while  the  proportion  of  the  total  population  in  the  churches 
in  1900  was  for  the  Hyde  Park  district  23.9  per  cent.,  and  for  the 
Stockyard  district  14.35  P^^  cent.,  the  Catholics  being  much 
stronger  in  the  latter,  the  Protestants  in  the  former. 

The  more  individual  and  personal  causes  of  poverty,  namely, 
ignorance,  shiftlessness,  intemperance,  premature  marriages,  the 
habits  of  gambling  and  borrowing  are  to  be  found  not  alone  in 
any  one  class  of  the  community,  but  infect  the  whole  social  body, 
deadening  that  spirit  of  devotion  to  social  tasks  by  which  alone 
men  become  strong. 
Extent  and  Conditions  of  Public  Relief 

Such  are  some  of  the  facts  which  indicate  the  conditions  of 
social  need.  And  how  have  we  struggled  to  relieve  this  need? 
Fairly  accurate  reports  from  seven  or  eight  of  the  chief  States 
of  the  Union  indicate  a  burden  of  public  need  and  of  public  ex- 
pense for  charitable  relief  and  correction  which  few  persons  unin- 
formed of  the  facts  realize  or  dream.  The  States  of  Alassa- 
chusetts,  Connecticut,  New  York,  Pennsylvania,  Ohio,  Michigan, 
Wisconsin,  and  California,  have  been  selected,  both  because  they 
may  be  considered  representative  of  the  public  relief  of  the  nation 
as  a  whole,  and  because  the  charity  and  correction  reports  of 
the  great  majority  of  the  States,  and  even  of  the  National  Govern- 
ment itself  are  exceedingly  fragmentary  and  inadequate. 

The  twenty-fourth  annual  report  of  the  State  Board  of 
Charities  of  Massachusetts  for  1902,  together  with  the  report 
of    the    Board   of    Prison    Commissioners    for    the    same   year^ 

25 


386  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

and  of  the  State  Board  of  Insanity  for  1901  show  that  in 
that  State  there  were  in  one  year,  in  all  public  relief  and 
correctional  institutions^  and  under  agencies  for  dealing  with 
vagrants  and  other  public  dependents,  112,779  persons,  and  that 
there  were  in  1902  in  365  out  of  a  total  of  443  private  charitable 
institutions  in  the  State,  302,951  persons  wholly  or  partly  sup- 
ported by  charity  (235,180  were  relieved  and  maintained  free  of 
charge),  making  a  total  of  415,730  dependents,  delinquents  and 
defectives  in  the  State  for  one  year.^  The  public  expense  of 
maintenance  was  $5,094,651.86.  The  private  expense  for  the  365 
private  institutions  reported  was  $6,611,314.17,  making  a  total 
expense  of  maintenance  of  $12,121,696.03.  At  5  per  cent,  interest 
this  would  involve  a  capital  of  $242,433,920.60.  (The  total 
value  of  investments  reported  by  the  private  institutions 
alone  was  $22,392,937.95.)  The  total  value  of  the  property 
involved  as  reported  by  the  private  institutions  was  $16,161,- 
965.57,  and  of  property,  as  estimated,  for  the  public  institu- 
tions was  about  $30,000,000,  making  a  total  of  property  in  the 
State  involved  in  the  care  of  the  delinquent,  dependent,  and 
defective  classes  of  $46,161,965.57.  Interest  upon  this  property 
invested  at  5  per  cent,  would  be  $2,308,097.27,  or  a  total  burden, 
including  expense  of  maintenance  and  interest  upon  property, 
of  $14,429,793.30  annually — an  average  of  $23.51  for  every  family 
in  the  State.  These  figures  may  mean  more  to  us  when  we  con- 
sider them  in  connection  with  the  figures  of  the  United  States 
census  of  1900  respecting  expenses  and  values  of  property  in 
other  departments  of  life.  Comparing  in  this  way  we  find  that 
the  total  expenses  of  the  charitable  and  correctional  work  of  the 
State  exceeds  every  year  by  nearly  a  million  dollars  the  total 
current  expenses  for  all  the  public  schools  of  all  the  cities  of 
more  than  8,000  inhabitants  in  the  State.  We  find  that  one- 
seventh  of  the  population  is  abnormally  dependent  upon  the  sup- 
port of  producers,  and  that  the  capital  involved  is  more  than  one- 

^  Correctional  institutions  usually  contain  perhaps  i-6  to  1-4  of  all  State 
abnormal  dependents. 

*  As  some  of  these  may  be  and  doubtless  are  repeaters  applying  to  and  re- 
ported from  more  than  one  institution  more  than  once,  the  actual  number  of 
different  dependents  may  be  considerably  less,  and  is  so  estimated  for  other  States 
below. 


THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA  387 

third  that  invested  in  all  the  manufacturing  establishments  of 
this  famous  manufacturing  State,  and  five  times  the  value  of  all 
property  used  for  all  the  city  schools  of  the  State.  The  aggre- 
gate public  relief  expense  for  the  cities  and  towns  alone  for  the 
last  twenty  years  has  been  $44,140,636.00.  The  yearly  average 
number  of  cases  of  dependence  has  been  27,314.  The  net  aggre- 
gate expense  to  the  cities  and  towns  has  been  in  the  same  period 
$40,411,248,  an  average  annual  cost  of  $2,020,562.  The  average 
annual  number  of  cases  of  vagrancy  for  this  period  was  more  than 
170,000,  at  an  aggregate  expense  of  more  than  $638,000 — nearly 
$32,000  annually.  In  the  one  year  ending  September  30,  1902, 
there  was  a  total  of  more  than  25,000  prisoners  committed  under 
sentence,  and  nearly  96,000  arrests — 58,000  of  which  were  for 
drunkenness  alone. 

From  the  reports  of  the  Board  of  Charities  of  Connecticut  for 
1901  and  1902  and  a  special  report  from  the  secretary  of  the  board 
it  appears  that  there  were  in  the  State  in  that  year  69,932  de- 
pendents, delinquents,  and  defectives  aided  or  maintained  at  a 
public  expense  of  $2,006,537.  Judging  from  the  Massachusetts 
and  other  reports  one  may  safely  place  the  private  dependents 
at  30,000,  making  a  total  for  the  State  of  nearly  100,000^  at  a 
total  cost  of  about  $4,000,000,  which  would  be  equivalent  to  a 
total  burden  of  more  than  $5,000,000,  or  nearly  $28  per  family 
annually.  This  means  that  more  capital  is  involved  in  the  support 
of  these  abnormally  dependent  classes  in  the  State  than  the  total 
value  of  all  the  farm  property  in  the  State,  at  more  than  twice  the 
annual  current  expense  of  the  public  schools  of  all  the  cities  of  the 
State,  and  that  at  nearly  one-ninth  the  population  of  the  State  is 
thus  abnormally  dependent. 

From  a  special  report  and  the  Annual  Report  of  the  State 
Board  of  Charities  of  the  State  of  New  York  for  1902  it  is  offi- 
cially stated  that  there  were  in  that  State  during  the  year  110,000 
persons  under  public  relief  and  correction  at  a  public  expense 
of  $16,000,000.  The  number  reported  in  the  private  institutions 
of  relief  alone  was  about  10,000,  exclusive  of  tramps  and  vagrants, 
which  if  included  with  unreported  work  of  churches  and  similar 
organizations  would  probably  swell  the  total  to  160,000,  at  a  total 
annual  expense  of  $25,000,000,  involving  upon  a  5  per  cent,  basis 

*  Including  22,089  vagrants  reported. 


388  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

a  capital  of  $500,000,000.  The  value  of  public  and  private  prop- 
erty reported  as  invested  in  these  institutions  of  relief  and  cor- 
rection was  $100,000,000,  making  a  total  capital  involved  of  $600,- 
000,000,  and  a  total  annual  burden  of  expense  to  the  State  of 
$30,000,000,  or  $18  per  year  for  each  family.  These  are  large 
figures,  especially  when  we  consider  that  the  current  expense  for 
these  purposes  is  more  than  $4,000,000  greater  than  that  for  all 
the  city  schools  in  the  State ;  and  that  the  capital  involved  is 
nearly  three  times  the  value  of  all  the  farm  products  of  the  State, 
and  more  than  one-third  of  all  the  capital  invested  in  manufac- 
tures in  the  State. 

In  Pennsylvania,  according  to  the  report  of  the  Board  of 
Public  Charities  and  Commission  on  Lunacy  for  the  year  end- 
ing September  30,  1901,  there  were  in  the  State  in  that  year  in 
receipt  of  public  relief  and  under  correction,  exclusive  of  vagrants, 
90,401,  at  a  public  cost  to  the  State  of  $15,398,630.61.  This  would 
mean  probably  a  total  number  in  public  and  private  support  of 
at  least  110,000  at  a  total  expense  of  about  $26,000,000  and  involv- 
ing a  capital  of  more  than  $500,000,000,  or  more  than  half  of 
the  value  of  all  the  farming  property  of  the  State,  one-third  of 
all  manufacturing  capital,  and  fifteen  times  the  value  of  the  public 
property  invested  in  the  public  schools.  The  cost  per  family  for 
the  State  would  be  in  the  neighborhood  of  $20  a  year,  or  three 
times  that  expended  for  the  schools  of  all  the  cities. 

The  twenty-sixth  annual  report  of  the  Ohio  State  Board  of 
Charities  for  the  year  ending  November  15,  1901,  gives  a  total 
of  169,560  public  charges  for  the  year  at  a  public  expense  of 
$5,034,886.  This  would  indicate,  as  estimated  in  the  same  man- 
ner as  for  the  above  State,  a  total  of  abnormal  dependents  in  the 
State  of  about  one-twentieth  of  the  population,  and  the  use  of  a 
capital  equal  to  that  of  the  value  of  all  the  farm  products  of  the 
State  and  to  one-third  the  value  of  all  the  capital  employed  in 
manufacturing  in  the  State — an  annual  burden  per  family  of 
about  $12,  more  than  twice  that  expended  for  all  city  public 
schools. 

In  the  State  of  Michigan  the  reports  of  the  Superintendents 
of  Poor  for  1901  and  of  the  State  institutions  for  1902  indicate 
that  approximately  68,000  persons  are  dependent  for  public  relief 
and  maintenance  on  the  State.     For  these  in  1901  the  Board  of 


THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA  389 

Charities  approved  an  expenditure  (for  2  years)  of  $1,698,250.39 
(omitting  the  expense  for  jails,  hospitals,  vagrants,  and  other 
such  items).  This  would  in  all  probability  place  the  total  num- 
ber of  abnormal  dependents  in  the  State  at  near  100,000. 

The  fifth  biennial  report  of  the  State  Board  of  Control  of 
Wisconsin  for  the  year  ending  September  30,1900,  seems  to  indi- 
cate a  more  cheerful  condition  of  affairs  for  that  State.  This 
may,  indeed,  be  due  partly  to  an  incomplete  development  of 
charitable  and  correctional  organizations  in  the  State,  partly  to 
an  incompleteness  of  records  and  reports,  and  partly,  perhaps, 
to  the  smallness  of  public  want  and  criminality  in  the  State  due 
to  efficiency  of  administration  and  methods  of  relief  and  to  fav- 
orable conditions  of  age  and  economic  position  in  a  young  State 
far  from  the  ports  where  defective  immigrants  are  crowded 
together.  The  figures  are :  9,285  persons  receiving  public 
relief  and  correction  in  the  State,  at  an  expense  for  the  year  of 
$598,566.24.  This  would  mean  probably  14,000  to  15,000  ab- 
normal dependents  at  an  annual  expense  of  over  a  million  dollars, 
and  a  burden  per  family  of,  perhaps,  $3  or  $4  annually. 

In  the  State  of  California  the  only  available  source  of  infor- 
mation was  the  report  of  the  State  Comptroller  for  1899  and  1900, 
which  gives  the  total  public  expense  of  the  State  institutions  of 
charity  and  correction  for  the  year  as  $2,667,057.41,  which  would 
be  equivalent  in  all  probability  to  a  total  burden  for  abnormal 
dependents  in  the  State  of  at  least  $10  per  family  annually,  twice 
what  is  contributed  to  the  current  expenses  of  all  the  public 
schools  of  the  cities  of  the  State, 

The  total  reported  public  expenses  for  the  maintenance  of  the 
dependent,  delinquent,  and  defective  classes  (chiefly  in  State 
institutions)  in  these  eight  States  alone  as  discussed  above  was 
thus,  for  one  year  $48,135,392.51.  For  seven  of  these  States  (ex- 
cluding California)  the  total  number  of  abnormal  public  depend- 
ents was  609,895,  or  one  forty-second  of  the  total  population 
of  these  States.  The  population  of  these  States  was  about  one- 
third  of  the  country  as  a  whole.  If  the  same  proportion  of  public 
dependents  were  maintained  for  the  other  States  of  the  Union, 
the  total  number  in  the  country  would  be  more  than  1,800,000, 
in  receipt  of  public  relief.  But  in  all  probability  the  proportion 
of  dependents  is  not  high  in  other  States.     Judging  from  this 


390 


MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 


showing,  however,  the  total  number  of  pubhc  and  private  abnor- 
mal dependents  in  the  United  States  must  be  not  far  from  3,000,- 
000,  or  one  twenty-fifth  of  the  total  population  of  the  country, 
at  an  annual  expense  of  nearly  $200,000,000,  or  one-tenth  of  the 
total  wage  income  of  all  the  manufacturing  establishments  of 
the  country.  These  estimates  are  not  given  as  having  final  value, 
but  as  indications  of  the  gravity  of  the  national  problem  of  cost 
and  burden. 

Cost  of  Crime  in  the  United  States. — The  cost  to  the  public  of  all 
forms  of  dependency  must  include  that  of  crime,  because  pauper- 
ism and  crime  arise  from  the  same  social  causes  and  flow  into 
each  other  as  phenomena  of  a  common  tendency. 

Mr.  Warren  F.  Spalding  estimated  (1900)  the  direct  cost  of 
crime  to  the  Commonwealth  of  Massachusetts  as  $4,795,174 
annually. 

Mr.  Eugene  Smith  estimates  that  there  are  in  the  United 
States  about  250,000  who  make  their  living,  at  least  in  some  de- 
gree, by  the  practice  of  crime.  Their  annual  income,  he  thinks, 
is  $1,600  each,  or  an  aggregate  income  of  $400,000,000  annually. 
Taxation  caused  by  crime  is  set  at  $200,000,000.  These  figures 
do  not  include  the  value  of  property  destroyed  by  criminals,  of 
the  money  value  of  time,  life,  and  labor  lost  and  the  amount  of 
private  expense  entailed  by  these  crimes;  nor  the  expenditures 
caused  by  the  existence  of  crime,  as  for  locks  and  bars  and  bolts, 
steel  safes,  safe-deposit  vaults,  burglar  alarms,  involving  the 
outlay  of  many  million  dollars.  Beyond  all  the  material  losses 
are  the  miseries  and  moral  degradation  which  go  with  crime  in 
all  its  phases.^ 

A.  Legal  Aspects  of  Public  Relief  in  the  United  States. — 
History  and  Principles  of  Public  Poor  Relief. — To  say  that  there 
is  in  the  United  States  no  characteristic  system  of  public  poor- 
relief  would  be  both  true  and  misleading:  true,  because  there  is 
no  single  national  poor  law  or  general  system  of  poor-relief 
throughout  the  whole  country;  and  misleading,  because  there  are 
certain  characteristically  American  methods  and  laws  on  the  sub- 
ject, enacted  and  enforced  in  the  various  States.  American 
poor  law  is  based  upon  English  poor  law.      Briefly,  the  general 

*  P'-oceedings    of    National    Prison    Association,    1900.     House    Document    No. 
491,  s6th  Congress,  2d  session. 


THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA  391 

purpose  of  the  public  poor  law  is  to  provide  for  the  local  care 
of  such  persons  as  are  unable  to  support  themselves  and  have 
not  relatives  bound  to  support  them.  Such  public  support  is 
placed  under  the  supervision  of  officers  of  the  community  where 
the  recipient  resides,  with  restrictions  intended  to  prevent  va- 
grancy and  imposture,  and  to  forbid  the  removal  of  the  burden  of 
support  of  any  pauper  from  the  locality  where  he  properly  be- 
longs to  some  other  not  properly  responsible  for  him. 

In  the  United  States  we  find  that  both  poor  law  and  adminis- 
tration exhibit  two  main  types  (both  transplanted  from  England) 
which  may  be  called  respectively  the  Virginia  type  and  the  New 
England  type,  or  the  county  type  and  the  township  type,  cor- 
responding to  the  two  general  forms  of  local  government  respect- 
ively established  in  America  by  these  two  localities. 

With  migrations  these  two  types  of  government  were  propa- 
gated westward  according  as  the  character  of  the  country  and 
the  traditions  of  the  people  demanded  the  extended  and  more 
autocratic  county  form  adapted  to  sparsely  settled  territory,  or 
the  more  concentrated  democratic  form  of  township  government. 
In  time,  of  course,  the  two  types  have  modified  each  other,  pro- 
ducing, as  in  Pennsylvania  and  New  York,  more  composite 
systems. 

Of  the  development  of  the  township  form  the  city  of  Boston 
is  an  interesting  example.  Here  as  early  as  1691  poor  super- 
visors were  chosen  at  the  town  meeting.  Their  duties  were  lim- 
ited and  defined  by  statute  in  1793.  Each  township  was  made 
responsible  for  its  own  poor,  and  the  supervisors  were  to  see  that 
sustenance  and  work  were  provided  for  deserving  and  needy  per- 
sons. As  the  town  grew  the  number  of  supervisors  of  the  poor 
was  increased  (there  being  twelve  in  1895),  all  of  them  serving 
without  pay.  At  present  the  system  in  Boston  has  been  organized 
under  a  commissioner  of  public  institutions — a  paid  officer  of 
the  city — supervising  institutions  for  the  insane,  the  poor,  delin- 
quents, and  children.  Whereas  at  first  the  poor  were  cared  for 
in  a  more  or  less  unsystematic  and  incidental  way,  to-day  there 
are  organized  in  the  city  two  reform  schools,  one  truant  school, 
an  insane  hospital,  a  children's  home,  and  three  poorhouses,  all 
under  careful  and  expert  public  supervision, — besides  numerous 
private  charities.     This  example  illustrates  the  devlopment  of 


392  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

the  important  principle  of  division  of  labor  and  expert  specializa- 
tion which  is  being  rapidly  introduced  into  modern  poor-relief. 

According  to  the  United  States  Constitution  the  legislation 
and  the  administration  of  poor-relief  in  America  are  controlled 
wholly  by  the  State  legislatures.  The  only  exceptions  to  this 
are  the  District  of  Columbia,  the  Territories,  and  a  few  institu- 
tions, such  as  those  for  disabled  soldiers  and  sailors,  which  are 
controlled  by  the  national  government. 

The  Law  of  Responsibility  in  Public  Poor-Relief. — As  indicated 
above,  the  public  is  under  obligation  to  relieve  and  support 
all  indigent  residents  of  the  community  who  are  unable  to  sup- 
port themselves  and  who  have  no  relatives  upon  whom  this  legal 
obligation  rests.  This  general  principle  is  elaborated  in  various 
ways  in  the  different  States.  Frequently  between  the  parent  and 
the  child,  whether  minor  or  adult,  the  duty  of  support  may  be 
said  to  be  reciprocal, — where  either  has  become  indigent.* 
Sometimes  the  obligation  includes  grandchildren  and  grand- 
parents as  well.^  In  some  states  brothers  and  sisters  are  made 
reciprocally  responsible.^ 

Such  obligations  can  not  be  enforced  against  those  living  in 
another  state,  nor  (frequently)  in  favor  of  the  vicious  or  the 
drunken.* 

The  enforcement  of  the  obligations  on  behalf  of  an  indigent 
applicant  must  be  attended  to  by  the  relieving  officer  through  the 
agencies  of  the  county  or  other  local  courts.  The  county  sys- 
tem IS  prevalent  in  all  of  the  States  west  of  the  Mississippi  save 
Minnesota,  in  Pennsylvania,  and  in  all  south  of  Mason  and 
Dixon's  line.'^  In  the  New  England  and  the  Middle  Atlantic 
states  the  town  (or  township)  officials  are  in  general  responsible 

nn  N.  Y.,  N.  J.,  Ga.,  Mich.,  Wis.,  N.  Dak.,  S.  Dak.  (Cf.  Millis,  American 
Journal  of  Sociology,  Vol.  3,  page  379.)  Much  valuable  material  upon  poor  laws 
and  administration  used  herewith  was  derived  from  Professor  Millis'  articles  in 
the  Journal,  reference  to  which  hereafter  will  be  indicated  by  the  abbreviation  M. 
(Some  changes  in  laws  have  been  made  since  these  articles  were  written.) 

==  Mass.,  N.  H.,  Ver.,  Maine,  R.  I.,  Conn.,  Pa.,  Del.,  Ala.,  Miss.,  Iowa.  (M.,  Ill, 
page  374.) 

'  111.,  Minn.,  Nebr.,  Mont.,  Colo..  Nev.,  Wash.     (M.,  Ill,  page  479.) 

♦  111.,  Minn.,  Nebr.  (M.,  Ill,  page  380.) 

'  Although  some  of  these  States  have  a  more  or  less  mixed  system.  (M.,  Ill, 
page  381.) 


THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA 


3Q3 


for  the  enforcement  of  the  poor  law.  For  the  care  of  certain 
institutions  and  general  relief  agencies  the  State  governments 
themselves  are  sometimes  directly  responsible,^  Special  and 
usually  distinct  poor  jurisdiction  is  given  by  the  legislatures  to 
the  cities. 

Wife  Desertion. — The  new  law  which  went  into  effect  in  Illinois 
July  I,  1903,  may  be  taken  as  a  typical  illustration  of  the  present 
tendency  in  the  United  States  to  compel  men  to  support  their 
families  in  case  of  neglect.  The  statute  of  1891  had  contained 
penal  provisions  which  are  retained  in  the  new  law,  and  impor- 
tant new  factors  have  been  added.  In  case  a  fine  is  imposed,  it 
can  be  paid  to  the  wife  or  minor  children,  instead  of  to  the  State 
as  heretofore.  Before  the  trial  (with  the  consent  of  the  de- 
fendant) or  after  conviction,  instead  of  the  imposition  of  a  fine 
or  imprisonment,  the  court,  in  its  discretion,  shall  have  the  power 
to  make  an  order  directing  the  defendant  to  pay  a  certain  sum 
weekly  for  one  year,  to  the  wife,  guardian  or  custodian  of  the 
minor  child  or  children,  and  having  so  ordered,  to  release  the  de- 
fendant on  probation.  When  released  in  this  manner  the  de- 
fendant must  give  his  promise,  or  give  bond  if  the  court  so 
requires,  that  he  will  faithfully  obey  the  order.  If  during  the 
year  included  in  this  order  the  defendant  violates  the  agreement, 
the  court  may  forthwith  proceed  with  the  trial  under  the  original 
indictment,  or  sentence  him  under  the  original  conviction,  as 
the  case  may  be.  As  the  real  object  of  this  statute  is  to  obtain 
support  and  to  punish  as  a  last  resort  only,  the  defendant  is  given 
an  opportunity  at  all  stages  of  the  prosecution  to  stay  proceed- 
ings by  making  provision  for  the  support  of  his  family  as  the 
court  thinks  proper.- 

The  Law  of  Settlement. — The  question  arises  how  the  respon- 
sibility of  a  community  for  poor-relief  is  to  be  decided  in  the  case 
of  persons  who  move  from  one  locality  to  another.  All  but  ten  of 
the  States  have  laws  of  settlement  to  determine  this  question. 
The  only  condition  found  in  twenty  of  the  forty-eight  common- 

'  Except  as  in  the  case  of  Pa.  as  above,  of  Maine  and  N.  H.,  where  the 
county  cares  for  those  having  no  town  settlement,  and  in  N.  J.  and  Del.,  where 
the  county  is  responsible  for  outdoor  relief. 

^  W.  H.  Troyer,  attorney  for  the  Bureau  of  Justice,  Chicago,  in  "Co-operation," 
March  5,  1904,  p.  73, 


394  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

wealths  is  that  the  person  shall  have  resided  in  the  town  or  in  the 
county  for  a  given  time.  In  the  Western  States  having  such  a  re- 
quirement the  time  is  shorter  than  in  the  Northern  and  Eastern 
States.^  Several  States  have,  in  addition,  property  or  self-main- 
tenance qualifications  for  a  settlement.  As  a  rule  a  settlement 
is  retained  until  a  new  one  is  gained. 

At  this  point  the  question  of  poor-relief  is  complicated  by  the 
problem  of  immigration  and  inter-state  migration.  IModern  stu- 
dents and  charity  officers  are  agreed  that  if  it  be  possible  an  inter- 
state migration  board  on  the  basis  of  a  Federal  law  to  decide 
points  of  doubt  arising  out  of  conflicts  of  settlement  laws,  would 
be  of  great  value. ^  Several  States  have  provisions  that  if  a  per- 
son is  likely  to  become  dependent  it  is  the  duty  of  the  poor 
authorities  to  report  him  to  the  justice  of  the  peace,  and,  upon 
the  decision  of  the  court,  to  remove  him  to  his  former  locality 
before  he  secures  a  settlement.^  "The  laws  directed  against  the 
migration  of  paupers  are  of  three  kinds,  according  as  they  are 
directed:  (i)  against  bringing  a  pauper  into  the  county  or  town 
in  which  he  has  no  settlement,  or,  (2)  against  the  poor  authori- 
ties removing  him  in  order  to  avoid  supporting  him,  or,  (3) 
particularly  against  inter-state  migration.  However,  they  all 
have  the  one  purpose  of  checking  the  tendency  of  communities 
to  shift  the  responsibility  for  the  support  of  their  poor."  Six- 
teen of  the  States  have  the  provision  that  the  non-resident  appli- 
cant shall  be  given  temporary  relief,  and  notice  of  his  indigence 
be  sent  to  the  authorities  of  his  place  of  settlement,  they  upon 
receipt  of  the  notice  to  remove  the  indigent  and  pay  all  costs  of 
his  temporary  relief.*  Other  States  give  the  relieving  officer  the 
option  of  having  the  non-resident  indigent  cared  for  or  removed 

^  In  the  following  12  States  the  residence  required  is  from  one  to  six  months: 
Nebr.,  i  mo. ;  Mont,  and  Colo.,  2  mos. ;  Ok!a.,  N.  Dak.,  S.  Dak.,  Wyo.  and  Oregon, 
3  mos. ;  Miss.,  Kans.,  Nev.  and  Washington,  6  mos.     (M.,  Ill,  page  633.) 

*  This  is  one  of  the  cases  growing  more  and  more  numerous  with  the  increas- 
ing integration  and  complexity  of  the  country  where  desirable  national  legislation 
on  inter-state  questions  may  be  at  present  unconstitutional. 

*  N.  J.,  R.  I.,  Pa.,  W.  Va.,  Va.,  Del.  and  Ind. — the  provision  is  not  usually 
enforced  (M.,  Ill,  page  635.) 

*Mass.,  Conn.,  Ver.,  Me.,  N.  H.,  R.  I.,  N.  Y.,  Mich.,  Ohio,  111.,  Wis.,  Nebr., 
Iowa,  Nev.,  Colo.,  S.  Car.     (M.,  Ill,  page  640.) 


THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA 


395 


to  this  settlement.^  Protested  questions  of  settlement  are  de- 
cided by  the  court  or  other  local  authorities. 

Settlement  Laws. — A  writer  of  long  experience,  Mr.  F.  B.  San- 
born,- expresses  the  judgment  that  strict  laws  of  settlement,  such 
as  those  of  Massachusetts,  have  an  advantage  over  laxer  laws 
like  those  in  many  other  States ;  and  the  reason  he  gives  deserves 
consideration :  "It  may  be  asked  how^  it  is  that  strict  settlement 
laws,  making  the  support  of  a  pauper  in  any  towm  depend  on  cir- 
cumstances of  birth,  taxation,  marriage,  etc.,  can  facilitate  relief 
for  good  cases,  and  the  denial  of  aid  to  impostors?  The  answer 
is  that  they  compel  careful  inquir}-  and  the  following  up  of  cases, 
the  registry  of  evidence,  things  that  of  themselves  bring  the  true 
situation  of  any  poor  family  thus  investigated  to  the  knowledge 
of  the  overseer  of  the  poor."  Mr.  Sanborn  also  suggests  that  it 
is  desirable  not  only  to  secure  fairness  and  courtesy  between  the 
counties  and  towns  of  a  State,  but  also  between  States.  In  the 
absence  of  any  Federal  umpire  between  States  he  recommends 
referees  who  wall  act  as  expert  arbitrators  and  determine  what 
political  division  is  chargeable  with  the  support  of  paupers  in 
cases  of  disputed  settlement. 

Another  class  of  non-residents,  the  vagrants  or  tramps,  pre- 
sents a  serious  problem  in  public  poor-relief.  In  this  problem  we 
have,  perhaps,  not  so  much  to  do  exactly  with  relief,  as  with  the 
repression  of  frauds  and  the  punishment  of  parasitism.  The 
term  tramp  is  usually  defined  by  the  laws  as  an  able-bodied  per- 
son roaming  from  place  to  place  and  asking  or  subsisting  upon 
charity.^  In  most  States  tramping  is  considered  a  misdemeanor 
and  as  such  is  punishable.*  The  usual  method  of  punishment 
provided  in  the  statutes  is  to  commit  the  convicted  tramp  to 
jail,  where  he  is  confined  on  a  determinate  sentence.  With  a 
few  exceptions,  every  State  west  of  the  Mississippi  having  a  stat- 
ute upon  the  subject  employs  this  method;  and  it  is  noticeable 

^N.  J.,  W.  Va.,  Va.,  Okla.,  Ind.,  N.  Dak.,  .«^.  Dak.,  Kans.,  Wash.,  Mont.  (M., 
Ill,  page  641.) 

"Charities,  April  30,  1904. 

^  The  term  vagrant  is  usually  made  to  include  petty  gamblers  and  swindlers. 
Classes  excluded  from  the  term  tramp  are  minors,  females,  and  economically  in- 
capacitated adult  males. 

*  Cities  and  towns  are  usuc'ily  given  power  to  punish  tramps,  and  especially 
street  beggars. 


3g6  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

that  the  length  and  usually  the  hardness  of  the  sentence  are 
greater  in  the  Northern  and  Eastern  States  and  become  less  se- 
vere as  we  move  toward  the  Southern  and  Western  States.  Al- 
though a  sentence  to  prison  without  hard  labor  is  not  very  de- 
terrent to  the  tramp,  and  although  the  failure  to  repress  vagrancy 
and  imposture  seriously  cripples  poor-relief,  yet  many  of  the 
States  regularly  require  no  severe  labor  of  imprisoned  tramps, 
and  when  the  sentence  has  expired  release  the  misdemeanant 
without  any  assurance  of  future  good  behavior. 

Immigration  of  Defectives. — Congress  has  exercised  the  power  of 
territorial  sovereignty  in  the  law  of  March  3,  1903,^  restricting 
immigration.  The  social  principle  on  which  this  law  rests,  as 
distinguished  from  the  merely  juristic  principle,  is  the  protection 
of  the  vitality  and  culture  of  the  people  from  the  influence  of  an 
infusion  of  degenerate  stock.  This  legislation  aims  to  exclude 
idiots  and  insane,  paupers  or  persons  likely  to  become  public 
charges,  persons  suffering  from  a  loathsome  or  dangerous  con- 
tagious disease,  persons  convicted  of  crimes,  and  polygamists. 
"Cases  involving  the  exclusion  of  persons  coming  from  other 
States  have  not  come  before  the  Supreme  Court,  but  it  has  been 
intimated  that  a  State  may  protect  itself  from  an  influx  of  pau- 
pers, criminals,  or  persons  affected  with  contagious  diseases."^ 

Classes  of  Indigents  Who  Have  Claim  for  Public  Relief. — Per- 
sons who  have  a  legal  claim  to  public  relief  must,  in  the  first 
place,  as  stated  above  under  the  law  of  responsibility,  have  no 
relatives  or  friends  who  are  legally  obliged  to  support  them. 
Further,  they  may  be  divided  into  three  classes:  (i)  indigent  de- 
fectives, (2)  neglected  and  abused  children,  (3)  mentally  and 
physically  able  adults  in  extreme  indigence. 

The  first  class  may  be  subdivided  into  the  following  groups, 
for  which,  in  most  States,  public  and  often  State  institutions  have 
been  provided,  namely:  (a)  for  deaf  mutes,  {h)  for  the  blind,  (c) 
for  the  insane,  {d)  for  the  idiotic  and  feeble-minded,  {e)  for  epi- 
leptics, {f)  for  inebriates,  and  {g)  for  consumptives. 

The  provisions  made  for  deaf  mutes  and  for  the  Ijlind  in  the 
United  States  are  in  general  similar.     The  blind  as  a  class  can 

^32  Stat,  at  Large,  p.  1213. 

5  E.  Freund,  Police  Power,  sec.  71,  quotes  Hannibal,  etc.,  R.  R.  Co.  vs.  Husen, 
95  U.  S.,  465. — Cf.  Freund,  p.  loi,  sec.  loi,  p.  259. 


THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA  397 

usually,  with  extreme  difficulty,  become  self-supporting.  Many 
are  thus  necessarily  supported  at  public  expense.  Almost  all 
of  our  commonwealths  have  made  provisions  for  educational 
institutions  for  the  blind,  supplying  as  a  rule  maintenance  and 
tuition  for  all  inmates  free  of  charge.  In  some  sixteen  States, 
however,  those  able  to  pay  their  expenses  are  compelled  to  do 
so.^  In  several  States  efiforts  have  been  made  to  provide  means 
whereby  the  blind  may  be  enabled  to  earn  their  own  support  after 
leaving  the  schools.^ 

Historically  the  insane  have  been  treated,  first,  as  possessed, 
then  as  vagrants,  and  finally  as  diseased.  In  1744  all  the  insane 
of  England  were  considered  subject  to  confinement  as  a  danger- 
ous class  of  vagrants.  All  of  the  commonwealths  except  Okla- 
homa have  provided  one  or  more  hospitals  for  the  care  of  the 
acutely  insane.  Provision  for  this  class,  however,  is  in  many 
States  very  inadequate,  many  being  still  confined  in  the  alms- 
houses or  even  in  jails.  Four  methods  of  dealing  with  the  insane 
are  in  vogue  in  the  various  States:  (i)  They  are  arraigned  in 
the  county  or  justice's  court,  and  committed  to  the  hospital  with- 
our  medical  examination  or  the  testimony  of  a  medical  authority.^ 
(2)  They  are  tried  in  the  county  or  justice's  court  and  committed, 
an  examination  and  certificate  of  insanity  by  one  or  more  phy- 
sicians being  required.*  (3)  They  are  examined  by,  and  com- 
mitted upon  the  certificate  of  one  or  more  physicians,  the  func- 
tion of  the  court  being  reduced  to  registering  their  findings.^  (4) 
They  are  arraigned  and  an  investigation  is  made  by  a  regularly 
constituted  commission.®  Six  States  have  established  asylums 
for  the  care  of  chronic  insane.'^  In  Wisconsin  somewhat  of 
an  innovation  in  this  matter  has  been  inaugurated  by  authorizing 
the  counties  to  establish,  with  the  consent  of  the  State  Board  of 
Control,  county  insane  asylums,  which  are  then  subsidized  by  the 

1  N.  H.,  Ver.,  Md.,  N.  J.,  Pa.,  Va.,  S.  Car.,  Fla.,  Miss.,  Ala.,  Ky.,  Idaho,  Nev. 
Ariz.,  N.  Mex.,  Oregon.     (M.,  IV,  pp.  52-53-) 

*Ohio,  Cat,  Iowa,  Md.,  N.  Y.     (M.,  IV,  pp.  53-54-) 

^  Colo.,  La.,  Md.,  N.  Mex.,  Texas,  Va.,  Wyo. 

*Ariz.,  Ark.,  Idaho,  Mo.,  Nev.,  N.  J.,  Ohio,  Ore.,  Cal.,  Conn.,  Mass.,  Mich., 
Minn.,  Mont,  S.  Car.,  Utah,  Wash. 

"  Del.,  Miss.,  N.  H.,  Pa.,  Vt.  and  the  District  of  Columbia. 

'  la..  Me.,  Nebr.,  N.  Dak.,  S.  Dak. 

•^  Cal.,  111.,  Mass.,  Nebr.,  N.  Y.,  Pa.     (M.,  IV,  pp.  54  and  59-) 


398  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

State^  and  are  subject  to  central  inspection.  The  idiotic  and 
feeble-minded  require  special  institutions  for  education  and  treat- 
ment. Twenty-three  States  now  provide  facilities  for  their 
care, — but  as  a  rule  inadequately.  But  in  those  States  where  no 
provision  has  been  made  large  numbers  of  the  idiotic  and  feeble- 
minded are  to  be  found  in  the  almshouses.  Admissions  to  the 
public  institutions  for  them  are  usually  limited  to  children  of 
school  age. 

Little  has  yet  been  done  to  remove  the  epileptics  from  associa- 
tion with  the  insane  and  the  feeble-minded.  Only  the  three 
States  of  Ohio,  New  York  and  Massachusetts  care  for  the  epilep- 
tics in  separate  institutions.  The  laws  which  relate  to  the  com- 
mitment and  support  of  the  insane  apply  also  to  the  commitment 
and  support  of  the  epileptic. 

Inebriates  are  now  generally  looked  upon  rather  as  diseased 
persons  than  as  criminals.  A  few  States  have  accordingly  made 
public  provisions  for  their  treatment,  either  in  special  institu- 
tions, as  in  Massachusetts  and  California,  or  in  hospitals,  as  in 
Vermont  and  Pennsylvania,  or  in  private  asylums  at  public  ex- 
pense if  indigent,  as  in  Michigan,  Wisconsin,  Louisiana,  and 
Minnesota. 

As  for  the  treatment  of  consumptives,  Massachusetts  has  led 
in  providing  a  special  State  hospital  for  their  care.  The  laws  re- 
lating to  the  insane  apply  to  inebriates  and  consumptives  as  well 
as  to  epileptics. 

Regarding  the  second  class,  neglected  and  abused  children, 
we  find  in  the  history  of  their  treatment  an  instructive  sidelight 
upon  the  development  of  the  spirit  and  methods  of  charity.  At 
the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth  century  it  was  considered  by 
public  officials  a  progressive  measure  to  care  for  neglected  chil- 
dren in  the  almshouses.  Before  this  they  had  remained  utterly 
destitute.  Indeed,  societies  for  the  prevention  of  cruelty  to  ani- 
mals existed  in  America  before  the  organization  of  public  efforts 
to  protect  children.  It  was  not  until  1871  that  dependent  chil- 
dren began  to  receive  public  care  in  the  United  States  separately 
from  dependent  adults.  Before  that  year  dependent  minors  were 
cared  for  with  the  adults  in  the  almshouses  or  with  their  parents 
by   outdoor    relief.     This    system    of   keeping    children    in    the 

^  N.  J.,  Mo.  and  Kans.  have  adopted  similar  plans.     (M.,  IV,  pp.  60-61.) 


THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA 


399 


almshouses  was  seen  to  have  terrible  results,  and  in  the  above 
year  Michigan  established  a  State  public  school,  excluding  chil- 
dren from  the  almshouses  and  providing  means  for  their  special 
maintenance  and  education.  In  1875  New  York  made  a  similar 
enactment,  and  from  that  time  the  policy  has  been  gradually 
adopted  in  other  States.  But  this  policy  of  carefully  discrimi- 
nating between  different  classes  of  dependents  has  by  no  means 
been  carried  far  enough,  and  as  a  consequence  many  merely 
destitute  and  homeless  children  are  committed  to  the  industrial 
schools  and  reformatories  and  even  to  the  jails,  along  with  young 
criminals,  and  sometimes  even  with  old  and  hardened  ones.  In 
1880  almost  eight  thousand  and  in  1890  almost  five  thousand  chil- 
dren were  still  to  be  found  in  poorhouses,  but  many  of  these 
were  defective  in  body  and  mind.  It  is  only  a  question  of 
time  when  their  removal  will  be  complete.^  At  present  eleven 
States  prohibit  the  retention  in  the  almshouses  of  those  classes 
of  children  fit  for  family  care,  while  others  have  made  such  legal 
provision  that  their  retention,  although  not  prohibited,  is  unnec- 
essary.2 

Four  distinct  public  methods  of  dealing  with  dependent  chil- 
dren are  legally  authorized  in  the  United  States:  (i)  the  institu- 
tional method, — the  care  of  children  in  great  orphanages  and 
State  schools ;  (2)  the  home  method, — the  care  of  the  children  in 
smaller  houses  under  a  domestic  system ;  (3)  the  boarding  and 
placing  system, — family  care  by  special  contract ;  and  (4)  the 
Michigan  system, — a  union  of  the  two  latter  systems  by  the  re- 
ception of  the  children  at  a  central  place  and  their  subsequent 
transference  to  family  care. 

Of  the  first  method,  as  we  have  seen,  the  retention  of  children 
in  the  almshouses  is  now  rapidly  falling  into  disrepute,  and  they 
are  being  referred  more  and  more  to  special  orphanages,  public 
schools,  and  other  forms  of  public  care. 

The  home  method  is  a  modification  of  the  institutional 
method,  and  is  gaining  in  public  favor, — but  historically  it  is 
more  recent  than  the  boarding  and  placing  system. 

In  nearly  all  of  the  commonwealths  the  poor  authorities  are 

^  Miinsterberg,  Poor  Relief  in  the  United  States,  American  Journal  of  Sociology, 
Vol.  VII,  p.  660. 

*  M.,  American  Journal  of  Sociology,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  782. 


400  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

made  the  special  guardians  of  dependent  and  neglected  children, 
and  are  explicitly  authorized  to  secure  their  adoption  or  binding 
out.  As  a  rule  the  power  of  these  authorities  to  bind  out  such 
children  without  the  consent  of  the  parent  or  guardian  is  discre- 
tionary. 

Twenty-nine  of  the  forty-eight  commonwealths  (for  the  most 
part  Southern  and  Western)  have  made  no  further  provisions.^ 
The  discretionary  authority  to  bind  out  dependent  children  is 
often  not  exercised,  and  they  are  cared  for  in  the  almshouses 
supported  with  the  parents  in  the  home,  or  treated  as  young 
vagrants.  About  nineteen  States  have  thus  far  provided  well 
organized  systems  of  public  child  saving,  usually  employing  the 
placing-out  method.  A  modification  of  this  method,  adopted 
in  several  of  the  States,  consists  in  subsidizing  private  institu- 
tions for  the  care  of  publicly  dependent  children.  When  a  child 
is  placed  with  a  family  the  law  usually  provides  that  a  writtea 
contract  shall  be  signed  by  the  agents  of  the  institution  placing 
the  child  and  the  head  of  the  family  receiving  it,  providing  for 
its  treatment  as  a  member  of  the  family  with  respect  to  schooling 
and  other  privileges. 

The  Michigan  method,  so  called  because  first  employed  in 
Michigan,  is  now  being  applied  in  the  six  States  of  Michigan 
Rhode  Island,  Wisconsin,  Minnesota,  Kansas,  and  Colorado. 
According  to  this  method  a  State  public  school  is  provided,  in 
which  all  dependent  minors  of  sound  mind  and  body  are  to  find 
a  temporary  home  and  school,  and  from  which  they  are  to  be 
placed  out,  their  guardianship  being  vested  in  the  Board  of  Con- 
trol of  the  State  institutions. 

In  dealing  with  the  third  class  of  dependents,  namely,  able- 
bodied  sane  adults  in  extreme  indigence,  two  public  methods 
are  chiefly  employed  in  the  United  States ;  outdoor  relief  and 
poorhouse  relief. 

Lazv  of  Outdoor  and  Indoor  Relief. — By  outdoor  relief  is  meant 
relief  from  the  public  treasury,  given  and  consumed  in  the 
home  of  the  indigent  family,  without  further  public  surveillance. 
Such  relief  is  almost  universally  provided  for.     In  twenty-four 

^Ver.,  Me.,  W.  Va.,  Va.,  Del.,  S.  Car.,  Ga.,  Fla.,  Ala.,  Tenn.,  Ky.,  Miss.,  La., 
Texas,  Ark.,  Okla.,  111.,  N.  Dak.,  S.  Dak.,  la.,  Nebr.,  Mo.,  Wyo.,  Idaho,  Utah,  Ariz., 
Nev.,  Wash.,  Ore.     (M.,  Ill,  p.  778.) 


THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA 


401 


States  the  relieving  officers  are  explicitly  authorized  to  give  out- 
door relief.^  In  several  States,  mainly  in  the  West,  the  relieving 
officers  seem  to  be  permitted  to  give  or  refuse  such  relief  at  their 
discretion.^ 

The  fundamental  principle  usually  embodied  in  the  law  of 
relief  in  homes  is  that  it  shall  be  temporary  or  furnish  only  partial 
support.^  Some  States  limit  the  amount  to  be  given.*  Some  also 
provide  for  such  relief  in  the  form  of  annual  allowances.^  Meas- 
ures to  discourage  the  importunity  for  relief  on  the  part  of 
"frauds"  are  usually  provisions  for  written  applications,  or  better 
yet,  for  a  "work  test"."  In  Wisconsin  by  an  act  of  1895  all  coun- 
ties containing  cities  of  the  first  class  (that  is  of  more  than  150,000 
inhabitants)  are  compelled  to  erect  and  maintain  either  stone- 
yards  or  woodyards,  with  shelters  in  connection,  to  which  all 
persons  not  incapacitated  for  labor,  applying  for  relief,  shall  be 
sent  (except  in  great  emergency)  to  work  for  any  relief  received. 

Most  of  the  States  of  the  Union  provide  for  some  kind  of 
medical  attendance  upon  the  indigent  sick,  either  through  hos- 
pitals, almshouses,  special  homes,'^  or  public  physicians. 

The  almshouse  has  been  rightly  called  "the  fundamental  insti- 
tution in  American  poor-relief."  In  contrast  to  outdoor  relief 
that  of  the  almshouse  is  designed  to  be  more  or  less  permanent 
and  complete.  Every  American  commonwealth  has  made  pro- 
vision for  this  kind  of  relief.  Admission  is  gained  through  a  cer- 
tificate from  one  of  the  various  relieving  officers,  or  through  the 
superintendent  of  the  institution.  It  is  open  to  all  indigents 
except  those  classes  definitely  and  specially  excluded  by  law.  As 
we  have  seen,  in  only  eleven  States  are  dependent  minors  ex- 
cluded from  the  almshouse,  or  their  detention  limited  to  only  a 

'  Conn.,  N.  Y.,  Va.,  W.  Va.,  Del.,  N.  J.,  Pa.,  Miss.,  Ga.,  Ind.,  Ohio,  111.,  Minn., 
N.  Dak.,  S.  Dak.,  Iowa,  Nebr.,  Kans.,  Idaho,  Tenn.,  Okla.,  Mich.,  Wafsb.,  Nev. 
(M.,  Ill,  p.  383.) 

^  N.  H.,  Me.,  N.  Car.,  S.  Car.,  Fla.,  Ala.,  Ky.,  La.,  Tex.,  Ark.,  Mo.,  Mont,  Wyo., 
Utah,  Colo.,  Ariz.,  Ore.,  Cal.     (M.,  ihid.) 

'  An  exception  to  this  rule  is  sometimes  made  in  the  case  of  indigent  soldiers 
and  sailors  and  their  families. 

*  Pa.,  Tenn.,  Okla.,  N.  Y.,  Mich.,  Iowa,  Minn.     (M.,  Ill,  p.  384.) 

^  Okla.,  Tenn.,  Kans.,  N.  Dak.,  S.  Dak.,  Iowa.     (M.,  Ill,  p.  384.) 

•Nev.,  Idaho,  Ariz.,  Ohio,  Mass.,  Wis.     (M.,  Ill,  p.  385.) 

''E.  g.  Va.,  W.  Va.,  Pa.,  S.  Car.,  Minn.,  Nebr.,  Ohio.     (M.,  Ill,  p.  386.) 

26 


402 


MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 


short  period.  A  scant  beginning  has  been  made  with  laws  ex- 
cluding the  insane  from  the  almshouse,  and  many  of  that  class  in 
other  States  are  regularly  found  in  the  institution.  Not  only  are 
few  classes  excluded  from  the  almshouse,  but,  except  in  the  case 
of  vagrants  in  a  few  States,  there  is  absolutely  no  provision  for 
the  detention  of  the  inmates  beyond  the  time  of  their  voluntary 
departure  nor  for  their  control  "further  than  for  the  separation 
of  the  sexes,  and  for  the  employment  of  the  inmates  in  a  few 
cases."^ 

In  former  years  two  other  methods  of  dealing  with  common 
indigents  were  in  vogue:  (i)  farming  and  binding  out,  and  (2) 
boarding  out.  These  are  obsolete  alternative  methods  for  care 
in  the  poorhouse. 

Burial  of  the  poor  is  regarded  in  the  same  light  as  legal  main- 
tenance. 

Upon  becoming  a  public  charge  a  person's  civic  relations 
are  not  greatly  altered.  Usually  one  loses  no  right  and  fre- 
quently indeed  one  is  relieved  from  working  the  roads  or  paying 
taxes.  However,  in  eight  States  paupers  are  explicitly  disfran- 
chised.^ 

B.  Administrative  Aspects  of  Public  Relief  in  the  United 
States. — The  Organization  of  Public  Poor-Relief. — As  we  have  al- 
ready seen,  public  poor-relief,  as  at  present  administered,  falls 
into  four  general  systems,  namely,  those  of  the  town,  of  the  city, 
of  the  county,  and  of  the  State. 

In  the  town  the  fundamental  institution  is,  of  course,  the  alms- 
house,— although  outdoor  relief  as  well  as  indoor  is  adminis- 
tered by  town  officials.  Towns  also  may,  and  sometimes  do, 
have  minor  institutions  for  the  care  of  children  and  defectives. 
The  choice  of  the  town  officials  of  poor-relief  is  directly  in  the 
hands  of  the  town  meeting,  consisting  legally  of  all  of  the  local 
voters. 

In  cities  the  superintendent  of  charities  and  heads  of  mu- 
nicipal philanthropies  are  usually  appointed  by  the  mayor.    Alany 

^  In  the  following  States  the  inmates  are  to  be  employed  at  suitable  labor : 
Mass.,  Vt.,  N.  J.,  W.  Va.,  S.  Car.,  Miss.,  Ga.,  Tenn.,  Ky.,  Mich.,  Wis.,  Iowa,  Mo. 
The  need  of  legislation  upon  this  point  has  been  felt.     (M.,  Ill,  p.  481.) 

2  Mass.,  N.  H.,  Me.,  N.  J.,  W.  Va.,  Del.,  S.  Car.,  Texas.  Thus  in  a  few  States 
tax-paying  is  a  requisite  for  voting.  The  provision,  through  the  care  of  the  poli- 
ticians, does  not,  however,  usually  disfranchise  many  paupers. 


THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA 


403 


American  cities  have  as  yet  no  well  organized  and  scientifically 
administered  charity  department,  although  most  cities  have 
municipal  hospitals  and  other  philanthropic  institutions,  includ- 
ing sometimes  in  recent  years  municipal  lodging  houses  and 
woodyards.  All  of  these  institutions  are  responsible  either  to 
the  mayor  or  to  the  city  council. 

In  the  county  system  the  chief  executive  power,  including 
responsibility  for  poor-relief,  is  vested  in  a  commissioners'  court 
or  board,  composed  usually  of  two  commissioners-at-large  and 
the  county  judge,  all  chosen  by  the  voters  of  the  county.  In  the 
county  the  almshouse  is  also  usually  the  fundamental  institution 
for  the  relief  of  the  poor.  But  outdoor  relief  is  also  extensively 
employed. 

The  State,  through  its  Legislature,  is,  directly  or  indirectly, 
the  regulator  of  all  charity  administration.  There  are  certain 
philanthropic  institutions,  however,  directly  under  the  control  of 
State  officers.  These  institutions  are,  as  we  have  seen,  usually 
asylums  for  defective  classes,  including  hospitals,  institutions  for 
the  blind,  deaf  and  dumb,  etc.  The  boards  of  directors  of  these 
institutions  are  usually  appointed  by  the  governor  with  the  advice 
and  consent  of  the  Senate^  and  are  unsalaried.^  Continuous 
boards  have  become  the  rule,^  the  aim  being  to  keep  the  selection 
of  the  boards  free  from  corrupting  political  influence.  Usually 
the  States  have  a  distinct  board  for  each  institution.  Seven  or 
eight  States,  however,  for  the  sake  of  more  efficient  service  and 
supervision,  have  centralized  all  the  State  institutions  for  de- 
fectives in  the  hands  of  a  single  State  board  of  control.*  Other 
States  have  established  central  boards  with  only  advisory  and 
supervisory  powers. 

"^  In  Nebraska  the  boards  are  elected  by  the  General  Assembly. 

^  In  Georgia  trustees  for  the  asylum  for  the  insane  receive  $300  per  year,  in 
Colorado  those  for  the  schools  for  the  blind  and  deaf  and  dumb  $150  per  year,  and 
those  for  the  hospital  for  the  insane  $600  a  year.  The  following  States  pay  boards 
for  the  time  spent  in  performance  of  duties  at  a  rate  of  from  $2  to  $10  a  day: 
Cal.,  Ariz.,  Iowa,  Mich.,  Nebr.,  N.  Dak.,  Vt.,  Me.,  Tex.,  Wash.,  Idaho.  (M.,  IV, 
p.  67.) 

'Ariz.,  Conn.,  Cal.,  Col.,  111.,  Ind.,  Ky.,  La.,  Md.,  Mass.,  Mich.,  N.  H.,  N.  J., 
N.  Mex.,  N.  Y.,  N.  Car.,  N.  Dak.,  Ohio,  Pa.,  Tenn.,  Tex.,  Utah,  Vt.,  Va.,  Wash., 
W.  Va. 

*Kans.,  R.  I.,  Ark.,  S.  Dak.,  Wyo.,  Iowa,  Wis.     (M.,  IV,  p.  68.) 


404  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

Titles  and  Duties  of  Officials. — In  the  towns  the  selectmen  are 
empowered  to  arrange  for  the  establishment  and  maintenance  of 
the  poorhouse  and  other  local  institutions  of  relief,  as  well  as  to 
administer  assistance  in  the  home.  The  superintendent  of  the 
almshouse,  usually  elected  at  the  town  meeting,  is,  as  a  rule, 
given  authority  to  make  all  minor  rules  and  regulations  of  the 
institution  in  his  charge. 

It  is  the  duty  of  the  county  commissioners  to  appoint  reliev- 
ing agents,  both  for  institutional  and  for  home  relief,  and  with 
the  county  judge  to  decide  cases  of  residence  and  other  legal 
relief  claims  brought  before  them  by  the  agents. 

Boards  of  directors  of  relief  institutions  are  commonly  given 
large  discretionary  powers  in  the  organization  and  management 
of  their  respective  institutions,  making  regular  reports  to  the 
public  and  to  the  governor.  The  existence  of  a  general  State 
board,  with  an  expert  secretary  and  a  uniform  system  of  accounts, 
tends  to  economize  expenses,  and  prevent  abuses, — especially 
where  partisanship  is  not  allowed  to  interfere  in  the  choice  of  the 
best  men.^  The  special  office  of  these  boards  is  to  determine 
methods  of  supervision  for  local  institutions,  to  decide  questions 
relating  to  the  residential  claims  of  charity  applicants,  to  inves- 
tigate and  set  forth  the  most  recent  and  most  effective  principles 
of  poor-relief,  and  in  general  to  criticise  and  direct  the  efforts  of 
the  superintendents.  In  several  States  the  board  has  the  power 
to  inspect  private  institutions  of  charity ;  and  in  New  York  new 
institutions  for  children  may  not  be  erected  without  their  sanc- 
tion. 

The  fundamental  principle  in  deciding  the  kind  of  relief  to 
be  administered  in  a  given  case,  is,  that  the  case  should  be  re- 
ferred to  public  poor-relief  where  careful  control  of  personal  con- 
duct is  necessary,  and  to  private  charity  where  it  is  desirable  to 
admit  as  much  free  activity  as  possible.  The  tendency  in  all 
charity  work,  both  public  and  private,  is  to  make  an  individual 
study  of  individual  cases  and  to  treat  them  accordingly.     It  is 

1  The  influence  of  the  American  political  watchword  now  beginning  to  fall  into 
disfavor,  "To  the  victors  belong  the  spoils,"  has  wrought  havoc  among  the  public 
relief  institutions  of  many  of  the  States.  In  some  States,  however,  as  in  Minne- 
sota, the  principle  of  the  merit  system  and  of  expert  service  is  being  earnestly 
and  successfully  applied. 


THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA 


40s 


to  this  growing  conception,  namely,  that  persons  are  individuals, 
that  we  are  indebted  for  the  increasing  specialization  and  skill, 
for  the  removal  of  children  to  proper  institutions,  for  the  removal 
of  the  sick  and  defectives  from  the  poorhouses,  and  for  the  better 
classification  of  those  who  remain  in  these  institutions. 

From  all  these  confusing  details  it  is  to  be  seen:  (i)  that 
officers  administering  relief  generally  serve  for  short  terms;  (2) 
that  in  the  great  majority  of  the  commonwealths  relief  is  ad- 
ministered by  officers  as  one,  and  a  minor  one,  of  their  many 
duties;  (3)  that  relief  is  administered  by  councilmen,  selectmen, 
township  trustees,  county  commissioners,  justices  of  the  peace, 
and  county  judges,  who  are  not  elected  especially  for  that 
purpose.  "...  .Records  are  to  be  kept  and  accounts  rendered  to 
the  town,  to  the  court,  to  the  county  commissioners,  or  to  the 
county  auditors  as  other  accounts  are  kept  and  rendered.  Where 
the  relief  system  has  been  placed  under  the  supervision  of  the 
State  boards  of  charities  ....  reports  of  the  outdoor  relief  as 
well  as  of  the  almshouses  must  be  made."^ 

The  duties  of  the  superintendents  of  almshouses,  as  in  general 
of  all  public  relief  institutions,  consist  in  seeing  that  commit- 
ments are  made  in  accordance  with  the  law,  in  supervising  the 
physical  maintenance,  health,  morality,  and  education  of  the 
inmates,  and  frequently  in  selecting  the  assistants,  heads  of  de- 
partments, and  other  subordinates.  The  ideal  administrative 
method  is  to  select  for  superintendents  thoroughly  capable  men, 
free  from  political  influence,  give  them  as  much  liberty  as  pos- 
sible in  the  formation  and  execution  of  their  plans,  and  then  hold 
them  strictly  responsible. 

The  superintendents  of  outdoor  relief,  appointed  usually  by 
the  county  commissioners  are  responsible  for  the  detection  of 
imposture,  and  the  economical  and  wise  distribution  of  the  public 
supplies.  Usually  the  aim  is  to  give  only  widows,  defectives, 
critically  indigent,  and  aged  this  kind  of  relief.  When  an  in- 
digent applies  at  the  relieving  office  a  visiting  agent  first  makes 
a  personal  inspection  of  the  residence  and  economic  condition  of 
the  applicant,  files  a  statement  of  the  same  in  regular  form  in 
the  relieving  office,  and  presents  therewith  to  the  superintendent 
a  written  recommendation  regarding  the  case.     This  system  well 

^  M.,  Ill,  p.  390. 


4o6  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

administered  is  very  effective.  To  secure  capable  and  honest 
officers  for  the  work,  however,  is  difficult ;  and  in  some  cases,  as 
the  recent  experience  of  Indiana  seems  to  indicate,^  public  poor- 
relief  is  better  administered  without  much  assistance  of  the  poor 
in  their  homes. 

The  conditions  of  the  poor  in  the  South  require  separate  con- 
sideration. According  to  the  statistics  of  the  census  of  1890 
it  appears  that  there  is  a  smaller  percentage  of  people  in  the  alms- 
houses of  the  South  than  in  those  of  other  portions  of  the  Union ; 
but  that  the  ratio  of  children  retained  in  the  poorhouses  is  higher. 
The  private  institutions  of  charity,  as  hospitals,  orphanages, 
homes  for  the  aged  and  for  children  are  fewer.  It  must  be  re- 
membered that  before  the  Civil  War  few  immigrants  went  to 
the  South,  because  of  slavery.  Manufactures  have  sprung  up 
as  by  magic,  but  only  in  recent  years.  The  population  is  scat- 
tered over  a  wide  area  and  families  are  isolated.  The  war  left 
the  white  people  poor  and  it  destroyed  many  public  institutions 
and  arrested  development  of  philanthropy.  The  public  mind  was 
devoted  to  politics  and  theological  controversies,  and  only  re- 
cently has  turned  toward  social  amelioration.  There  were  no 
large  cities  to  force  attention  to  the  working  class  and  their  needs. 

There  is  very  much  distress  among  the  poor  whites,  and 
in  the  new  industrial  towns  the  miseries  of  child  labor  have 
appeared.  There  are  few  occupations  open  to  poor  women  and 
the  wages  are  low. 

If  we  turn  to  the  poorest  class  of  all,  the  negroes,  we  must 
remember  that  they  are  excluded  from  many  trades,  although 
they  are  sought  for  as  farm  laborers.  Race  feeling,  fortified  by 
the  sentiments  and  habits  of  caste,  has  separated  the  whites  from 
the  blacks.  Negroes  generally  assist  each  other  so  long  as  they 
have  anything,  and  in  the  warmer  regions  their  standard  of  life 
is  very  low,  so  that  their  poverty  is  not  felt  as  wretchedness. 

After  making  all  allowance  for  these  explanations  it  must  be 
conceded  that  both  public  and  private  philanthropy  in  the  South 

*  In  1899  Indiana  passed  a  law  which  greatly  restricts  outdoor  relief,  with  the 
result  that,  while  in  1895  the  expenses  for  outdoor  relief  were  $630,189,  the 
expenditures  in  1900,  including  medical  relief,  were  only  $209,956,  with  a  parallel 
decrease  of  the  population  of  poorhouses.  Cf.  Miinsterberg,  American  Journal 
Sociology,  Vol.  7,  No.  4,  p.  523. 


THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA 


407 


needs  yet  to  be  brought  into  living  touch  with  the  methods  of 
modern  science.  A  generous  and  kindly  people,  once  brought 
back  into  contact  with  modern  life,  freed  from  slavery,  busy  with 
international  commerce,  will  rapidly  develop  measures  and  insti- 
tutions which  are  in  accordance  with  the  lessons  of  experience  in 
civilized  nations. 

Porto  Rico. — The  new  colonial  policy  of  the  United  States  in  rela- 
tion to  charitable  relief  is  illustrated  in  the  system  adopted  for 
Porto  Rico  which  came  under  our  control  in  1899  in  consequence 
of  the  Spanish-American  War.^  There  are  now  on  the  island 
an  insane  asylum  which,  June  30,  1903,  provided  for  194  patients ; 
a  Girls'  Charity  School,  with  160  pupils;  a  Boys'  Charity  School, 
with  259  pupils;  a  leper  colony,  caring  for  19  patients.  The  an- 
nual outlay  is  $108,000.  All  public  agencies  are  under  the  office 
of  Public  Health,  Charities,  and  Correction,  with  a  director  who 
is  a  native  of  Porto  Rico,  appointed  by  the  governor  and  remov- 
able by  him.  The  institutions  have  been  thoroughly  equipped 
and  brought  under  enlightened  regulation.  An  asylum  for  the 
blind,  and  a  school  for  deaf  mute  children  are  provided.  The 
municipalities  have  a  few  unimportant  hospitals.  The  Superior 
Board  of  Health  has  introduced  sanitary  improvements.  The 
cause  of  the  dreadful  disease  anemia  has  been  discovered  and  a 
remedy  found  by  American  medical  officers.  Some  outdoor  relief 
is  given,  but  in  the  mild  climate  not  much  is  required.  Both 
Catholics  and  Protestants  are  building  up  hospitals  and  schools 
for  the  poor.  Industries  are  increasing  and  the  economic  condi- 
tions of  the  people  are  improving. 

State  Boards  of  Charities  and  Correction. — The  first  central  board 
of  charities  in  the  United  States  was  the  Massachusetts  Board 
of  State  Charities,  established  in  1863  and  reorganized  several 
times  in  later  years.  There  are  two  forms  of  central  supervision 
known  in  this  country  and  a  long  controversy,  not  yet  concluded, 
has  been  waged  over  their  relative  advantages.  All  that  space 
permits  here  is  a  description  of  both  methods  and  a  brief  sum- 
mary of  the  arguments  used.^ 

*  S.  M.  Lindsay,  The  Public  Charities  of  Porto  Rico,  in  Annals  Am.  Acad.,  May, 
1904,  p.  98. 

*The  following  paragraphs  devoted  to  State  boards  are  written  by  the  editor  of 
the  volume.     One  of  the  most  recent  and  valuable  studies  of  the  State  boards  is 


4o8  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

Dr.  F.  H.  Wines  has  thus  defined  the  difference  between 
boards  of  supervision  and  boards  of  control,  and,  at  the  same 
time  described  the  chief  types  of  organization.  "A  board  of 
control  is  an  executive  board,  or  board  of  trust,  in  charge  of  an 
institution  or  of  a  group  of  institutions.  Boards  of  managers 
of  State  institutions  are  in  some  States  called  boards  of  control. 
When  the  different  institutions  are  governed  by  separate  boards, 
it  is  usual  to  speak  of  them  as  local  boards  of  control.  A  State 
board  of  control,  on  the  other  hand,  is  entrusted  with  the  man- 
agement of  the  afifairs  of  a  group  of  institutions,  embracing,  in 
most  of  the  States  where  they  exist,  all  of  the  State  institutions, 
except  those  of  a  purely  educational  nature  and  purpose. 

"A  board  of  charities,  or  of  charities  and  correction,  has  no 
executive  control  over  the  afifairs  of  any  institution.  Its  powers 
are  merely  those  of  visitation,  inspection,  investigation,  report 
and  recommendation.  It  is  a  supervisory  board ;  and  the  primary 
aim  of  such  executive  powers  as  may  be  confided  to  it,  is  the  pro- 
tection of  individuals  of  the  various  classes  for  which  the  State 
makes  provisions  in  institutions,  not  the  management  of  the 
institutions  themselves. 

"A  board  of  control  is  formally  or  virtually  a  public  corpora- 
tion, with  power  to  sue  and  be  sued,  to  plead  and  be  impleaded ;  it 
makes  appointments,  purchases,  contracts ;  it  holds  the  title  to 
property;  it  makes  conveyances.  A  supervisory  board  has  no 
such  power;  its  power  for  good  resides  in  its  moral  influence. 

"The  members  of  a  State  board  of  control  are  ordinarily  re- 
quired to  give  their  whole  time  to  the  duties  of  their  ofifice,  and 
are  paid  a  salary  for  service  rendered.  (Rhode  Island  is  the  con- 
spicuous exception  to  this  rule.)  The  members  of  a  State  super- 
visory board  in  every  State  except  New  York  serve  without  com- 
pensation (and  there  it  is  nominal).  Their  work  is  a  labor  of 
love,  undertaken  by  them  from  purely  patriotic  and  humanitarian 
motives. 

"It  is  customary  to  extend  the  supervision  exercised  by  a 
board  of  charities  over  State  institutions  to  county  and  municipal 

the  report  of  Dr.  F.  H.  Wines  in  the  i8th  Annual  Report  of  the  State  Charities  Aid 
Association  of  New  Jersey,  1903.  Cf.  Report  to  National  Prison  Association,  1903, 
and  my  article  in  Annals  of  American  Academy,  May,  1903,  and  in  the  American 
Journal  of  Sociology,  Nov.,  1903. 


THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA 


409 


institutions  as  well ;  and  in  a  number  of  States  to  private  charities, 
especially  to  such  as  receive  State  aid.  State  boards  of  control 
sometimes  have,  but  more  frequently  have  not,  jurisdiction  over 
county  or  municipal  institutions." 

The  problem  of  central  control  and  administration  may  be 
considered  quite  apart  from  that  of  State  supervision.  The  most 
vital  factor  in  administration  is  the  expert  superintendent,  who 
is  often  forgotten  in  this  debate.  He  is  the  person  who  does 
the  work  if  it  is  done ;  and  if  he  is  incompetent,  negligent  or 
otherwise  unfit,  the  wards  of  the  State  suffer.  For  the  care  and 
treatment  of  each  class,  insane,  epileptic,  deaf,  blind,  prisoners,  a 
trained  professional  director  is  essential ;  and  it  is  possible  for 
a  competent  man  to  conduct  an  institution  under  any  form  of 
State  control  which  will  secure  him  a  place  and  freedom  with- 
out interference  from  partisan  politics.  It  is  not  absolutely  nec- 
essary that  he  should  have  any  board  over  him,  and  if  he  is  the 
right  man  for  his  place  he  will  know  his  business  better  than 
laymen  can  instruct  him.  Indeed,  all  boards  derive  their  infor- 
mation from  the  director  and  act  largely  on  his  advice. 

Yet  a  board  of  managers,  control  or  direction,  or  a  single 
commissioner  representing  the  administrative  department  of  the 
State  for  a  group  of  institutions  has  been  found  advisable  and 
desirable.  There  are  two  aspects  of  institutional  life,  the  pro- 
fessional and  the  economic  or  business  side;  and  for  both  these, 
especially  the  latter,  consultation  with  men  trained  in  business 
is  helpful.  The  capable  director  is  not  only  conscious  that  he  is 
doing  his  duty,  but  he  also  is  certain  that  representatives  of 
the  public  have  constant  proof  of  his  fidelity  and  efficiency  in  his 
office.  Many  directors  also  affirm  that  it  is  a  relief  to  them  if 
they  are  not  required  to  attend  to  purchases  of  supplies,  accounts, 
building  and  repairs,  and  other  matters  which  are  purely 
economic  and  material.  A  very  able  teacher  of  the  blind,  or 
physician  to  the  insane,  may  have  no  business  experience.  Thus 
the  separation  of  functions  and  the  specialization  of  faculty  may 
be  promoted  by  providing  for  the  business  side  of  the  institu- 
tion through  a  commissioner  or  a  board  of  control ;  and  the 
board  of  control  may  be  either  local  or  central. 

As  a  matter  of  fact  only  nine  States  have  adopted  the  policy 
of  the  central  board  of  control,  and  the  usual  method  is  to  appoint 


4IO  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

a  board  of  managers  for  each  institution.  The  general  tendency 
in  Europe  and  America  is  to  secure  State  central  administrative 
control  of  all  local  institutions.  Thus  the  ministry  of  the  interior 
in  Italy  and  in  certain  German  states,  and  the  Home  Secretary 
in  Great  Britain  have  been  charged  with  the  duty  of  directing 
local  institutions  so  far  as  the  general  interest  required,  and  many 
important  reforms  and  improvements  have  been  effected  by  this 
method,  without  injury  to  local  interest  and  activity. 

But  a  board  of  control  or  a  commissioner  armed  with  power  to 
direct  and  regulate  can  never  take  the  place  of  a  board  of  unsal- 
aried agents  of  popular  supervision  and  intelligence.  The  two 
functions  are  not  identical;  they  are  contradictory,  and  both  are 
necessary. 

The  most  vital  point  at  issue,  in  the  judgment  of  the  writer, 
is  whether  the  State  shall  be  without  a  supervisory  agency,  and 
be  content  simply  with  a  board  of  control,  as  for  example,  in 
Iowa,  Wisconsin  and  Minnesota.  Without  hoping  to  present 
all  the  considerations  a  few  of  the  arguments  may  be  briefly  men- 
tioned, arguments  which  have  been  convincing  to  a  majority  of 
those  who  have  studied  the  subject  and  presented  it  before  the 
National  Conference  of  Charities  and  Correction. 

The  arguments  in  favor  of  a  central  board  of  control  are  that 
it  is  compact,  efficiei-t  and  businesslike;  that  it  can  purchase  sup- 
plies to  the  best  advantage ;  that  it  can  correct  abuses  in  institu- 
tions by  administrative  orders  or  regulations;  that  it  can  sys- 
tematize and  unify  the  charities  of  the  commonwealth.  Let  this 
argument  be  granted  and  the  plea  accepted,  it  does  not  prove 
nor  tend  to  prove  that  a  supervisory  board  is  unnecessary.  Many 
of  these  advantages  claimed  for  a  central  board  of  control  have 
been  obtained,  however,  under  the  advice  of  boards  of  super- 
vision. 

The  board  of  control  in  a  State  without  an  independent  and 
unsalaried  board  of  supervision  exposes  the  charitable  and  cor- 
rectional institutions  to  serious  dangers.  A  board  which  in- 
spects, audits  and  passes  on  its  own  deeds,  without  check,  soon 
comes  to  feel  that  it  is  infallible  and  omniscient ;  or,  if  it  escape 
this  foible,  it  is  more  than  human.  One  who  is  never  contra- 
dicted may  be  excused  if  he  rapidly  acquires  profound  confidence 
in  his  own  judgment. 


THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA  4II 

Secrecy,  the  cloud  which  hides  all  perils  and  abuses,  is  un- 
avoidable with  a  board  of  control  without  a  legal  method  of 
supervision  independent  of  it.  Reports  on  forms  provided  by 
statute  are  deceptive ;  there  is  no  substitute  for  the  inspection  of 
living  persons. 

Under  our  representative  government,  strongly  democratic 
in  spirit,  the  people  need  to  have  information  from  a  source  inde- 
pendent of  the  managers.  A  democracy  is  competent  to  judge 
of  policies  and  results,  if  it  has  means  of  information ;  and  it 
will  not  long  tolerate  gross  evils  if  they  are  simply  brought  to 
light. 

If  we  consider  the  reasons  for  providing  a  legal  means  of  edu- 
cating and  expressing  public  sentiment  about  policies  and  results 
they  may  be  summarized  in  the  form  of  maxims  of  experience. 
Helpless  invalids,  insane  patients,  paupers  in  remote  poorhouses, 
feeble-minded  persons,  cannot  defend  themselves,  cannot  reach 
the  organs  of  influence,  cannot  plead  for  themselves  in  courts  of 
justice.  A  humane  society  will  provide  for  a  hearing  in  the 
forum  of  publicity.  History  teaches  us  that  when  abuses  are 
possible  they  will  occur;  that  professional  officers  are  not  to  be 
trusted  to  inspect  and  report  on  their  own  conduct  in  office  and 
be  permitted  to  exercise  irresponsible  power.  When  officials 
in  a  bureaucracy  resent  interference  "from  outside"  the  alarm 
should  be  sounded  from  every  home.  A  democracy  cannot  dic- 
tate a  system  of  medical  practice,  but  it  can  judge  of  a  policy 
when  its  fruits  are  made  known  in  comparative  tables  of  sick- 
ness and  mortality.  The  great  public  is  awkward  enough,  and 
sometimes  foolish,  but  it  has  no  private  bias,  no  mean  personal 
interest  in  abuses,  and  it  is  competent  to  see  the  difference  be- 
tween bad  and  good  management  of  an  institution  by  comparing 
the  use  made  of  severity  and  violence  to  secure  order,  and  in  the 
increase  or  decrease  of  disease  due  to  filth  or  neglect. 

It  is  probable  that  a  board  of  control  or  a  commissioner  for 
each  great  group  of  public  institutions,  penal,  sanitary,  educa- 
tional, charitable,  agricultural,  etc.,  may  prove  to  be  a  wise 
measure,  and  experiments  are  already  on  trial  to  test  this 
hypothesis.  But  the  intelligent  friends  of  the  poor,  the  helpless 
and  the  prisoner  must  hold  together  in  making  the  demand  that 
the  voluntary  service  of  benevolent  and  devoted  representatives 


412  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

of  the  public  shall  also  be  legally  recognized;  and  boards  of  con- 
trol, as  they  desire  to  retain  public  confidence,  should  be  the  first 
to  insist  on  this  principle,  just  as  an  upright  treasurer  of  funds 
demands  that  his  accounts  be  audited. 

There  is  always  in  a  community  a  large  number  of  people  who 
may  become  helpful  to  public  charities,  whose  study,  thought  and 
labor  may  be  utilized  to  public  advantage,  and  whose  enlightened 
sympathy  may  aid  those  in  trouble.  The  board  with  only  super- 
visory powers  is  much  more  apt  to  enlist  such  persons  than  a 
central  board  of  control.  Up  to  the  present  time  the  supervisory 
boards  have  done  immensely  more  for  awakening  and  educating 
public  opinion  than  bodies  of  the  other  type.  It  is  singular  how 
quickly  those  qualities  of  formalism  and  mechanical  routine, 
which  Germans  complain  of  in  their  bureaucracy,  take  root 
even  in  American  soil  when  the  conditions  are  favorable. 

The  functions  of  a  board  of  supervision,  according  to  experi- 
ence in  the  United  States,  may  be  summarized  as  follows  :^  The 
governor  appoints  the  members.  These  members  receive  only 
actual  expenses  of  service,  and  their  secretary  and  inspectors  are 
paid.  It  is  made  the  duty  of  the  board  to  inspect  all  the  chari- 
table and  correctional  institutions  in  the  commonwealth,  both 
general  and  local,  which  receive  public  money.  The  board  is  to 
ascertain  whether  the  laws  governing  the  institutions  are  com- 
plied with;  whether  the  objects  of  those  institutions  are  accom- 
plished; whether  their  methods  are  best  adapted  to  the  needs  of 
the  inmates;  whether  any  persons  are  improperly  confined;  and, 
generally,  whether  the  officers  are  efficient  and  reliable.  The 
board  is  empowered  to  require  the  managers  to  correct  abuses, 
evils  or  defects.  The  governor  may  require  the  board  to  make 
special  investigations  and  lay  the  results  before  him.  The  board 
is  empowered  to  collect  statistics  relating  to  dependents  and  de- 
linquents and  their  care,  and  to  prescribe  forms  of  registration 
and  reports.  It  may  request  similar  information  from  private 
establishments.  Plans  of  buildings  used  for  charitable  and  cor- 
rectional purposes  must  be  approved  by  this  board  in  advance 
of  their  adoption.     The  legislature  may  require  statements  from 

^  These  powers  are  recited  in  the  draft  of  a  bill  defeated  in  the  legislature  of 
New  Jersey  in  1904,  but  a  bill  so  vital  and  wise  that  its  acceptance  is  only  a  matter 
of  time. 


THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA  413 

the  supervisory  body  relating  to  the  appropriations  for  the  sup- 
port of  institutions. 

C.  Voluntary  Charity.^ — Mr.  George  J.  Hagar  has  estimated 
the  individual  gifts  and  bequests  from  individuals  for  philan- 
thropic uses  in  the  United  States,  excluding  all  items  of  less  than 
$5,000,  all  National,  State  and  municipal  appropriations,  and  all 
ordinary  contributions  to  regular  church  organizations  and  mis- 
sionary societies.  The  amount  set  down  for  1893  was  over 
$29,000,000,  for  1903  over  $95,000,000;  the  highest  sum,  1901,  was 
$101,360,000;  the  aggregate  for  eleven  years,  $610,410,000.- 

The  Finances  of  Voluntary  Associations  of  Charity. — Dr.  Lee  K. 
Frankel,  commenting  on  the  deficits  of  the  charitable  hospitals 
of  New  York  City,  touches  a  serious  matter  when  he  says :  "It 
may  almost  be  said  that  the  larger  the  institution  or  the  society 
the  larger  is  the  annual  shortage.  As  a  result,  the  thought  and 
the  ingenuity  of  the  directors  are  directed  largely  toward  ob- 
taining necessary  financial  aid,  when  they  could  be  better  em- 
ployed in  improving  the  work  for  which  the  societies  were 
organized."  When  men  of  affairs  become  identified  with  the 
management  of  a  society  or  institution  their  first  and  most  essen- 
tial duty  is  to  provide  funds  to  maintain  it,  unless  there  is  an 
adequate  endowment  or  it  has  a  contract  with  the  Government. 
Hence  the  time  of  meetings  of  boards  and  executive  committees 
is  largely  spent  in  discussing  means  of  preventing  or  paying  the 
deficit  in  income.  The  gifts  of  the  public  are  irregular,  spas- 
modic, uncertain ;  while  the  demands  are  regular  and  usually 
growing  heavier  with  growth  of  population  and  rise  of  prices. 
Sometimes  managers  become  embittered  and  irritated  or  resign 
in  despair  to  escape  responsibility,  and  the  temptation  to  beg  a 
subsidy  from  a  public  treasury  is  constant  and  serious. 

But  positive  advantages  grow  out  of  this  difficult  situation 
of  charitable  agencies  dependent  on  annual  gifts  for  the  continua- 
tion of  their  work.  A  large  part  of  benevolent  service  depends 
on  the  education  of  the  community.  For  example,  indiscrimi- 
nate almsgiving  will  be  generally  recognized  as  a  large  cause  of 
mendicancy  only  when  citizens  are  systematically  and  perpetu- 
ally reminded  of  the  social  consequences  of  doling  out  relief  to 
chance  beggars.     The  conflict  with  tuberculosis  and  other  dis- 

*  By  C.  R.  Henderson.  ^American  Review  of  Reviews,  April,  1904. 


414  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

eases  is  carried  on  largely  by  means  of  information  given  to 
the  public.  The  care  of  neglected  and  morally  imperilled  chil- 
dren and  the  improvement  of  their  physical  and  moral  surround- 
ings can  be  promoted  only  after  long  and  general  instruction  of 
the  people.  So  of  the  philanthropical  service  of  settlements,  mis- 
sions, dispensaries,  creches  and  of  many  others.  Now  there  is 
no  way  so  sure  and  impressive  to  fix  attention  on  a  subject  as 
that  of  asking  for  money.  No  rational  person  will  give  his 
means  to  objects  which  he  has  not  studied.  Hence,  the  directors 
must  become  intelligent  in  regard  to  the  need,  scope,  methods 
and  value  of  the  charity  which  they  represent,  and  they  must 
become  teachers  of  benevolent  people  in  the  field  of  their  activity. 
This  labor  is  not  wasted,  though  it  is  often  very  irksome,  disa- 
greeable and  exhausting. 

As  soon  as  an  institution  of  charity  has  a  sufficient  endow- 
ment or  is  supported  by  a  public  treasury  its  educational  function 
for  the  community  either  ceases  or  is  greatly  restricted.  The 
very  necessities,  anxieties  and  annoyances  of  private  charity  are, 
therefore,  not  without  important  compensations ;  and  the  im- 
mense aggregate  of  gifts  and  legacies  annually  contributed  by 
individual  citizens  proves  in  a  very  striking  way  that  these 
methods  of  appeal  to  imagination,  sympathy,  conscience  and 
reason  bring  substantial  results.  Public  charities  themselves  are 
often  kept  from  stagnation  and  perversion  by  partial  dependence 
on  private  initiative  or  liberality  at  some  point,  as  in  the  pro- 
vision for  probation  officers  of  juvenile  courts  and  agents  of  help 
for  discharged  prisoners,  and  child-saving  societies  which  become 
sponsors  for  neglected  youth. 

Endowed  Charities. — It  is  very  rarely  that  the  commonwealth  or 
a  municipal  corporation  is  made  trustee  of  an  endowed  charity. 
Usually  a  board  of  trustees  is  named  by  the  founder  and  legal 
provisions  are  made  for  incorporation  and  perpetuation  of  this 
board. 

The  city  of  Boston  is  one  of  the  exceptions  to  the  rule.  There 
the  Overseers  of  the  Poor,  in  their  report  for  1902,  give  account 
of  15  funds  held  by  them  in  trust  as  the  patrimony  of  the  poor, 
the  oldest  of  which  dates  from  the  year  1701,  while  the  total  in- 
come of  all  the  funds  for  the  year  was  $776,353.     Philadelphia^ 

^Charities,  May  21,  1904. 


THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA 


4IS 


has  36  trust  funds  originating  from  various  bequests,  and  usually 
termed  city  trusts,  which  make  up  the  most  extensive  series 
of  benefactions  from  wills  on  the  American  continent.  They  are 
in  charge  of  a  board  of  directors.  The  earliest  bequest  now  under 
their  management  was  that  of  William  Carter,  who,  in  1739,  left  a 
sum  of  money  now  grown  to  $1,274  "to  and  for  ye  use  and  service 
of  ye  almshouses  of  Philadelphia.  ..and  for  ye  relief  of  ye  poor 
people  in  the  same  forever."  To  this  have  been  added  funds  for 
hospitals,  the  house  of  correction,  schools,  medals,  loans,  fuel 
and  food.  Girard  College  is  one  of  these  trusts ;  it  is  an  orphan- 
age which  in  1903  was  educating  1,519  boys.  Usually  rich 
men  like  to  have  a  distinct  place  for  their  gifts  and  they  do  not 
have  confidence  in  the  partisan  administrators  of  city  govern- 
ments. It  has  been  estimated  that  the  gifts  of  private  persons  to 
public  objects  in  1901  was  at  least  $123,888,732  ;  of  which  $68,850,- 
961  went  to  educational  institutions,  $15,388,700  to  libraries, 
$6,298,489  to  churches,  $22,217,470  to  charity. 

The  famous  Dartmouth  College  decision  of  the  Supreme 
Court  was  to  the,  effect  that  the  terms  of  an  endowment  could 
not  be  changed  by  the  legislature  of  a  commonwealth,  and  that 
the  charter  of  an  institution  is  a  contract  which  the  State  may 
not  change  after  the  death  of  the  donor.  The  State  may  of 
course  intervene  to  prevent  a  perversion  of  the  original  purposes 
of  the  donor  by  trustees.  The  difficulty  of  amending  charters 
is  now  avoided  in  some  States  by  reserving  in  the  constitution 
the  right  to  amend  any  charter  granted  by  the  State ;  and  recent 
legal  decisions  and  discussions  tend  to  approve  action  which  will 
secure  the  application  of  funds  to  different  though  similar  pur- 
poses when  the  original  use  is  found  to  be  detrimental  or  waste- 
ful. 
Societies  of  Women^ 

Naturally,  a  great  part  of  the  world  of  philanthropy,  educa- 
tion and  reform  belongs  to  women.  As  home-makers  they  are 
interested  in  everything  that  leads  to  the  betterment  of  the  social 
condition.  For  its  advancement  they  have  labored  for  a  good 
government,  a  higher  standard  of  living,  more  efficient  education, 
better  home-making  and  a  more  intelligent  care  and  development 
of    children.       Their    organized    efforts    have    been    expressed 

» By  Miss  Florence  Ashcraft,  A.  B. 


4i6 


MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 


through  their  clubs,  church  organizations  and  miscellaneous 
societies. 

Federated  Clubs. — The  work  that  is  done  by  the  Federated  Clubs 
is  shown  by  a  recent  report : 

"The  first  and  most  general  activity  of  the  clubs  has  been 
very  properly  directed  toward  cooperation  with  the  established 
agencies  of  education.  There  has  been  an  effort  to  extend  the 
conditions,  aims  and  methods  of  the  schools,  to  further  every 
commendable  w^ork  that  is  being  done,  and  also  to  supplement  by 
labor  and  wath  money  interests  that  the  schools  have  been  un- 
able to  initiate  or  support.  These  undertakings  include  exami- 
nation of  physical  conditions  as  to  hygienic  aspects  of  buildings 
and  grounds  with  respect  to  ventilation,  lighting,  cleanliness, 
overcrowding,  toilet  rooms,  etc." 

They  call  attention  to  noticeable  tendencies  to  neglect  in  im- 
portant lines  of  training,  such  as  culture  of  the  speaking  voice, 
use  of  good  language,  accuracy  in  spelling  and  computation ;  they 
supply,  or  supplement,  teaching  in  music  and  art.  They  have 
been  instrumental  in  securing  public  kindergartens  and  depart- 
ments of  manual  training  and  domestic  science.  They  have 
sought  to  establish  a  better  understanding  and  better  cooperation 
between  parents  and  teachers.  Through  their  efforts  vacation 
schools  have  been  supported;  books,  clothing  and  luncheons 
provided  for  indigent  children ;  libraries  and  g}'mnasium  ap- 
paratus have  been  supplied  to  the  schools ;  rest  rooms  provided 
for  teachers,  and  scholarships  maintained  for  the  aid  of  young 
women  in  schools  and  colleges. 

State  Federation. — In  addition  to  what  is  done  by  the  general 
federation  each  State  has  work  selected  along  lines  determined  by 
its  own  conditions.  The  Committee  on  Philanthropy  of  the 
Illinois  Federation  has  urged  upon  its  clubs  the  consideration  of 
the  following  subjects : 

State  care  for  the  incurable  insane  pauper,  that  the  alms- 
houses of  the  State  may  not  be  filled  with  both  sane  and  insane 
paupers ;  adequate  support  and  care  for  feeble-minded  persons, 
and  epileptics ;  State  homes  for  dependent  and  delinquent  chil- 
dren that  they  may  not  be  housed  with  criminals ;  the  coordina- 
tion of  public  and  private  charities ;  the  appointment  of  proba- 
tion officers  from  club  membership,  or  the   maintenance  of  a 


THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA 


417 


salaried  officer;  enforcement  of  child  labor  and  compulsory  edu- 
cation laws ;  the  establishment  and  maintenance  of  manual  train- 
ing schools  and  cooking  and  sewing  classes ;  the  support  of  va- 
cation schools;  the  loaning  of  small  sums  of  money  without  in- 
terest to  those  wishing  temporary  relief;  the  establishment  of 
social  settlements. 

A  special  plea  has  been  made  for  free  baths,  night  and  sewing 
schools,  respectable  lodgings  for  girls  out  of  employment,  and 
evening  social  and  literary  clubs  for  young  women  employed 
through  the  day. 

Each  individual  club  also  has  its  work.  The  Chicago 
Woman's  Club  cooperates  in  the  work  of  the  Protective  Agency. 
It  has  its  representative  in  the  Juvenile  Court  and  pays  a  salary 
to  one  probation  officer.  It  is  interested  in  the  university  and 
other  social  settlements.  It  has  befriended  the  vacation  schools, 
raising  one  thousand  dollars  annually  toward  their  support.  A 
committee  of  two  works  for  the  associated  charities.  The  School 
Children's  Aid  Society  has  its  share  of  attention. 
Miscellaneous  Actiznties  of  the  Clubs. 

(a)  Model  Lodging  House  Association. — The  miscellaneous  ac- 
tivities of  the  women's  clubs  cover  extensive  fields  of  philan- 
thropic and  educational  work.  In  several  of  the  large  cities  a 
Woman's  Lodging  House  Association  has  been  formed  by  the 
clubs  of  the  city.  Under  the  auspices  of  this  association  a  lodg- 
ing house  is  maintained  for  women  and  children  in  need.  Lodg- 
ings are  furnished  usually  at  the  rate  of  15c  for  the  first  night 
and  IOC  for  subsequent  nights.  Single  rooms  may  be  rented  for 
$1.00  per  week.  Five  cents  purchase  the  breakfast  and  ten 
cents  the  dinner.  When  found  necessary,  food  and  lodgings  are 
furnished  free  of  charge  until  the  applicant  can  care  for  herself 
or  be  otherwise  provided  for.  The  sick  are  sent  to  hospitals,  and 
all  who  are  overtaken  by  misfortune  are  helped  out  of  their 
difficulties. 

(b)  Working  Girls'  Clubs. — The  club  women  have  taken  an 
active  interest  in  establishing  and  fostering  clubs  for  working 
girls  and  business  women.  For  the  former  they  have  furnished 
rooms,  supported  vacation  homes,  created  libraries,  opened  night 
schools,  provided  social  and  literary  occupation  for  evening  enter- 
tainment and  instruction.     To  the  young  business  women  they 

27 


4i8  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

have  given  encouragement  and  assistance  in  the  maintenance  of 
clubs  organized  and  directed  by  their  own  efforts.  The  vakie  of 
such  a  chib  is  shown  by  the  Chicago  Business  Woman's  Chib. 
The  foundation  of  this  organization  was  mutual  benefit,  with  a 
sick  benefit  for  the  members  as  a  central  idea.  The  club  has 
its  own  home  equipped  with  bed-rooms,  parlors,  library,  dining- 
room  and  kitchen.  A  part  of  its  work  is  devoted  to  an  employ- 
ment bureau,  the  object  of  which  is  to  furnish  positions  for  con- 
scientious business  women.  For  recreation  and  instruction  the 
club  has  established  classes  in  languages,  painting  and  gym- 
nasium. 

(c)  Boys'  Clubs. — It  has  always  been  a  part  of  the  women's 
work  to  provide  places  for  boys  and  young  men  to  spend  their 
evenings.  For  this  purpose  clubs  have  been  established  which 
contain  a  gymnasium,  library,  reading-room  and  educational 
class  rooms. 

(d)  Working  Women, — Provident  Laundries  have  been  con- 
ducted by  several  clubs  to  provide  a  channel  of  work  for  able- 
bodied  women  out  of  employment  and  desirous  of  becoming  self- 
supporting.  In  connection  with  the  laundry  is  a  training  school 
where  superior  work  is  taught,  and  the  employment  bureau 
where  permanent  positions  are  secured  for  those  desiring  them. 
The  attention  given  to  these  working  women  is  not  yet  as  great 
as  it  should  be.  This  is  one  avenue  just  being  opened  to  a 
broad  field  of  useful  work. 

(e)  Traveling  Libraries. — The  traveling  library  and  picture  loan 
departments  have  made  the  educational  influence  of  the  clubs' 
work  extend  to  rural  and  crowded  city  districts,  where  books  and 
pictures  are  rare.  The  management  of  these  departments  is  sim- 
ple. Stations  are  selected  in  the  needy  districts.  To  these  stations 
the  city  clubs  send  boxes  of  books  or  pictures.  After  the  books 
have  remained  two  or  three  weeks  they  are  replaced  and  shipped 
on  to  the  next  station.  Library  and  reading  clubs  are  often 
formed  under  the  direction  of  the  station  agent. 

Southern  Clubs. — The  work  of  the  Southern  club  woman  is  di- 
rected toward  the  protection  of  child  labor  and  to  the  establish- 
ment of  industrial  schools.  The  conditions  of  the  rural  schools 
and  the  need  of  libraries  have  also  claimed  her  attention.  The 
relief  work  she  has  done  among  the  poor  whites  and  freedmen 


THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA  419 

has  been  done  amidst  dire  poverty,  the  most  pitiful  ignorance 
and  prejudice;  but  her  efforts  are  being  richly  crowned  and  the 
influence  of  her  work  is  rapidly  extending. 

Church  Women. — The  work  of  the  women  of  the  churches  may 
be  treated  generally.  Their  organizations  are  usually  designated 
as  the  Minister's  Aid,  Ladies'  Aid,  Sewing  Circles,  Charitable 
Unions,  Friendly  Societies  and  Guilds.  Their  first  care  is  for 
the  aged  ministers  of  their  denominations,  and  the  minister's 
widow  and  children.  The  poor  of  the  parish  are  their  wards. 
They  take  an  active  interest  in  the  charitable  work  of  the  city  and 
community,  and  are  usually  active  cooperators  with  the  various 
charitable  institutions  and  organizations  about  them.  In  many 
cases  they  have  assisted  in  the  founding  and  support  of  a  social 
settlement,  or  they  have  conducted  sewing  and  cooking  classes, 
girls'  and  boys'  clubs  among  the  poor  children  of  their  neigh- 
borhood. They  have  aided  in  their  support  of  foreign  and  home 
missionaries,  and  have  given  liberal  donations  to  children's  homes 
and  hospitals. 

Sisterhoods. — The  Sisters  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  should 
be  mentioned  for  the  noble  work  they  are  doing  among  their  own 
people,  and  especially  their  poor.  They  enter  the  poverty- 
stricken  homes,  alleviating  suffering  and  ministering  unto  the 
sick.  They  have  special  regard  for  the  children,  caring  for  their 
education  and  training,  providing  homes  for  the  orphan  and 
friendless  and  hospitals  for  the  sick  and  crippled. 

Deaconesses. — 'The  charitable  work  done  by  the  Deaconesses  of 
the  Lutheran  and  Methodist  Episcopal  churches  is  well  known. 
The  women  who  form  these  orders  receive  no  salary.  Their 
board  and  clothing  are  furnished  by  the  management  of  the  home. 
They  serve  as  evangelists,  and  visit  persons  and  hospitals,  but  the 
greater  part  of  their  service  is  rendered  among  the  poor.  In  one 
city  the  order  has  established  a  social  settlement  which  includes 
in  its  work  the  kindergarten,  girls'  and  boys'  clubs,  mothers' 
meetings,  sewing  and  cooking  classes  and  day  nursery.     They 

also  maintain  schools  for  the  training  of  home  and  foreign  mis- 
sionaries. 

Miscellaneous  Societies. — Besides  the  societies  of  women  con- 
nected with  the  church  and  clubs  there  are  numerous  private 
organizations  which   work  in  cooperation  with  the   charitable 


420 


MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 


institutions.  Among  these  are  the  associations  whose  objects 
are  to  endow  beds  in  the  hospitals,  or  make  annual  donations  to 
them.  There  are  also  the  sewing  societies  which  send  contribu- 
tions of  clothing  to  the  Orphans'  Home,  and  kindred  institutions. 
Private  organizations  of  women  have  also  maintained  hospitals 
and  homes  for  women  and  children,  and  established  training 
schools  for  nurses. 

The  Protective  Agency. — The  importance  of  the  work  of  the  Pro- 
tective Agency  is  sufficiently  indicated  by  the  purposes  of  the 
society,  which  are  to  guard  the  rights  of  women  and  children,  to 
enforce  the  payment  of  wages  unjustly  withheld  from  working 
women,  or  services  to  prevent  exorbitant  rates  of  interest  on 
loans  and  the  violation  of  contract,  to  find  homes  for  foundlings, 
to  take  children  from  unworthy  parents  and  to  procure  a  divorce 
for  the  wife  who  is  maltreated,  and  to  uphold  a  mother's  right  to 
her  children. 

The  Women's  Educational  Association. — The  Women's  Educa- 
tional Association  devotes  its  time  to  the  promotion  of  better 
education  for  women.  It  has  aided  many  teachers  and  young 
women  to  obtain  a  college  training,  it  has  established  teachers' 
clubs  and  rest  rooms,  it  has  assisted  in  introducing  manual  train- 
ing, domestic  science  and  kindergartens  in  the  public  schools  and 
encouraged  the  establishment  of  school  libraries. 

The  Civic  League  is  interested  in  the  improvement  of  the  city. 
It  has  exerted  its  influence  against  corrupt  city  politics.  It  has 
worked  for  the  cleaning  of  streets,  offices  and  municipal  build- 
ings. It  is  doing  its  utmost  to  find  a  solution  of  the  housing  con- 
dition in  the  crowded  quarters  of  the  city. 

The  Recreation  League  is  a  promoter  of  public  recreations  for  the 
poor  mothers  and  children.  The  recreation  piers  are  due  to  its 
efforts.  The  play  grounds,  small  parks,  roof  gardens,  sanitari- 
ums and  day  nurseries  are  recipients  of  its  support. 

The  Health  Protective  Agency  guards  the  health  of  the  tenement 
dwellers.  It  also  has  to  meet  the  problem  of  the  tenement  house. 
It  keeps  the  city  Health  Department  active  and  sees  that  the 
streets  and  alleys  are  properly  cleaned  and  the  garbage  removed. 
It  is  also  interested  in  the  establishments  of  parks  and  play 
grounds. 

The  Needlework  Guild  of  America. — The  object  of  the  Needle- 


THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA 


421 


work  Guild  is  to  collect  and  distribute  new  clothing  suitable  for 
the  needs  of  homes,  hospitals  and  other  charitable  institutions. 
There  are  at  present  throughout  the  country  thirty-one  branches 
of  the  Guild.  The  plan  of  organization  is  simple,  each  branch 
having  sections  and  each  section  president  being  responsible  for 
the  annual  donation  of  no  garments.  Anyone  may  become  a 
member  of  the  Guild  by  contributing  two  new  articles  of  wear- 
ing apparel  a  year.  Besides  garments,  household  linen  is  also 
supplied.  In  cases  of  national  disaster  the  Guild  is  in  readiness 
to  send  supplies  of  clothing. 

Visiting  Nurses  Association. — The  object  of  the  Visiting  Nurses 
Association  is  to  furnish  skilled  attendants  to  the  sick  poor,  to 
promote  cleanliness  and  to  teach  the  proper  care  of  the  sick. 
Their  work  is  not  confined  to  nursing,  but  advice  and  help  are 
given  in  many  ways.  When  in  destitute  circumstances  patients 
are  given  emergency  relief,  food,  medicine  or  clothing,  or  are 
referred  to  a  relief  society. 

The  Woman's  Relief  Corps  is  an  auxiliary  of  the  Grand  Army  of 
the  Republic.  Its  purpose  is  to  assist  such  Union  veterans  as 
need  help  and  protection,  to  find  them  homes  and  employment 
and  to  extend  needful  aid  to  their  wives  and  orphans.  The  ladies 
of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic  look  after  the  Soldiers'  and 
Orphans'  Homes  and  see  that  the  children  who  leave  the  Home 
are  provided  with  proper  situations. 

The  Young  Women's  Christian  Association. — The  work  of  this 
organization  is  well  known.  Their  services  are  rendered  chiefly 
among  women  who  are  dependent  upon  their  own  exertions  for 
support.  Part  of  their  work  consists  in  organizing  homes  and 
securing  employment  for  self-supporting  girls.  The  doors  of 
their  homes  are  open  to  girls  and  women  who  are  strangers  in  the 
city. 
The  Charitabe  Work  of  the  Social  Settlements.^ 

In  spite  of  their  protestations  the  social  settlements  are  chari- 
table institutions.  They  do  not  dole  out  charity  in  the  form  of 
food,  money  or  discarded  clothing,  but  with  sympathy,  love  and 
patience  they  give  and  share  with  their  unfortunate  neighbors 
those  things  which  lift  life  from  a  mere  existence  to  a  noble  pur- 

^  The  paragraphs  on  Settlements  were  prepared  by  Miss  Florence  Ashcraft, 
A.  B.     Cf.  Charities,  Feb.  20,  1904,  pp.  195  ff. 


422 


MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 


pose.  Their  aim  is  to  put  within  the  reach  of  all  the  opportunity 
to  get  what  is  best  out  of  life,  and  by  mutual  help  to  stimulate 
ambition  and  self-regard  in  those  who  have  no  interest  in  life 
and  no  appreciation  of  it.  They  have  found  that  the  opportuni- 
ties these  people  most  needed  were  those  for  health,  increased 
intelligence  and  greater  happiness,  and  in  their  endeavor  to  sup- 
ply these  they  have  gained  for  society  that  which  is  lovely  and 
heroic  from  the  midst  of  poverty  which  seems  so  uncouth  and 
intolerable. 

Health. — Endeavors  to  provide  opportunities  for  securing  bet- 
ter health  have  not  ended  in  theories.  Much  practical  work 
has  been  accomplished.  In  New  York  and  Chicago,  especially, 
the  all-important  problem  of  the  tenement  house  is  depending 
largely  upon  the  social  settlements  for  solution.  Already  legis- 
lation has  been  secured  regulating  the  construction  of  such  build- 
ings, requiring  better  lighted  apartments,  greater  regard  for  sani- 
tary conditions  and  ventilation,  fire  escapes,  fire-proof  stairways 
and  halls,  and  limiting  the  number  of  stories  and  number  of  apart- 
inents  on  a  given  area.  But  legislation  cannot  do  all.  The  set- 
tlement workers  have  entered  these  over-crowded  apartments 
and  are  impressing  upon  the  minds  of  the  tenants  the  evils  which 
accompany  this  manner  of  living.  They  are  making  cleanliness 
attractive  and  revealing  it  as  a  necessity.  They  are  instructing 
in  the  care  of  the  sick  and  the  prevention  of  the  spread  of  con- 
tagious diseases.  Several  of  the  settlements  offer  to  the  women 
of  their  neighborhoods  instruction  in  cooking  for  the  sick  and 
other  practical  suggestions  for  the  sick  room.  In  all  the  settle- 
ments the  gymnasium  is  made  an  important  branch  of  the  work. 
The  public  baths  in  the  tenement  districts  have  proved  most 
valuable.  In  the  summer  when  the  patronage  is  naturally  the 
heaviest,  one  of  the  settlements  has  estimated  that  the  number  of 
baths  given  reaches  ii,ooo  per  month,  and  from  seven  to  eight 
hundred  on  the  warmest  days. 

In  addition  to  these  activities  for  the  protection  of  the  health 
of  their  neighbors  the  settlements  have  spent  much  time  in  keep- 
ing the  city  Health  Departments  active,  in  insisting  upon  the 
removal  of  garbage  and  the  cleaning  of  streets  and  alleys.  All 
this  is  done,  not  with  a  feeling  of  disgust  because  these  people 
live  as  they  do,  but  in  recognition  of  the  truths  that  the  conditions 


THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA  423 

under  which  they  Hve  are  due  as  much  to  lax  city  officials  and 
avaricious  landlords  as  to  the  people  themselves,  and  with  the 
conviction  that  could  the  homes  be  lifted  from  such  surround- 
ings, where  health  is  a  stranger,  morbid  feelings,  lack  of  ambi- 
tion, low  aims  and  the  sordid  and  unhappy  aspect  of  life  would 
disappear. 

More  Intelligence. — The  most  valuable  work  of  the  settle- 
ments is  based  upon  the  principle  that  it  is  knowledge  which 
most  broadens  the  view  of  life  and  makes  things  seem  worth 
while.  But  to  administer  instruction  to  those  whose  intellectual 
faculties  are  untrained  and  disused,  requires  dexterity  and  tact; 
social  atmosphere  is  needed  for  its  diffusion.  The  method? 
which  have  proved  most  practicable  are  easily  discernible  in  a 
study  of  the  different  clubs  of  the  several  settlements. 

(a)  Boys'  Clubs. — ^The  University  Settlement  of  New  York  has 
forty  active  clubs  in  operation.  Upon  the  theory  that  what  the 
members  do  for  themselves  gains  more  than  what  is  done  for 
them,  dues  have  been  fixed  at  the  rate  of  3c  weekly  for  afternoon 
clubs,  5c  for  evening  clubs,  with  J^c  weekly  turned  over  to  the 
house  for  rent.  The  boys'  clubs  are  most  active.  Among  these 
organizations  it  is  interesting  to  note  that  the  Civic  Club,  whose 
principal  object  is  the  study  of  civic  conditions  and  affairs,  takes 
the  lead. 

The  G.  H.  Smith  Club  has  a  suggestive  program.  On  the  first 
meeting  night  of  the  month  there  is  a  lecture  by  some  prominent 
man,  on  the  second  a  debate,  on  the  third  an  impromptu  talk  by 
club  members,  on  the  fourth  night  there  are  held  social  meetings, 
to  which  the  various  other  clubs  of  the  settlement  are  invited. 

The  Economic  Club  follows  the  program  used  generally  by  the 
settlement  in  its  consideration  of  economical  and  sociological 
subjects.  Such  topics  have  been  treated  as  socialism,  trade 
unionism,  factory  legislation,  housing  conditions,  single  tax  and 
child  labor. 

The  Endeavor  Club  devotes  its  time  to  debating,  essay-writing, 
talks  by  members  and  frequent  talks  by  prominent  men. 

The  City  History  Club,  by  its  study  of  the  history  of  the  State  of 
New  York,  is  training  fifteen  boys  into  useful  and  loyal  citizens. 

The  Writers'  Club  appeals  to  young  men  who  are  interested  in 
English  composition  and  journalism. 


424 


MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 


The  Boys'  Athletic  Clubs  in  all  the  settlements  have  proved  their 
worth.  The  Garrett  Athletic  Club  of  Law^rence  House,  Boston, 
deserves  special  mention.  It  has  become  a  club  of  trained  ath- 
letes who  find  time  for  other  interests.  They  are  proud  of  their 
orderly  business  meetings  and  their  study  classes.  Last  winter 
the  boys  themselves  hired  a  dancing  teacher  and  went  at  danc- 
ing energetically  and  enthusiastically.  A  little  later  Shakespeare 
was  suggested,  and  the  boys  undertook  the  study  of  Hamlet  as 
enthusiastically  as  they  had  undertaken  dancing,  and  in  the 
spring  gave  a  very  creditable  presentation  of  the  first  act. 

The  Boys'  Cluhs  of  the  Chicago  Commons  have  been  very  suc- 
cessful. During  the  past  year  325  boys  have  been  enrolled.  The 
basis  of  the  work  is  mainly  social,  and  is  directed  along  the  lines 
of  education,  recreation,  industrial  and  moral  discipline.  Club 
membership  is  required  to  admit  the  boys  to  the  privileges  of  the 
gymnasium  and  manual  training  departments.  Three  large 
rooms  are  devoted  to  their  club ;  one  of  them  is  furnished  as  their 
parlor,  another  as  a  game  room  and  the  third  for  assembly  pur- 
poses. Their  experiment  of  the  Commons  Democracy  was  an 
interesting  one.  The  object  was  to  maintain  a  mimic  city  gov- 
ernment, each  club  forming  a  ward  and  sending  its  aldermen  to 
represent  it  in  the  monthly  meeting  of  the  city  council.  The  duty 
of  the  commissioners  of  the  several  municipal  departments  was 
to  familiarize  themselves  with  the  work  of  the  various  branches 
of  the  city  government. 

The  Hull  House  Boys'  Club  gives  two  evenings  a  week  to  purely 
recreative  meetings,  when  games  and  books  are  used.  On  the 
other  nights  the  members  are  expected  to  attend  at  least  one  of 
the  classes  in  carpentry,  metal  work,  clay  modeling,  pottery,  or 
one  of  the  groups  studying  American  history,  current  events  or 
singing. 

In  addition  to  these  clubs  some  of  the  younger  boys,  six  to 
twelve  years,  have  formed  clubs  of  a  scientific  nature.  One  club 
is  interested  in  the  planting  of  flowers,  another  is  studying  birds. 
The  Lend-a-Hand  Club  of  Lincoln  House,  Boston,  carries  flowers 
to  the  sick  and  fruit  and  toys  to  the  crippled  children, 

(b)  Girls'  Clubs. — The  girls'  clubs  follow  much  the  general  plan 
of  the  boys'  clubs,  although  their  programs  are  not  so  varied. 
The  greater  part  of  the  time  is  devoted  to  sewing,  cooking,  basket 


THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA 


425 


weaving  and  crocheting.  For  recreation  they  have  their  gym- 
nasium classes  and  social  gatherings.  Their  study  clubs  devote 
their  time  to  general  reading,  study  of  the  drama,  the  modern 
novel,  famous  women  and  history.  Other  clubs  are  interested 
in  nature  studies,  and  one  club  is  editing  a  club  journal. 

Several  of  the  young  women's  clubs  are  doing  unique  work. 
The  Progressive  Club  of  Chicago  Commons,  in  addition  to  its 
educational  and  social  functions,  has  for  several  years  maintained 
a  country  cottage  on  the  lake  shore  or  in  some  suburb,  where  they 
have  spent  their  vacations  and  shared  their  privileges  with  many 
of  the  younger  girls. 

The  Jane  Club  of  Hull  House  maintains  a  club  house  for  young 
women  upon  the  cooperative  plan.  The  weekly  dues,  including 
board  and  room,  amount  to  $3.00.  The  club  has  also  its  educa- 
tional and  social  features. 

(c)  Women's  Clubs. — In  every  settlement  every  possible  effort 
is  made  to  appeal  to  the  mothers  through  the  women's  clubs. 
The  Women's  Columbian  Club  of  the  Northwestern  settlement 
has  proved  to  be  a  useful  one.  The  membership  is  about  forty. 
A  small  fee  is  paid  by  each  member.  In  addition  to  the  regu- 
lar business  of  its  meetings  the  club  has  taken  an  active  interest 
in  bettering  the  conditions  for  women  and  children  in  the  neigh- 
borhood and  in  securing  the  location  of  a  small  park  near  their 
settlement.  A  linen  chest  has  been  maintained  for  the  use  of 
the  visiting  nurse.  The  club  has  also  maintained  a  summer 
house  at  Bluff  Lake  for  the  use  of  the  members  and  their  friends. 

The  Hull  House  Women's  Club  has  also  been  successful.  Its  an- 
nual picnics  and  excursions  for  the  mothers  and  children  of  the 
neighborhood  are  two  of  its  attractive  features. 

The  Kindergarten  Clubs,  composed  of  the  mothers  of  the  kinder- 
garten children  have  always  been  popular.  The  kindergarten 
games  are  taught,  and  as  a  result  the  mothers  become  more  inter- 
ested in  the  work  of  their  little  ones.  Because  these  women  are 
weighted  down  with  the  burden  of  housework  and  children,  it 
has  been  found  best  that  the  programs  of  their  clubs  should  be 
made  as  light  and  pleasurable  as  possible.  They  love  to  play 
kindergarten  games,  but  most  of  all  they  enjoy  their  cup  of  tea 
and  the  social  time  that  goes  with  it.     Of  course  these  clubs 


426  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

have  their  more  serious  occupations  along  educational  lines,  the 
care  of  the  home  and  child,  cooking,  sewing,  etc. 

(d)  Men's  Clubs. — It  has  been  very  difficult  to  reach  the  older 
men  through  the  clubs.  They  enjoy  particularly  the  use  of  the 
library  and  are  interested  in  the  debating  clubs.  Chicago  Com- 
mons has  reached  many  of  them  through  its  free-floor  discus- 
sions, where  under  the  lead  of  widely  representative  men  and 
women,  about  two  hundred  manual  laborers  engage  in  the  dis- 
cussion of  industrial  and  economical  issues.  The  rule,  "free 
speech,  all  sides  and  no  favor"  has  always  prevailed,  and  on  no 
occasion  have  the  meetings  departed  from  their  original  charac- 
ter of  a  free  and  informal  conference. 

The  Men's  Community  Club  of  the  Commons  is  an  active  organi- 
zation. Its  membership  numbers  about  one  hundred.  Its  object 
is  to  further  social  fellowship,  the  betterment  of  municipal  con- 
ditions, non-partisan  political  education  and  the  promotion  of 
civic  patriotism. 

The  Music  Clubs. — The  report  of  the  music  department  of  the 
New  York  settlement  might  give  encouragement  and  suggestions 
to  those  who  are  endeavoring  to  give  this  branch  the  important 
place  to  which  it  rightfully  belongs.  The  department  has  a  daily 
attendance  of  ninety.  There  is  a  corps  of  25  teachers  who  give 
instruction  on  piano,  violin,  singing,  harmony  and  ensemble  play- 
ing. The  fees  are  computed  at  the  rate  of  50c  an  hour  but  loc 
lessons  are  given.  Practicing  is  charged  for  at  the  rate  of  4c 
per  half  hour.  In  connection  with  the  department  Sunday  even- 
ing concerts  are  given.  A  class  is  held  in  sight  reading;  another 
class  is  studying  the  choral  works  of  Mendelsshon,  Beethoven, 
Schumann,  Schubert,  and  other  of  the  classical  composers.  The 
enrollment  of  seventy-five  in  their  young  people's  singing  club 
and  children's  glee  club  bespeaks  the  success  of  this  work. 

Dramatic  Clubs. — The  dramatic  clubs  of  the  various  settlements 
are  busy  with  their  studies  and  presentations  of  Shakespeare, 
Ben  Jonson  and  other  writers.  Their  value  as  social  and  edu- 
cational factors  is  apparent. 

Classes. — Closely  allied  to  the  clubs  are  the  classes.  These  are 
formed  for  those  who  desire  educational,  more  than  social  life. 
The  work  of  the  class  room  varies  from  the  elementary  studies 
of  arithmetic,  spelling,  geography,  reading  and  writing  of  Eng- 


THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA 


427 


lish,  to  chemistry,  physics  and  history  of  art.  The  following 
program  of  the  Hull  House  is  a  fair  example  of  what  is  done 
along  this  line  in  most  of  the  settlements.  There  are  classes  in 
grammar,  rhetoric,  reading,  beginners'  English,  intermediate  and 
adyanced  English,  poetry,  history,  history  of  art,  German, 
French,  Spanish,  Italian,  and  hygiene.  One  settlement  deyotes 
most  of  its  class  work  to  tutoring  backward  children  of  the  grade 
schools.  Other  settlements  hold  night  schools  where  the  regu- 
lar programs  of  the  grammar  and  high  schools  are  followed. 
That  these  night  classes  are  welcomed  and  appreciated  by  the 
young  people  is  apparent  to  one  who  has  seen  anything  of  their 
work.  It  is  pitiful  to  witness  the  eagerness  with  which  these 
young  men  and  women  labor  oyer  the  multiplication  table  and 
first  reader. 

The  Domestic  Science  and  Manual  Training  Classes. — The  work 
of  any  settlement  is  incomplete  without  its  classes  in  domestic 
science  and  manual  training.  The  programs  of  these  classes 
throughout  the  settlements  are  much  the  same.  In  domestic 
science  there  are  classes  in  cooking,  in  the  chemistry  of  cooking, 
cooking  for  inyalids,  the  yalue  of  foods,  and  general  classes  and 
lectures  on  the  care  of  the  kitchen  and  kitchen  utensils.  There 
are  also  classes  in  sewing,  dressmaking,  millinery,  embroidery, 
basket-weaving  and  lectures  on  the  care  of  the  home. 

The  Manual  Training  Department  has  its  classes  in  carpentry, 
sloyd,  wood-carying,  mechanical  drawing  and  designing,  metal 
work  and  pottery.  The  art  class  adds  to  this,  clay  modeling, 
drawing,  painting,  sketching  and  architectural  sculpture. 

The  settlements  which  haye  introduced  courses  under  the 
Uniyersity  Extension  lectures  haye  found  them  very  valuable. 
That  they  are  appreciated  is  evinced  by  the  number  of  young 
people  who  have  attended  every  one  that  has  been  offered.  In 
all  of  the  class  work  a  small  fee  is  usually  charged  to  defray 
expenses  and  to  maintain  the  self-respect  of  the  students. 

Greater  Happiness. — All  of  the  departments  of  the  social  settle- 
ments are  intended  to  secure  greater  happiness  to  the  neigh- 
bors. They  endeavor  to  do  this  by  bettering  every  phase  of 
their  lives.  They  do  not  overlook  the  importance  of  the  work 
among  the  children.  Their  day  nurseries  care  for  the  tiny 
ones  whose  mothers  are  obliged  to  work  during  the  day;  the 


428  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

kindergarten  is  made  an  attractive  place  for  the  children  be- 
tween three  and  six ;  to  the  kindergarten  graduates  the  boys'  and 
girls'  clubs  open  their  welcome  doors ;  with  school  children  the 
g}'mnasium  is  especially  popular;  the  play  grounds  and  summer 
outings  are  delightful  to  the  children  of  the  neighborhood. 

Relief  and  Aid  Work. — While  the  settlement  does  not  place  much 
emphasis  upon  the  relief  work,  it  is  necessarily  an  important  de- 
partment of  its  activity.  In  cases  of  extreme  poverty  and  desti- 
tution material  help  must  be  given.  Where  possible,  this  branch 
of  the  work  is  carried  on  by  cooperation  with  the  Associated 
Charities,  or  some  similar  organization. 

TJie  Legal  Aid  Society  aids  people  who  are  in  need  of  the  services 
of  a  lawyer  but  are  unable  to  pay  the  charges.  The  majority 
of  the  applicants  are  victims  of  mortgage  sharks,  or  else  foreign- 
ers who  have  not  been  in  this  country  long  enough  to  learn  its 
customs  and  laws,  and  who,  on  account  of  their  ignorance,  be- 
come a  prey  to  anyone  caring  to  take  advantage  of  them.  Dur- 
ing last  year  one  of  the  settlements  reported  that  it  had  3,850 
applicants ;  2,000  of  these  applications  were  made  to  collect  un- 
paid wages.  Justice  is  attained  in  other  cases,  including  the  law 
of  the  landlord  and  tenant,  domestic  relations,  questions  of  ad- 
ministrators, personal  accident  cases  and  bankruptcy  proceed- 
ings. 

The  Penny  Provident  and  Savings  Banks  have  been  the  means  of 
saving  many  of  the  pennies  and  nickels  of  the  children.  The 
bank  is  also  used  by  the  mothers  who  save  their  money  for  the 
things  which  they  have  been  accustomed  to  buy  on  the  install- 
ment plan.  As  a  rule,  the  bank  is  opened  for  deposit  and  draw- 
ings two  days  of  the  week.  One  report  shows  that  the  attend- 
ance on  one  of  these  days  averaged  from  400  to  800  children,  of 
which  number  about  90  per  cent,  were  depositors.  The  amount 
deposited  ranges  from  ic  to  $5.00,  and  the  amounts  withdrawn 
from  50C  up. 

The  Provident  Loan  Society,  as  operated  by  the  New  York  settle- 
ment, aids  people  in  temporary  distress  by  loaning  money  at 
a  reasonable  rate  of  interest  on  jewelry,  the  rate  being  uni- 
formly I  per  cent,  a  month,  save  in  the  case  of  large  loans  for 
long  periods,  when  it  is  less.  It  is  in  all  details  a  model  pawn 
shop. 


THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA 


429 


The  Library,  with  its  reference  and  reading  rooms  and  distribut- 
ing department,  is  usually  found  in  the  settlements. 

Dispensaries  have  been  successfully  operated  by  several  of  the 
settlements.  At  the  New  York  dispensary  during  last  year  809 
cases  w^ere  treated,  376  professional  visits  w^ere  made.  A  great 
deal  of  v^ork  can  be  done  by  this  department. 

The  Trade  Unions  have  always  found  a  place  of  meeting  at  the 
settlements.  As  many  as  ten  or  twelve  different  unions  meet 
at  the  same  house,  and  although  the  members  of  the  union  for  the 
most  part  are  not  engaged  in  any  other  of  the  activities  of  the 
settlements,  yet  it  is  essential  that  the  settlement  workers  should 
show  a  friendly  spirit  to  every  branch  of  labor  interest. 

The  Picture  Loan  work  is  in  itself  a  charity.  It  has  spread  happi- 
ness and  cheer  in  many  dark  and  unhappy  homes.  Its  plan  of 
management  is  simple.  It  secures  a  collection  of  pictures  and 
puts  them  on  exhibit  in  one  of  the  settlement  rooms.  It  also 
lends  photographs  or  prints  in  groups  at  a  time  in  the  homes  of 
the  poor.  After  the  group  has  remained  in  one  home  for  a  few 
months  it  is  exchanged  for  another,  and  this  continual  exchange 
goes  on  until  the  whole  collection  has  passed  through  all  of  the 
homes. 

The  Coffee  Houses,  as  successfully  operated  by  Hull  House  and 
Northwestern  University  settlements,  partake  of  the  nature  of 
the  well-managed  public  restaurant.  Orders  are  taken  for  cater- 
ing, and  food  is  furnished,  with  services,  to  any  part  of  the  city. 
Special  dinners  and  luncheons  are  served  in  the  Coffee  House  by 
the  various  clubs  of  the  settlement. 

The  Visiting  Kindergarten  is  a  unique  departure  found  in  Hull 
House.  Children  who  are  chronically  ill,  or  those  too  crippled 
to  attend  schools,  are  visited  in  their  homes  by  trained  kinder- 
gartners.  Manual  training  lessons  are  given  to  those  too  ad- 
vanced for  kindergarten  work.  The  older  children  are  also  given 
instruction  in  the  common  school  branches. 

The  Labor  Museum  is  one  of  tlie  most  successful  departments  at 
Hull  House.  As  stated  by  the  bulletin,  its  object  is  to  show  the 
development  in  methods  of  production  from  the  earliest  times 
to  the  present,  and  as  nearly  as  possible  to  illustrate  the  differ- 
ent forms  of  production  used  by  the  various  nations.  Actual 
work  is  going  on  in  metal  work,  wood  work,  pottery,  cooking, 


430  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

spinning,  weaving,  book  binding  and  clay  modeling.  The  trades 
are  further  illustrated  by  collections  of  charts  and  pictures  which 
are  open  for  study  and  inspection. 

Home  Libraries.  ^ — The  home  library  work  was  first  developed 
on  a  large  scale  by  Mr.  Charles  W.  Birtwell,  superintendent  of  the 
Children's  Aid  Society  of  Boston.  It  has  been  introduced  into 
Chicago  by  the  Bureau  of  Charities  and  the  Library  Club,  and 
affords  an  admirable  introduction  to  friendly  visiting,  since  the 
visitor  has  a  definite  and  agreeable  introduction  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  poor  people  by  means  of  the  library.  The  plan  is 
simple  and  inexpensive.  A  small  box  of  attractive  books  is 
taken  to  a  home,  children  gather  to  hear  them  read  or  to  listen 
to  stories,  and  the  books  are  lent  to  the  children  in  turn.  From 
this  beginning  the  visitor  becomes  acquainted,  acquires  influence, 
learns  conditions  and  is  able  to  assist  her  new  friends  with  sym- 
pathy and  counsel. 

D.  Ecclesiastical  Charities.'^  Protestant. — It  is  a  general  cus- 
tom for  the  churches  to  take  collections  for  their  poor  mem- 
bers in  connection  with  the  celebration  of  the  Lord's  Supper  or 
at  other  times,  and  the  amounts  thus  contributed  must  be  con- 
siderable, although  it  is  impossible  to  secure  reliable  statistics. 
Generally  speaking  there  are  comparatively  few  destitute  mem- 
bers of  Protestant  churches ;  one  of  the  first  effects  of  a  reduced 
income  is  frequently  retirement  from  active  membership  in  a 
church.  Few  are  the  churches  in  cities,  however,  which  have  not 
some  dependents,  even  favored  pets  of  their  bounty.  The  teach- 
ers of  Sunday  schools,  especially  of  missions  in  the  poorer 
quarters,  visit  the  pupils  in  their  homes,  provide  clothing  and 
assist  the  families  in  various  ways.  Many  hospitals,  homes  for 
aged  people,  orphanages,  and  lodging  houses  for  wanderers  are 
assisted  or  supported  by  members  of  churches.  Sometimes  the 
institution  bears  the  name  of  a  particular  denomination,  and  this 
is  especially  true  of  the  Episcopalian,  Lutheran  and  Presbyterian 
bodies,  and  in  a  less  degree  of  Methodists,  Baptists  and  Con- 
gregationalists. 

Generally  there  are  benevolent  societies  and  institutions  sup- 
ported by  the  gifts  of  many  churches  contributing  to  a  common 
fund  for  the  assistance  of  needy  families,  dependent  children, 

^  By  C.  R.  Henderson.  'Ibid. 


THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA  431 

waifs'  missions,  industrial  schools  and  hospitals.  On  the  govern- 
ing boards  of  such  institutions  will  be  found  representatives 
selected  from  the  contributing  churches  of  the  community. 
These  beneficent  works  would  not  appear  in  the  statistics  of  any 
denomination,  and  for  this  reason  the  charitable  activities  of 
the  churches  in  America  are  likely  to  be  underestimated  both  at 
home  and  abroad. 

The  Charity  Organization  Society  finds,  with  diminishing 
hostility  and  misunderstanding,  many  of  its  most  liberal  and 
intelligent  allies  among  the  pastors  and  the  members  of  churches. 
In  the  city  of  Bufifalo  cooperation  with  the  churches  has  taken 
a  .unique  form ;  for  there  the  entire  city  is  divided  into  districts, 
and  each  district  is  assigned  to  some  particular  church  for  over- 
sight. It  is  claimed  by  the  managers  of  the  C.  O.  S.  in  Buffalo 
that  the  experiment  has  been  successful. 

The  congregations  of  the  religious  bodies  are  generally  ready 
to  hear  the  interests  of  scientific  charity  explained  and  urged. 

The  Deaconess  movement  has  now  a  firm  place  in  the  eccle- 
siastical life  of  America,  the  original  stimulus  having  come,  with 
many  other  good  importations  of  persons  and  ideas,  from  Ger- 
many. Rev.  W.  A.  Passavant,  a  Lutheran  clergyman  of  Penn- 
sylvania, visited  Theodore  Fliedner  in  Kaiserswerth,  and,  in  Juse, 
1849,  brought  some  deaconesses  to  Pittsburg  to  minister  i  1  a 
hospital.  For  many  years  the  movement  to  train  and  send  )ut 
deaconesses  met  with  much  opposition,  but  it  finally  overcame 
hostility  and  gained  support.  In  1896  the  Lutheran  mother 
houses  established  a  conference  of  German,  English,  Swedish  and 
Norwegian  institutions.  They  have  218  deaconesses.  The  Bap- 
tists, German  and  English,  have  made  a  beginning.  The 
Methodists  have  entered  upon  the  undertaking  with  zeal  and 
energy,  and  in  1888  their  highest  legislative  body  recognized  it 
as  having  an  official  position  in  their  ecclesiastical  system.  Their 
organization  aids  institutions  in  all  parts  of  the  world  in  con- 
nection with  city,  home  and  foreign  missions.  They  possess  a 
property  of  about  $2,000,000,  have  685  deaconesses  and  738  pro- 
bationers. The  Protestant  Episcopal  church  has  also  given  an 
official  position  to  deaconesses  and  provided  regulations  in  the 
canons  for  their  selection  and  government.  Some  of  the  deacon- 
esses are  trained  in  hospitals  to  act  as  nurses ;  others  are  visitors 


^■^2  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

among  the  poor,  or  assist  in  Sunday  school  and  other  oarish 
work. 

Roman  Catholic  Charity. — This  ancient  church  has  brought  to 
America  its  sacred  traditions  of  benevolence  and  its  splendid 
organizing  ability.  In  the  Catholic  Directory  of  1903  one  finds 
that  the  entire  Catholic  population  in  the  Union  is  estimated  at 
11,289,710;  priests,  12,268;  churches,  10,878;  parishes  with 
schools,  3,978;  orphanages,  257;  orphans  under  care,  37,108; 
benevolent  institutions,  923.  Under  the  guidance  of  "religious" 
persons  there  are  various  orders,  with  their  several  duties. 
There  are :  (i)  those  who  wait  on  the  sick  in  their  homes  (Sisters 
of  the  Assumption,  Helpers  of  the  Holy  Souls,  Sisters  of  Bon 
Secours,  etc.)  ;  (2)  those  who  visit  the  poor  in  their  homes  and 
give  consolation  (Sisters  of  Mercy,  Sisters  of  Charity,  Italian 
Sisters,  etc.)  ;  (3)  homes  for  the  aged  (Sisters  of  the  Poor,  etc.)  ; 
(4)  hospitals  of  all  kinds ;  societies  for  the  care  of  destitute  and 
neglected  children.^  There  are  115  different  orders  for  "religious" 
women. 

Under  the  direction  of  lay  societies  are:  (i)  the  Society  of 
St.  Vincent  de  Paul,  with  its  branches  in  many  city  parishes; (2) 
the  Queen's  Daughters,  with  the  principal  office  in  St.  Louis  and 
branches  in  all  parts  of  the  country.  They  aid  in  all  forms  of 
benevolent  activity. 

The  Catholic  church  societies  have  begun  to  draw  together  in 
federations  in  the  great  centers.  Thus  in  Greater  New  York 
there  is  the  "Association  of  Catholic  Charities"  which  holds 
periodical  meetings  and  publishes  the  reports  of  affiliated  insti- 
tutions and  societies.  Similar  arrangements  are  found  in  Phila- 
delphia and  elsewhere. 

The  societies  which  labor  for  the  welfare  of  needy  Catholic 
immigrants  are  important.  Other  societies,  as  the  Guild  of  the 
Infant  Savior,  care  for  foundlings. 

Jewish  Charities. — Since  we  have  devoted  a  special  article  to  this 
subject  it  is  merely  mentioned  in  this  place,  with  the  remark  that 
Jewish  charities  are  generous,  sensible  and  well  organized;  and 

*  It  is  not  uncommon  for  such  institutions  to  receive  considerable  sums  as 
subsidies  or  payments  for  services  from  the  citizens  and  poor  authorities.  This 
is  also  true  of  some  Protestant  institutions  and  societies.  This  policy  has  been 
seriously  challenged. 


THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  ^MERICA  433 

that,  in  all  parts  of  our  country,  an  appeal  for  others  than  Jews, 
and  for  any  cause  of  public  concern,  is  heard  by  the  Hebrew  com- 
munities with  kindness  and  responded  to  with  liberality.  While 
the  immense  immigration  of  indigent  Jews  has  laid  upon  their 
co-religionists  in  America  enormous  burdens,  which  are  bravely 
and  wisely  borne,  Jewish  charity  does  not  mean  merely  charity 
to  Jews.^ 
The  Salvation  Army.^ 

To  most  people  the  Salvation  Army  is  best  known  by  its 
familiar  evening  drum-beat  and  hallelujah  meetings,  and  quite 
naturally  since  it  is  primarily  an  evangelistic  agency.  But  there 
is  another  side  to  its  work,  as  the  Christmas  dinner  kettles  on 
the  streets  attest  at  each  annual  approach  of  the  holiday  season. 
Organized  for  the  purpose  of  giving  the  Bread  of  Life  to  the 
spiritually  destitute  multitudes  of  London's  East  End,  it  was 
soon  found  wise  to  minister  also  to  those  who  were  in  need  of 
"the  bread  which  perisheth,"  and  this  twofold  ministry  is  carried 
on  wherever  the  army  exists. 

There  is  no  other  division  of  the  Church  Militant  which  has 
given  so  large  a  place  in  its  warfare  to  feeding  the  hungry,  cloth- 
ing the  naked,  sheltering  the  homeless,  and  in  every  possible  way 
providing  for  other  than  distinctly  religious  needs  of  mankind. 
It  is  with  the  philanthropic  work  only  that  this  section  deals. 
The  manifold  non-religious — this  far  from  saying  irreligious — 
work  of  the  Salvation  Army  may  be  roughly  classified  in  three 
divisions — simple  charity,  work  for  the  workless,  homes  for  the 
homeless. 

Simple  Charity. — It  is  with  the  "submerged  tenth"  that  the  Army 
has  most  to  do.  Here  the  pangs  of  poverty  are  most  keenly  felt, 
here  wretchedness  and  woe  abound,  and  here  naturally  is  the 
greatest  need  for  its  generous  ministrations. 

Christmas  Dinners. — This  is  one  of  the  best  known  features  of  its 
purely  charitable  work.  In  all  places  where  it  is  established 
money  and  provisions  are  gathered  for  the  purpose  of  bringing 
some  bit  of  Christmas  cheer  into  otherwise  cheerless  hearts.  In 
many  cities  a  great  dinner  is  provided,  especially  for  homeless 
persons,  the  tables  spread  in  Madison  Square  Garden,  New  York, 

^Article  of  C.  R.  Henderson,  in  Zeitschrift  fiir  das  Armenwesen,  1904,  p.  11. 
"  Prepared  from  documents  furnished  by  the  Army,  by  F.  G.  Cressey,  Ph.  D. 

28 


434  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

feeding  four  thousand.  Admission  is  by  ticket  and  care  is  ex- 
ercised to  keep  out  the  unworthy,  but  the  plan  is  Hable  to  such 
abuses  that  in  Chicago  and  elsewhere  it  has  been  abandoned. 
Moreover,  it  is  sometimes  so  conducted  as  to  become  a  public 
spectacle,  blunting  the  finer  sensibilities  of  both  beneficiaries  and 
beholders.  In  its  stead — or,  where  still  in  operation,  in  addition 
to  it — well  filled  baskets  are  sent  to  the  homes  of  the  poor,  each 
family  having  been  personally  visited  to  ascertain  its  need  and 
deserts.  The  total  number  of  beneficiaries  of  this  Christmas 
generosity,  which  usually  includes  special  provision  for  the  chil- 
dren, is  300,000  a  year. 

Outdoor  Relief. — "Christmas  comes  but  once  a  year,"  while  "the 
poor  ye  have  with  you  alway."  There  is,  therefore,  a  constant 
demand  that  destitute  homes  be  provided  with  the  necessaries 
of  life.  It  is  a  general  rule  that  all  beneficiaries  shall  render  some 
equivalent  in  money  or  work,  but  in  cases  of  helplessness  due  to 
infancy,  infirmity,  old  age,  or  other  disabling  cause  this  is  of 
necessity  disregarded.  Food,  clothing,  coal,  ice,  rent,  and 
medical  services  are  some  of  the  items  that  help  to  make  up  a 
considerable  share  of  the  $800,000  expended  annually  upon  the 
poor.  Living  for  the  most  part  among  those  who  need  their 
benefactions  and  so  knowing  them  more  or  less  intimately,  the 
army  workers  are  ordinarily  able  to  escape  imposition  by  profes- 
sional mendicants.  This  intimate  knowledge  and  daily  experi- 
ence help  to  offset  the  disadvantage  of  pursuing  a  practically 
independent  course,  so  far  as  other  charitable  agencies  are  con- 
cerned.^ 

Besides  manifold  ministries  in  the  homes  of  the  poor,  thou- 
sands of  summer  outings  are  provided  for  the  children  of  the 
tenements  and  their  over-taxed  mothers. 

Indoor  Relief. — In  yet  another  instance  is  it  found  necessary  to 
transgress  the  "no  work,  no  benefit"  rule,  the  case  of  deserted 
and  orphaned  children.  In  day  nurseries,  rescue  homes,  orphan- 
ages— one  such  at  the  Fort  Amity  colony  accommodates  a  hun- 
dred children — and  other  institutions  an  average  of  650  are  cared 
for  daily. 

Here,  too,  may  be  classified,  even  though  not  conducted  on  a 

^  This  isolating  policy  is  severely  criticised  by  many  managers  of  charitable 
societies. — C.  R.  H. 


THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA  435 

purely  eleemosynary  basis,  twenty-one  rescue  homes  for  fallen 
girls,  providing  a  haven  and  temporary  home  for  two  thousand 
young  women  a  year,  of  whom  90  per  cent,  are  restored  to  virtu- 
ous lives. 

Work  for  the  Workless. — As  already  noted,  the  Salvation  Army 
follows  wherever  possible  the  apostolic  principle,  "If  any  will 
not  work  neither  let  him  eat."  It  believes  that  the  best  way 
to  help  a  man  is  to  help  him  better  his  own  condition,  rather 
than  weaken  his  manhood  by  impulsive-hearted  but  wrong- 
headed  generosity.  That  "more  harm  is  wrought  by  want  of 
head  than  by  want  of  heart"  is  one  of  its  cardinal  principles  in 
philanthropy. 

Employment  Bureaus. — When  city  magistrates  in  New  York 
affirm  that,  even  in  prosperous  times,  "there  are  hundreds  of  men 
of  good  habits,  physically  equipped  for  the  hardest  work,  and 
willing  to  work  without  raising  the  question  of  compensation," 
and  that  "as  a  last  resort  many  of  them  apply  at  the  courts  and 
are  committed,  often  at  their  own  request,  to  the  county  jail 
and  even  the  penitentiary,"  there  is  evidently  a  need  of  organized 
effort  to  bring  work  and  workers  together. 

That  the  unemployed  are  by  no  means  wholly  the  inefficient 
appears  from  the  returns  of  the  labor  unions  of  New  York  State 
in  a  recent  year.  These  show  that  during  a  very  prosperous 
quarter  one-tenth  of  their  members  had  been  out  of  work. 

In  addition  to  what  each  corps  does  there  are  several  bureaus 
especially  for  this  purpose,  the  combined  result  being  the  find- 
ing of  work  for  50,000  men  a  year. 

Salvage  Warehouses  and  Stores  provide  work  for  many  for  whom 
no  employment  can  be  found.  In  these  great  quantities  of  waste 
material,  such  as  paper,  rags,  clothing  and  furniture,  are  sorted 
and  made  fit  for  sale.  Men  so  engaged  are  paid  a  ver}?-  small 
sum,  sufficient  to  provide  the  bare  necessities  of  life,  the  purpose 
being  that  only  emergencies  be  thus  tided  over  and  so  no  induce- 
ment is  offered  them  to  continue  on  so  low  an  industrial  plane. 
The  sale  of  this  "flotsam  and  jetsam"  on  the  one  hand  nearly 
covers  the  cost  of  collection  and  sorting,  and  on  the  other  enables 
the  poor  to  secure  many  useful  articles  at  an  otherwise  impossible 
price.     The  annual  turnover  is  $300,000. 

Industrial  Homes. — These  are  usually  established  in  connection 


436 


MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 


with  the  preceding  and  provide  food  and  lodging  at  so  low  a 
price  that  the  meagre  amount  earned  in  the  salvage  work,  in 
woodyards  which  are  commonly  run  in  connection  with  them,  or 
other  similar  work,  will  pay  for  them.  The  economic  and  moral 
value  of  this  work-test  commends  it  highly. 

There  are  fifty-four  of  these  homes  with  accommodation  for 
750  men.  An  effort  is  being  made  to  further  this  work  by  the 
organization  of  the  Salvation  Army  Industrial  Homes  Company, 
with  an  authorized  capital  of  $500,000. 

Homes  for  the  Homeless. — In  every  city  there  are  many  single 
workers,  both  men  and  women,  whose  earnings  are  so  small  that 
they  are  able  to  provide  neither  homes  nor  fit  boarding  places. 
Until  recently  the  low  lodging  house,  too  often  the  herding-place 
of  loafers  and  criminals,  has  been  almost  or  quite  the  only  place 
of  shelter  open  to  the  honest  toiler  of  scanty  means. 

Hotels  for  Working  Men  and  Women  have  accordingly  been 
established  as  an  integral  part  of  the  army's  manifold  work  of 
ministering  to  the  physical  needs  of  humanity.  There  are 
eighty-five  of  these — four  being  for  women — accommodating 
some  9,000  persons.  Here  one  may  have  a  bath,  bed,  light  break- 
fast and  laundry  facilities  for  as  low  as  ten  cents  a  night,  and  be 
assured  of  moral  surroundings,  together  with  sympathy,  religious 
comfort  and  such  other  help  as  may  be  possible. 

This  is  considered  "the  next  step  in  the  ladder  to  restoration, 
after  passing  through  the  industrial  home."  The  hotel  in  New 
York  is  a  substantial  new  fireproof  building  ten  stories  high. 

Farm  Colonies. — Even  the  best  hotel,  however,  is  a  poor  substi- 
tute for  a  home.  Practical  recognition  of  this  finds  expression 
in  the  efifort  to  bring  together  "the  landless  man,"  of  whom  there 
are  so  many  among  the  poor,  and  the  "manless  land,"  of  which 
our  country  has  so  much. 

"The  increasing  difficulty  among  the  married  poor  of  finding 
permanent  and  remunerative  employment,  together  with  the  de- 
moralizing surroundings  of  families  huddled  together  in  un- 
healthy tenements,  combined  to  give  rise  to  the  army's  coloniza- 
tion plans." 

There  are  three  colonies,  the  first  having  been  established  in 
1898  at  Fort  Amity,  Colorado,  267  miles  east  of  Denver  on  the 
Santa  Fe  Railway.     Here,  on  some  2,000  acres,  are  three  hun- 


THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA  437 

dred  colonists,  settled  on  allotments  of  from  ten  to  twenty  acres 
per  family.  At  Fort  Romie,  California,  near  the  Bay  of  Mon- 
terey, are  seventy  settlers  on  500  acres,  and  at  Fort  Herrick,  Ohio, 
twenty  miles  east  of  Cleveland,  thirty-three  on  288  acres. 

The  newcomer  is  provided  with  a  cottage,  the  necessary  farm- 
ing implements,  and  some  livestock,  for  all  of  which,  including 
the  land,  he  pays  as  soon  as  possible,  ten  years  being  the  time 
required.  If  necessary  he  is  given  instruction  in  agriculture  and 
horticulture  by  the  comeptent  head  of  the  colony.  All  the  col- 
onists are  now  self-supporting  and  have  paid  a  considerable  share 
of  their  indebtedness.  The  following  instance  shows  the  prac- 
ticability of  the  plan: 

"In  April,  1902,  the  first  colonist  discharged  his  entire  debt 
to  the  army.  He  had  arrived  at  Fort  Amity  in  March,  1899, 
his  entire  capital,  the  savings  of  ten  or  twelve  years  of  married 
life  in  the  city,  being  a  team  of  horses  and  a  few  household  goods. 
He  now  owns  twenty  acres  with  a  neat  stone  cottage,  horses, 
cattle,  pigs,  and  poultry,  all  free  of  incumbrance.  His  indebted- 
ness to  the  army  was  $900  and  in  three  years  he  paid  it  off,  be- 
sides supporting  a  wife  and  three  children  and  building  his 
house." 

Despite  many  predictions  that  no  persons  could  be  found  to 
go,  or  if  so  they  would  not  stay,  or  even  in  that  event  they  cer- 
tainly would  not  pay,  the  plan  has  been  highly  successful.  The 
work  will  be  enlarged  as  fast  as  increased  means  make  it  possible 
to  settle  thousands  of  waiting  families  upon  the  hundreds  of 
thousands  of  available  acres.^ 

Concerning  all  the  foregoing  lines  of  work  further  informa- 
tion may  be  had  from  Commander  Booth  Tucker  at  the  national 
headquarters,  No.  122  West  Fourteenth  St.,  New  York  City.^ 

^  The  reports  throw  little  light  on  the  question  how  far  incompetent  persons 
can  be  helped  by  the  colony  plan. — C.  R.  H. 

*  To  this  general  survey  the  following  facts  are  added  concerning  the  work  in 
Chicago  for  the  year  ending  September  25,  1903:  The  sum  spent  in  relief  work 
was  $17,222.89,  being  nearly  sixty  per  cent,  of  the  general  expense  account. 
Twenty  thousand  persons  were  supplied  with  coal,  either  free  or  at  a  low  price. 
Over  two  thousand  mothers  and  children  were  given  summer  outings.  In  the 
industrial  home  a  thousand  tons  of  paper  and  other  waste  material  were  prepared 
for  sale.  In  five  salvage  stores  150,000  articles  of  clothing  and  furniture  were 
handled,  the  expense  and  income  being  respectively  $20,344.93  and  $21,034.15.     Six 


438  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

The  Volunteers  of  America. 

This  is  similar  in  purpose  to  the  Salvation  Army,  of  which 
it  is  an  off-shoot.  Although  differing  somewhat  in  principles 
and  methods  from  the  much  larger  organization  its  operations 
on  the  whole  are  practically  parallel,  so  that  an  account  of  its 
charitable  work,  which  is  worthy  and  extensive,  is  unnecessary. 
One  line  of  effort,  however,  deserves  special  mention,  namely,  the 

Volunteer  Prisoners'  League. — Work  for  the  uplifting  of  the 
inmates  of  the  State  prisons  was  started  in  1896,  at  Sing  Sing, 
N.  Y.,  and  now  embraces  most  of  such  institutions.  In  over 
seven  years  about  fifteen  thousand  members  have  been  enrolled, 
pledging  themselves  to  daily  prayer  and  Bible  reading,  refrain- 
ing from  bad  language,  faithful  observance  of  prison  rules,  and 
mutual  helpfulness.  Its  appropriate  motto  is  "Look  up  and 
hope."  The  wife  of  the  President  of  the  Volunteers,  Mrs.  Maud 
Ballington  Booth,  gives  a  large  share  of  her  time  to  visiting  the 
prisons  and  conducting  an  extensive  correspondence  with  the 
men,  who  affectionately  call  her  "little  mother." 

Much  attention  is  also  given  to  helping  discharged  men  by 
securing  employment  and  otherwise  enabling  them  to  become 
worthy  members  of  society.  There  are  two  "Hope  Halls,"  in 
New  York  and  Illinois,  where  they  may  find  a  temporary  home 
and  such  other  help  as  may  be  possible.  In  the  latter  State, 
where  the  indeterminate  sentence  (so-called)  prevails,  prisoners 
are  often  paroled  to  the  officer  in  charge  of  the  home,  thus  secur- 
ing the  release  of  many  otherwise  friendless  men. 

The  work  of  the  league  is  cordially  endorsed  by  many  prison 
officials  and  is  becoming  widely  known  through  the  lectures  of 
Mrs.  Booth  and  the  circulation  of  her  book,  "After  Prison — 
What?" 

The  headquarters  of  the  Volunteers  are  at  No.  38  Cooper 
Square,  New  York  City. 

hotels  for  men  and  one  for  women  accommodated  more  than  250,000  guests,  the 
expense  and  income  being  $31,525.76  and  $25,831.52.  Besides  the  foregoing  the 
Salvation  Army  has  in  Chicago  12  English-speaking  corps,  6  Swedish,  2  Norwe- 
gian and  I  German  corps,  3  slum  posts,  2  training  schools,  i  home  for  fallen  girls, 
I  maternity  hospital,  i  slum  nursery  and  i  bureau  for  tracing  missing  relatives  and 
friends.  The  headquarters  are  at  399  State  street,  under  the  direction  of  Colonel 
Charles  Sowton. 


THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA  439 

E.  Co-operation/  The  Charity  Organisation  Society. — In  the 
United  States  there  is  no  system  of  unpaid  almoners  or  visitors 
to  assist  the  officials  of  outdoor  public  relief,  as  in  German  mu- 
nicipalities. In  the  cities  partisan  administration  under  the 
reigning  "spoils  system"  has  made  the  benevolent  public  and  the 
poor  regard  the  machinery  of  public  relief  with  distrust  and  dis- 
favor. In  some  of  the  largest  cities,  as  New  York  and  Phila- 
delphia, public  aid  to  needy  families  has  been  reduced  to  the 
lowest  terms,  and  many  of  the  friends  of  the  C.  O.  S.  advocate 
the  total  abolition  of  this  form  of  charity  in  American  cities.  To 
the  writer  it  does  not  seem  probable  that  this  view  will  prevail ; 
because  State  relief  is  firmly  established  in  our  jurisprudence  and 
national  customs,  and  the  duty  of  the  State  to  assure  a  minimum 
livelihood  is  universally  acknowledged.  The  C.  O.  S.  seeks  to 
prevent  pauperization  so  far  as  possible,  and  then  to  reduce  the 
evils  of  public  charity  by  all  practicable  means.  The  C.  O.  S. 
was  transplanted  from  Great  Britain.  In  1877  the  Rev.  S.  H. 
Gurteen  established  the  first  association  of  this  type  in  the  city 
of  Buffalo.  There  are  now  in  the  United  States  and  Canada 
about  143  societies,  and  these  are  generally  in  correspondence 
with  each  other  and  are  strongly  influenced  by  the  National  Con- 
ference of  Charities  and  Correction.  It  must  not  be  supposed 
that  the  C.  O.  S.  was  an  absolutely  novel  creation  in  England 
nor  that  all  its  features  were  new  in  America.  It  is  true  that 
the  earlier  benevolent  societies  grew  up  in  response  to  special 
demands  and  without  preconcerted  plans  in  any  city.  Most  of 
the  principles  for  which  the  movement  works  had  been  organized 
by  practical  administrators  previous  to  1877.  But  the  new 
organization  certainly  gave  to  American  cities  a  powerful  im- 
pulse to  cooperative  action,  and  revealed  the  central  ideals  of 
intelligent  charity  in  a  more  brilliant  light. 

We  seek  here  to  indicate  the  spirit  and  tendency  of  the 
C.  O.  S.  The  dominant  purpose  of  scientific  charity  is  to  bring 
all  the  agencies  for  mitigating  suffering  and  ameliorating  con- 
ditions under  the  sway  of  a  conscious  and  prescient  policy  of  the 
benevolent  community;  and  that  policy  is  nothing  less  than  to 
further  the  life  process  of  the  nation,  especially  within  the  field 
of  philanthropy.     More  specifically  this   purpose   includes   ma- 

*  By  C.  R.  Henderson. 


440  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

terial  relief  of  the  suffering  and  helpless,  that  they  may  not  lose 
the  chance  at  life ;  to  apply  the  methods  of  selection  and  of  edu- 
cation as  required  by  the  situation;  to  prevent  needless  waste 
and  loss  of  the  resources  of  the  self-supporting  members  of  so- 
ciety through  aimless  alms,  fraud  and  imposition ;  and  to  provide 
against  the  degradation  of  those  who  are  perilously  near  the 
margin  of  dependence. 

This  policy  requires,  first  of  all,  a  knowledge  of  conditions, 
of  the  situation  of  famihes  and  localities,  as  a  basis  for  judgment 
and  action.  This  knowledge  is  secured  by  making  and  keeping 
a  record  of  every  person  or  family  who  applies  for  assistance ;  and 
the  form  of  this  record  is  itself  the  product  of  long  experience, 
trial,  study  and  discussion.  This  study  of  individuals  is  ex- 
tended to  a  minute  and  exhaustive  investigation  of  all  the  influ- 
ences which  work  toward  the  physical  and  moral  deterioration 
of  whole  groups  of  people.  In  the  latter  effort  philanthropy  has 
found  a  most  efficient  ally  in  the  residents  of  social  settlements. 

The  society  for  organizing  the  charities  of  a  town  must  also 
know  the  benevolent  resources  of  the  community,  its  institutions, 
its  societies,  and  its  educational  and  protective  agencies.  There- 
fore in  the  United  States,  as  in  Great  Britain,  the  societies  have 
collected  in  their  central  offices  information  relating  to  the  pur- 
pose, scope,  funds  and  methods  of  all  the  charitable  societies  and 
institutions  upon  which  they  may  call  in  any  special  case  of 
need. 

In  order  to  influence  action  this  knowledge  of  the  poor  and 
of  their  helpers  must  be  printed  and  placed  at  the  disposal  of 
the  philanthropic  public.  The  business  men  must  be  warned 
against  impostors ;  the  railroad  companies  must  be  protected 
against  vagrants  asking  for  free  transportation ;  the  church 
workers  must  be  given  transcripts  of  records  of  professional 
beggars.  Illegitimate  schemes  for  wheedling  money  out  of  im- 
pulsive and  generous  benefactors  must  be  exposed  and  defeated 
and  the  money  turned  to  better  account.  Sentimental  incom- 
petents, making  a  trade  of  charity  at  public  expense,  must  be 
discouraged.  The  temptations,  hardships  and  depressing  sur- 
roundings of  the  poor  must  be  held  before  the  public  imagina- 
tion. The  principles  and  methods  of  effective  social  service  are 
taught  by  means  of  lectures,  reports,  bulletins,  discussions,  cir- 


THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA  44 1 

culars  and  articles  in  the  daily  newspapers  and  magazines.  A 
digest  of  charities  or  a  directory  of  institutions  and  societies  of 
a  city,  as  in  New  York,  Boston,  Philadelphia,  places  before  a 
community  in  systematic  form  the  information  necessary  to  di- 
rect benefactors  and  to  discover  to  the  indigent  the  accessible 
sources  of  help. 

But  the  acquisition  and  popularization  of  knowledge  are 
means  to  an  end, — rational  action.  Charity  is  not  mere  ma- 
terial relief,  but  it  includes  material  relief.  The  C.  O.  S.  associa- 
tions in  the  United  States  have,  indeed,  sought  to  diminish  the 
habit  of  resorting  to  charitable  funds  because  that  habit  tends 
to  degradation;  and  they  have,  in  many  instances,  refused  to 
regard  themselves  as  relief-giving  agencies.  These  facts  have 
led  many  persons  to  suppose  that  they  underestimate  the  impor- 
tance of  material  relief.  But,  on  the  whole,  the  C.  O.  S.  stands 
for  the  most  speedy,  humane,  considerate  and  adequate  help.  If 
it  does  not  possess  a  fund  of  its  own  its  agents  always  know 
where  they  can  find  means  of  aid,  and  they  consider  it  their  duty 
to  secure  necessary  resources  without  requiring  the  indigent  per- 
son to  beg  from  door  to  door.  Usually  emergency  aid  is  given 
at  once  and  a  more  thorough  investigation  and  treatment  follow. 

In  order  to  prevent  thorough  demoralization  the  C.  O.  S. 
seeks  to  call  forth  all  the  energy,  courage,  thought  and  will  of 
the  applicant  for  relief,  according  to  the  maxim  that  the  best 
help  is  self-help.  Hence  the  devices  which  have  been  invented 
and  employed  to  test  the  willingness  and  sustain  the  self-respect 
of  the  applicants,  so  far  as  they  are  capable  of  labor:  the  employ- 
ment agencies,  woodyards,  workrooms,  salvage  corps,  stone- 
yards,  soap  factories,  vegetable  gardens,  laundries.  When  the 
dependent  person  lacks  industrial  training  he  or  she  is  directed 
to  a  place  of  instruction,  and  charitable  societies  are  encouraged 
to  multiply  the  agencies  of  this  type. 

In  order  to  enable  women  to  earn  something  they  are  relieved 
in  part  of  the  care  of  young  children  by  means  of  day  nurseries 
and  kindergartens ;  or,  if  they  can  do  best  for  their  children  by 
remaining  at  home,  assistance  is  provided. 

Since  the  spirit  of  independence  is  maintained  by  habits  of 
thrift,  the  schemes  for  encouraging  savings  are  made  known  to 
the  poor  and  the  pennies  are  collected  until  they  amount  to  a 


442 


MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 


sum  worth  depositing  in  the  bank  or  are  large  enough  to  pur- 
chase coal  or  clothing  or  furniture  at  the  lowest  cash  price. 

Not  seldom  organized  charity  must  employ  the  power  of  the 
law  and  of  the  police  to  correct  the  vagrant,  to  enforce  parental 
obligations  and  to  chastise  the  cruel.  The  man  who  deserts  his 
wife  and  children  must  be  brought  back  or  placed  in  a  work- 
house ;  the  wife  beater  must  face  the  judge ;  the  truant  must  be 
brought  under  the  firm  hand  of  a  probation  officer  and  the  wise 
direction  and  authority  of  the  Juvenile  Court.  In  such  cases 
special  societies,  as  the  society  for  preventing  cruelty  or  the 
bureau  of  justice,  are  invited  to  assist. 

Personal  influence  is  a  vital  element  in  the  efficiency  of  charity 
organization.  It  has  been  found  very  difficult  to  secure  a  suffi- 
cient number  of  competent  "friendly  visitors"  and  to  hold  them 
together;  but  some  societies,  as  that  of  Boston,  have  had  re- 
markable success  in  this  direction.  Very  often  the  agents  of  the 
society,  a  member  of  the  committee,  the  visitor  of  a  church,  a 
pastor,  a  legal  adviser,  a  rent  collector,  a  penny  savings  collector, 
a  teacher  or  probation  officer,  or  the  custodian  of  a  home  library 
becomes  the  confidential  counsellor  of  a  needy  family.  Family 
quarrels  are  calmed,  wayward  youth  are  brought  home,  medical 
wisdom  is  invoked,  church  ties  are  made  firm,  children  are  sent 
to  school,  employment  is  found,  moral  energy  and  spiritual 
aspiration  are  quickened.  This  personal  factor  is  of  increasing 
weight  and  power. 

This  personal  acquaintance  with  needy  and  suffering  people 
tends  to  awaken  interest  in  larger  schemes  of  social  betterment. 
The  visitor  soon  begins  to  realize  that  the  causes  of  poverty  are 
numerous  and  complicated ;  that  personal  defects,  as  drunken- 
ness, vice  and  indolence,  are  not  the  only  occasions  of  suffering. 
Out  of  this  discovery,  and  especially  in  connection  with  settle- 
ment residents,  the  people  are  organized  to  protect  their  rights 
and  perform  their  civic  duties.  Clubs  are  formed  for  the  enforce- 
ment of  ordinances,  to  see  that  the  streets  and  alleys  are  cleaned 
by  contractors  and  that  the  milkmen  deliver  pure  and  whole- 
some milk.  The  C.  O.  S.  easily  secures  the  cooperation  of  phy- 
sicians, associations  of  district  nurses,  hospitals,  dispensaries  and 
boards  of  health  in  the  effort  to  remove  the  causes  of  depressing 
and  mortal  diseases.     Committees  on  tenement  houses  are  set 


THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA  443 

to  work  investigating  conditions,  urging  public  officers  to  per- 
form their  duties  as  inspectors  and  regulators,  and  moving  legis- 
latures for  amendments  to  laws  or  ordinances.  Leaflets  on  the 
care  of  infants,  on  consumption  and  on  other  matters  of  hygiene 
and  sanitation  are  circulated  in  the  various  languages  used  by 
our  polyglot  population.  The  municipal  government,  the  boards 
of  education  and  benevolent  societies  are  induced  to  provide 
space  for  play,  gymnasium,  free  baths,  wash  houses,  and  instruc- 
tion in  athletics.  Daily  newspapers  and  committees  are  per- 
suaded to  secure  means  to  send  children  and  weary  mothers  to 
seaside  or  lakeside,  to  country  and  mountain  for  fresh  and  invig- 
orating air. 

Churches  and  missions  are  enabled  to  see  the  necessity  for 
enlarging  the  scope  of  their  moral  and  uplifting  activities.  Ab- 
stinence societies  are  formed ;  industrial  sewing  schools  for  girls 
are  gathered ;  young  men  are  urged  to  form  clubs  of  boys,  bring 
them  together  for  innocent  recreation  and  save  them  from  the 
contaminating  influence  of  the  street. 

From  these  brief  hints  it  may  be  seen  that  the  C.  O.  S.  is  not 
so  much  a  specialized  form  of  charity  as  an  inspirer,  director  and 
organizer  of  the  philanthropic  motives  of  the  entire  community. 
The  illustrations  just  used  are  all  drawn  from  actual  achieve- 
ments of  existing  and  living  societies,  and  they  might  easily  be 
multiplied.  The  history  of  the  C.  O.  S.  movement  in  the  United 
States  is  the  history  of  the  development  of  science,  good  sense, 
and  a  cooperative  spirit  applied  to  benevolent  enterprises. 

The  machinery  of  organization  is  more  complex  as  the  city 
becomes  larger  and  the  situation  demands  higher  specialization 
of  function.  In  a  small  city  a  single  office,  with  one  salaried 
secretary,  is  all  that  is  required ;  while  in  a  large  city  there  must 
be  several  offices  and  many  salaried  agents. 

The  parent  association  is  usually  composed  of  members  who 
contribute  an  annual  membership  fee  and  are  entitled  to  vote  for 
a  board  of  directors.  The  board  of  directors  acts  through  a 
small  executive  committee.  Or  the  association  may  be  formed 
of  delegates  from  all  the  charitable  associations  of  the  city  em- 
powered to  act  for  all  within  prescribed  limits.  The  funds  are 
secured  by  solicitation  through  letters,  public  appeals  and  per- 
sonal requests.     The  difficulty  of  raising  money  not  rarely  helps 


444  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

the  finance  committee  to  sympathize  with  the  poor  who  ever  live 
on  the  margin  of  want.  Perhaps  this  is  one  of  the  advantages  of 
the  voluntary  system  of  charity. 

The  charity  organization  societies  have  very  generally  sought 
to  give  information  to  the  benevolent  public  or  to  individual 
contributors  relating  to  solicitations  for  gifts.  Naturally  the 
methods  and  resources  of  the  charitable  associations  and  insti- 
tutions become  known  to  the  central  bureau  in  the  course  of  its 
work. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  attempts  to  protect  the  generous 
from  deception  is  the  Charities  Endorsement  Committee  of  San 
Francisco,  organized  in  1900  by  the  Merchants'  Association  and 
the  Associated  Charities.  In  order  to  form  a  judgment  certain 
principles  or  standards  were  adopted  and  applied  to  the  in- 
vestigation of  institutions  which  apply  for  endorsement  of  the 
committee.  Thus  the  standard  for  the  collection  of  funds  in- 
cludes the  requirements:  (i)  That  no  endorsed  charity  shall 
lend  its  name  to  any  charity  promoter  or  benefit  by  any  enter- 
tainment got  up  by  such  promoter.  (2)  That  no  such  charity 
shall  pay  its  solicitor  a  commission  greater  than  15  per  cent. 
(3)  That  the  endorsement  card  of  every  authorized  solicitor  shall 
state  the  purpose  for  which  he  is  collecting  and  the  sum  needed, 
and  that  donors  shall  enter  in  a  subscription  book  the  amount 
contributed  under  their  own  signature. 

Child-placing  societies  must  furnish  full  details  in  regard  to 
all  children  placed  in  homes  so  that  they  can  be  visited  and  the 
work  of  the  society  tested.  Rules  are  also  made  for  orphanages 
and  similar  institutions.  Relief  agencies  must  adopt  a  certain 
investigation  blank,  provide  for  investigation  of  all  applicants, 
and  register  all  cases  with  the  Associated  Charities.  The  results 
are  said  to  be  encouraging;  impostors  are  driven  away:  methods 
of  securing  funds  are  improved;  less  money  is  wasted  and  more 
is  available  for  legitimate  charities. 

Education  and  Professional  Training  of  Charity  Workers.^ — In 
this  field  progress  is  now  so  rapid  that  any  statement  will  be 
antiquated  before  it  can  be  printed.  Discussion  and  experiment 
seem  to  have  brought  charity  leaders  in  the  United  States  to 

^  See  J.  R.  Brackett,  Supervision  and  Education  in  Charity,  1903,  with  refer- 
ences there. 


THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA  445 

see  clearly  the  essential  factors  in  a  course  of  study  and  training, 
although  there  is  great  diversity  of  devices.  The  curriculum 
must  vary  with  the  requirements  of  the  person  and  the  particular 
calling  in  view.  In  a  general  way  the  professional  work  of  phil- 
anthropy calls  for  three  classes  or  ranks  of  members  :  subordinate 
assistants,  administrators  and  investigators,  although  there  is  no 
fixed  barrier  at  any  point  and  promotion  is  always  in  prospect 
for  capable  and  vigorous  persons.  At  present  the  requirement  of 
education  of  assistants  for  entrance  upon  training  is  about 
equivalent  to  graduation  from  a  high  school,  at  the  end  of  the 
course  of  secondary  instruction.  The  methods  of  preparation 
now  in  use  vary  greatly.  Most  of  the  visitors  and  agents  of  the 
societies  have  been  trained  by  the  older  and  more  experienced 
officers,  and  many  of  these  have  become  very  useful  and  efficient 
simply  by  careful  observation,  general  reading,  daily  experience 
and  attendance  upon  the  State  and  National  conferences.  The 
C.  O.  S.  of  New  York  City  has  for  several  years  conducted  a 
summer  school  at  which  lectures  are  given  by  competent  experts 
and  visits  are  made  to  institutions.  In  the  autumn  of  1903  this 
society  began  to  provide  a  two  years'  course  of  more  systematic 
instruction  and  training.  In  several  cities  classes  have  been 
formed  for  the  study  of  books  on  the  general  field  of  charity  to 
widen  the  knowledge  of  those  under  training.  Thus  trained  nurses 
have  found  that  their  direct  technical  preparation  in  hospitals 
requires  to  be  supplemented  by  study  of  practical  sociology,  eco- 
nomics, civil  government  and  law,  in  order  that  they  may  under- 
stand the  conditions  of  life  among  the  poor  and  the  resources  of 
help  in  the  community. 

Not  without  interest  and  value,  even  from  the  professional 
standpoint,  are  the  studies  of  the  women's  clubs  in  the  cities  and 
towns  of  the  United  States.  Almost  always  a  committee  on 
philanthropy  and  civic  betterment  organizes  studies,  directs  dis- 
cussion and  instigates  investigations  which  lead  toward  improved 
legislation  and  administration. 

Many  colleges,  theological  seminaries  and  universities  have, 
since  1884,  introduced  lectures  as  regular  courses,  designed  to 
awaken  interest  and  educate  social  leaders  in  relation  to  the 
best  methods  of  charity  and  social  amelioration,  and  one  result 
of  this  effort  has  been  to  attract  to  the  profession  of  philanthropic 


446  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

work  many  very  capable  graduates,  and  to  furnish  intelligent 
leaders  in  other  callings. 

Almost  at  the  same  time  in  several  institutions  of  highest  rank 
the  problem  of  a  special  training  school  for  charity  administra- 
tors has  been  seriously  considered,  and  at  this  writing  various 
.  experiments  are  planned.  The  school  may  be  a  branch  of  uni- 
versity extension  for  those  who  are  too  busy  for  continuous  aca- 
demic discipline ;  or  a  special  school  in  close  connection  with  the 
university ;  or  a  college  course  in  which  historical  and  sys- 
tematic instruction  is  given  along  with  other  studies  and  the 
student  is  trained  in  the  actual  office  work  by  persons  of  experi- 
ence. It  is  already  apparent  that  there  must  be  in  this  grade  of 
education  a  close  cooperation  between  teachers  and  trainers ;  for 
the  class  room  cannot  give  technical  practice,  and  the  busy  ad- 
ministrator has  not  time  for  giving  scientific  instruction. 

The  universities  will  prepare  investigators  who,  either  as 
teachers  or  administrators,  will  enlarge  knowledge,  suggest  in- 
vention of  new  methods,  and  prepare  the  way  for  improved  leg- 
islation or  institutional  practice.  But  here  again  there  must  be 
vital  and  friendly  cooperation  between  the  trained  teachers  and 
the  trained  experts  in  practice.  Fortunately  in  the  United  States 
there  is  a  cordiality  of  relations  and  a  sincerity  of  purpose  which 
promises  well  for  the  future  of  this  movement. 

The  National  Conference  of  Charities  and  Correction  has 
been  the  most  active  and  influential  of  all  agencies  for  the  popu- 
larization of  advanced  ideas  of  method.  The  proceedings  will 
show  that  the  discussions  cover  a  wide  range  of  topics  and  many 
degrees  of  proficiency  in  the  science  and  practice  of  benevolent 
method.  No  resolutions  are  passed  and  no  attempt  is  made  to 
formulate  conclusions  reached.  Therefore  the  debates  have  not 
even  the  appearance  of  seeking  to  win  a  majority  of  votes  and 
and  parties  are  not  formed.  There  may  be  disadvantages  in  this 
form  of  organization,  and  a  foreigner  may  at  first  have  some  dif- 
ficulty in  discovering  the  tendency  of  thought  among  the  most 
competent.  There  is  also  much  repetition  of  statement,  and  the 
absence  of  funds  compels  the  committees  to  pursue  their  investi- 
gations at  their  own  expense.  In  spite  of  all  these  limitations 
the  volumes  of  papers  and  addresses  constitute  a  precious  record 
of  serious  study  and  costly  experience.     Sometimes  the  resources 


THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA 


447 


of  State  governments  have  placed  at  the  service  of  committees 
the  results  of  official  investigations  and  statistics.  The  secre- 
taries and  members  of  the  State  boards  of  charities  have  often 
been  leaders  and  instructors  of  the  Conference,  and  their  contri- 
butions have  enriched  the  records.  But  the  humblest  beginners 
are  welcome  and  those  who  have  any  kind  of  personal  experience 
are  free  to  relate  their  story. 

Dr.  Brackett  gives  accounts  of  other  national  organizations 
which  have  exerted  a  direct  and  helpful  influence  on  the  practice 
of  charity:  the  American  Social  Science  Association  founded  in 
1865,  the  National  Prison  Association  (1870),  the  American 
Academy  of  Political  and  Social  Science  (1889).  Other  national 
societies  which  discuss  some  branch  of  relief  and  prevention  are 
the  American  Association  of  Medical  Superintendents  of  Institu- 
tions for  the  Insane  (1844),  the  Association  of  Medical  Officers 
of  Institutions  for  the  Feeble-Minded  (1876),  the  Association  for 
Study  of  Epilepsy  (1901),  the  National  Conference  of  Hebrew 
Charities  (1900),  and  the  Superior  Council  of  the  St.  Vincent  de 
Paul  Society. 

Expositions. — The  charity  agencies  of  the  country  were  very 
inadequately  noticed  at  the  Centennial  Exposition  at  Philadel- 
phia in  1876;  while  the  exhibit  at  the  World's  Fair  at  Chicago, 
in  1893,  though  very  much  scattered,  was  suggestive  and  inspir- 
ing. One  of  the  interesting  features  of  the  department  of  social 
economy  at  Paris  in  1900  was  the  American  exhibit.  The  activi- 
ties of  Charity  and  Correction  are  represented  at  the  Louisiana 
Purchase  Exposition  at  St.  Louis  (1904)  in  a  systematic  display 
arranged  by  the  officers  of  the  exposition  who  have  called  to  their, 
aid  an  advisory  committee  who,  in  some  sense,  represent  the 
National  Conference  of  Charities  and  Correction. 

F.  Indoor  Relief.^ — On  June  i,  1890,  there  were  in  the  alms- 
houses of  the  United  States  73,045  paupers  (40,741  male  and 
32,304  female).  This  does  not  tell  the  total  number  received 
during  the  year,  but  only  the  inmates  at  a  given  date.  The  ratios 
to  1,000,000  of  population  were:  in  1850,  2,171 ;  i860,  2,638;  1870, 
1,990;  1880,  1,320;  1890,  1,166.  These  are  diminishing  ratios,  and 
would  indicate  a  relative  decrease  of  pauperism.  But  during 
the  years  since  1850  a  process  of  specialization  has  been  going 

*  By  C.  R.  Henderson. 


448 


MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 


forward  and  dependents  who  would  formerly  have  gone  to  the 
poorhouse  are  sent  to  schools  for  the  feeble-minded,  to  hospitals 
for  the  insane,  to  private  asylums  and  homes,  and  children  are 
placed  in  families.  The  facts  for  private  institutions  could  not 
be  ascertained,  but  it  was  known  that  their  growth  has  been 
rapid,  absolutely  and  relatively.^  On  June  i,  1890,  there  were 
in  the  benevolent  institutions  of  the  United  States  111,910  bene- 
ficiaries (55,245  male  and  56,665  female).  Of  these  65,651,  or 
58.67  per  cent.,  were  in  institutions  primarily  intended  for  the 
care  of  children;  17,661,  or  15.78  per  cent.,  in  institutions  for 
adults;  22,473,  or  20.08  per  cent.,  in  hospitals;  6,125,  or  5.47  per 
cent.,  in  miscellaneous  institutions. 

Missouri,  being  on  the  border  between  North  and  South,  is  an 
interesting  field  of  study.  We  have  a  recent  account  of  the  con- 
ditions of  ninety  of  the  ninety-three  county  almshouses  of  that 
State.  The  total  number  of  inmates  is  3.348  (1,819  male,  1,529 
female,  3,056  white,  292  colored).  Of  these,  1,262  are  over  60 
years  of  age,  and  92  between  2  and  14  years;  1,177  are  insane,  551 
feeble-minded,  181  epileptic,  114  blind,  263  crippled,  98  paralytic. 
The  cost  per  week  per  inmate  is  from  90  cents  to  $2.25.  Re- 
ligious services  are  held  in  35  of  the  houses  and  are  not  held  in 
55  establishments.  Of  all  the  insane  884  (75  per  cent.)  are  in 
the  St.  Louis  City  Poorhouse.  There  is  a  tendency  to  turn  the 
county  poorhouse  into  a  local  asylum  for  the  insane,  since  it  is 
cheaper  for  the  county  to  support  its  chronic  pauper  insane  at 
home  than  in  the  large  State  institutions.^  "The  inevitable 
result  of  such  care  everywhere  is  various  degrees  of  inadequate 
and  brutal  treatment  ranging  downward  to  the  sheerest  cruelty. 
.  .  .  Fifty-four  out  of  the  ninety  almshouses  reporting  have  cells 
for  the  incarceration  of  the  violent  insane.  Some  even  have  a 
cell-house  which  they  go  so  far  as  to  call  a  'jail'."  Mechanical 
restraint  was  used  in  thirty-seven  houses  out  of  forty-eight  re- 
porting. Superintendents  and  investigators  report  that  the  in- 
sane paupers  are  chained  to  the  wall  till  they  are  quiet,  put  in 
cells,  tied  with  ropes,  confined  with  block  and  chain.  One  report 
declares  the  conditions  to  be  filthy  beyond   description.       The 

^  Crime,  Pauperism  and  Benevolence,  Eleventh  Census. 

"  A  Bulletin  on  the  Conditioii  of  the  County  Almshouses  of  Missouri,  by  C.  A. 
Ellwood,  1904. 


THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA 


449 


presence  of  feeble-minded  and  epileptic  persons  in  such  estab- 
lishments is  the  cause  of  disturbance  and  misery.  Only  two 
almshouses  in  the  State  have  nurses  for  the  care  of  the  sick,  and 
these  are  not  trained  nurses.  Practically  the  only  nursing  is 
done  by  the  paupers  themselves,  with  some  direction  from  the 
superintendent  or  matron.  It  seems  probable  that  at  least  one- 
third  of  the  county  almshouses  have  cost  to  build  them  less  than 
$1,500.  Only  five  almshouses  may  be  said  to  have  fully  modern 
arrangements  for  heating,  lighting,  ventilation,  bathing  facilities, 
closets  and  sewerage.  There  is  generally  so  much  land  con- 
nected with  the  poorhouse  that  the  superintendent  must  give 
more  time  to  the  farm  than  to  the  inmates,  and  few  of  the  in- 
mates are  able  to  work.  Most  of  the  almshouses  are  leased  to 
the  lowest  bidder  who  meets  a  minimum  requirement  for  ability 
and  character.  Only  in  thirty-five  counties  is  the  almshouse 
superintendent  paid  a  fixed  salary.  Naturally  the  superintendent 
is  tempted  to  starve  the  paupers  in  order  to  make  out  of  his  con- 
tract all  that  is  possible.  Classification  is  generally  very 
imperfect;  only  in  three  almshouses  is  there  a  classification  ac- 
cording to  sex,  race,  age  and  character.  Only  in  sixteen  houses 
is  the  work  test  applied;  in  seventy-four  labor  is  optional.  The 
discipline  regulating  admission  is  ill-defined  and  the  management 
of  discharge  is  still  more  lax.  Only  a  single  almshouse  has  a 
library ;  amusements  and  recreation  for  the  inmates  seem  almost 
entirely  lacking;  and  even  work  is  not  systematically  provided 
for  all  who  wish  to  work  to  pass  away  the  time. 

These  conditions  in  a  single  State  are  given  in  some  detail 
because  they  are  only  too  typical  of  many  other  States  where 
the  modern  ideals  of  relief  have  not  been  enforced  through  suit- 
able legislation  and  central  supervision  and  control.  These  evils 
which  disgrace  a  splendid  and  generous  people  are  the  natural 
and  inevitable  products  of  a  system  which  leaves  the  duty  of  the 
State  to  be  performed  by  local  administrators. 

Missouri  has  recently  made  laudable  progress  in  the  right 
direction.  An  act  of  the  legislature  of  1903  requires  the  circuit 
judge  to  appoint  a  board  of  visitors  upon  the  petition  of  fifteen 
citizens.  It  is  the  duty  of  this  board  to  visit  and  inspect  the 
county  institutions  and  report  to  the  State  Board  of  Charities, 
the  County  Court  and  the  circuit  judge.     The  laws  of  New  York, 

29 


450  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

Ohio,  Illinois  and  other  States  have  similar  provisions.  Mr. 
Ellwood  recommends,  as  necessary  means  of  improvement,  visi- 
tation by  local  boards  of  visitors,  inspection  by  expert  State  of- 
ficials, and  centralized  legislative  and  executive  control,  and  in 
this  he  represents  the  most  enlightened  opinion  of  the  country. 

Wherever  the  local  almshouses  have  been  brought  under  the 
State  Boards  of  Charities,  whose  functions  have  already  been  dis- 
cussed, improvement  may  be  noted,  and  in  the  most  advanced 
States  the  worst  abuses  are  imknown.  But  the  reports  of  such 
States  as  Illinois,  Indiana,  Michigan  and  Ohio  reveal  conditions 
which  are  unworthy  of  a  civilized  people,  and  this  is  sometimes 
true  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  the  abuses  were  made  public  in 
official  documents  in  some  cases  many  years  ago.  These  facts 
prove  that  publicity  is  not  a  panacea,  and  that  a  central  board 
must  be  armed  with  power  to  reform  a  local  institution  and  not 
merely  to  report  on  it  and  give  some  good  advice. 

Statistics,  descriptions  and  reports  from  many  States  prove 
that  changes  are  rapidly  going  forward  and,  as  a  rule,  in  the 
right  direction.  Children  are  either  not  sent  to  the  almshouse  or 
are  speedily  removed  to  special  institutions  or  placed  in  families; 
and  gradually  the  States  are  enacting  laws  which  forbid  local 
authorities  to  send  children  to  these  places. 

There  is  a  tendency  toward  separating  tramps,  disorderly  per- 
sons and  other  misdemeanants  from  the  almshouse  population 
and  bringing  them  under  the  severe  discipline  and  training  of 
genuine  workhouses. 

The  protest  against  retaining  the  chronic  pauper  insane  in 
county  almshouses  is  growing  stronger  and  more  influential. 
Some  States  are  transferring  all  their  insane  to  central  hospitals 
or  colonies  (as  Massachu-setts)  and  others  are  placing  county 
asylums  for  the  pauper  insane  under  State  supervision  (as  Wis- 
consin). In  a  few  years  we  may  hope  to  see  all  the  insane  under 
some  form  of  State  control. 

The  movement  to  provide  for  epileptics  in  State  colonies  is 
gaining  momentum,  and  we  may  hopefully  look  for  the  time  to 
come  when  this  disturbing  and  dangerous  element  of  poorhouse 
population  will  be  segregated  and  given  more  suitable  and  hu- 
mane treatment.  Feeble-minded  persons  will  be  provided  for 
in  special  custodial  colonies,  and  all  will  be  trained  to  productive 


THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA 


451 


industry  as  far  as  possible;  as  is  already  done  in  New  York  and 
in  other  States.  Long  ago  the  States  have  built  schools  for  the 
deaf  and  the  blind,  but  provision  for  dependent  adults  whose  in- 
firmities cripple  them  in  competitive  industry,  is  as  yet  entirely 
inadequate, 

G.  Vagrants.^ — As  already  indicated,  the  vagrants  are  not 
properly  admissible  to  the  help  of  the  poor  law,  but  are  punishable 
for  criminal  acts.  "It  seems  that  the  criminality  rests  upon  a 
combination  of  these  circumstances  :  the  absence  of  lawful  means 
of  support,  the  neglect  to  seek  employment,  and  the  offensive 
public  exhibition  of  such  condition."-  The  vagrant  has  been 
found  and  regarded  for  ages  as  a  public  enemy.  The  difficulty 
of  dealing  with  him  lies  first  of  all  in  the  fact  that  he  pleads  des- 
titution and  misfortune,  and  numbers  himself  among  the  depend- 
ents on  charity  or  among  the  honest  workmen  who  are  tem- 
porarily unemployed.  The  methods  of  sifting  out  genuine  va- 
grants from  the  other  classes  all  turn  on  the  "work  test"  applied 
to  able-bodied  persons,  either  by  private  or  public  agencies. 

The  most  common  method  of  the  charitable  society  in 
America  is  a  lodging  house  which  provides  some  simple  industry, 
frequently  a  woodyard,  and  gives  shelter,  meals  and  laundry  in 
return  for  labor.  These  measures  are  fairly  effective  with  really 
honest  men  who  are  seeking  occupation,  and  they  would  help 
discourage  indolent  tramps  were  it  not  for  the  persistence  of 
indiscriminate  and  unquestioning  almsgiving  on  the  street. 

Experience  seems  to  have  shown  that  there  must  be  system- 
atic cooperation  between  the  Central  Relief  Association  or 
C.  O.  S.  and  the  police,  because  so  many  street  beggars  are  actu- 
ally vagrants  and  should  be  corrected  in  a  workhouse  under 
severe  discipline.  In  order  to  discover  what  persons  require  to 
be  under  the  discipline  of  penal  institutions  the  charitable  asso- 
ciations of  cities  are  obliged  to  appoint  special  investigators  who 
are  practically  detectives  and  who  follow  up  street  beggars  until 
their  habits  and  character  are  thoroughly  known  and  evidence 
for  the  magistrates  is  collected  and  presented,  or  the  honest  men 
put  in  a  way  of  earning  their  own  living.  In  some  cities  this 
special  method  of  treatment  has  been  introduced  with  encour- 
aging results. 

^  By  C.  R.  Henderson.  *  E.  Freund,  Police  Power,  p.  99. 


452  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

The  municipal  lodging  house  is  a  necessity  in  large  towns, 
and  while  it  should  be  conducted  in  a  fair  and  humane  spirit,  it 
should  be  in  close  touch  with  the  police.  The  wandering  man  or 
woman  is  registered,  cleansed  in  a  bath,  the  clothing  disinfected, 
a  comfortable  bed  is  furnished,  wholesome  food  is  provided,  and 
the  person  is  sent  out  to  designated  places  to  secure  employment. 
If  employment  is  not  sought,  or  is  refused  when  found,  the  per- 
son is  summarily  tried  for  vagrancy  and  sent  to  a  workhouse. 
In  this  way  the  search  for  employment  is  used  as  the  work  test. 

While  the  United  States  government  has  exercised  its  sov- 
ereign right  to  exclude  persons  liable  to  become  a  charge  upon 
public  charity,  the  several  States  cannot  interfere  with  the  liberty 
of  citizens  to  travel  where  they  will  so  long  as  they  are  not  actu- 
ally chargeable.  When  a  person  becomes  dependent  he  may  be 
sent  to  the  place  of  settlement  and  there  required  to  remain, 
under  the  control  of  the  authorities. 

It  is  impossible  to  secure  accurate  and  reliable  statistics  of 
the  tribe  of  wanderers  in  the  United  States.  We  have  no  system 
of  registration  of  those  who  come  and  go  as  may  be  found,  for 
example,  in  Germany.  The  number  naturally  varies  greatly 
with  the  years ;  in  times  of  industrial  depression  many  regular 
workingmen  mingle  with  the  army  of  vagabonds  and  tramps  and 
sometimes  form  the  tramp  habit. 

A  careful  recent  study^  has  brought  out  the  causes  of  va- 
grancy and  methods  of  treatment  in  a  very  clear  and  forcible 
way.  Unwise  philanthropy,  bad  systems  of  public  relief,  faulty 
municipal  administration,  errors  in  methods  of  transportation 
and  the  personal  defects  in  character  and  training  are  cited  as 
the  causes.  It  is  said  that  there  are  200  common  lodging  houses 
in  Chicago,  113  in  Baltimore,  104  in  New  York,  106  in  Philadel- 
phia and  no  adequate  supervision  and  control  in  any  city. 

Methods. — Wayfarers'  Lodges  :  Mr.  Marsh  says  of  these :  "Ade- 
quate provision  should  be  made  for  every  respectable  homeless 
man  to  secure  his  board  and  lodging  for  a  limited  time  while 
looking  for  remunerative  employment,  in  return  for  three  or  four 
hours'  work  daily.  This  will  involve  in  all  cities  of  over  50,000 
a  Wayfarers'  Lodge  under  private  or  public  management,  with 

^  Mr.  B.  C.  Marsh,  in  Annals  Amer.  Acad.,  May,  1904,  p.  37. 


THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA  453 

compulsory  bath  and  medical  examination."  In  charge  of  these 
cheap  inns  of  the  best  type  are  men  who  take  a  genuine  interest 
in  men  and  boys  who  are  in  love  with  vagabondage  and  who 
seek  to  win  them  to  the  ways  of  regular  industry.  The  sick  are 
sent  to  hospitals,  the  honest  laborer  is  found  employment,  the 
criminal  is  trained  in  a  house  of  correction. 

The  experience  of  Chicago  is  cited.  During  1901  the  number 
of  homeless  men  and  boys  lodged  in  the  police  stations  of  Chi- 
cago was  92,591,  During  1902  the  number  lodged  at  police  sta- 
tions was  5,740.  During  1902  the  number  lodged  at  the  mu- 
nicipal lodging  house  was  11,097;  so  that  the  decrease  of  the 
number  of  homeless  men  and  boys  lodged  at  the  expense  of  the 
city  was  75,754  in  one  year.^ 

Among  the  municipal  measures  employed  with  good  results 
are  control  of  peddlers,  schools  and  asylums  for  the  blind  and 
crippled  to  keep  them  from  street  begging,  supervision  of  lodg- 
ing houses  by  the  police  and  detectives,  and  the  elimination  of 
habitual  criminals. 

In  Massachusetts  the  State  government  has  been  establish- 
ing reformatory  measures  which  deserve  study  and  imitation. 
Mendicants  are  brought  into  court  and  released  under  suspended 
sentence  on  probation.  The  condition  of  the  release  is  that  the 
holder  of  the  permit  does  not  return  to  his  former  habits  of 
vagrancy  and  dissipation.  Drunkards  are  committed  to  the  State 
Farm  and  when  discharged  are  placed  under  the  care  of  proba- 
tion officers. 

The  probation  officer  is  an  essential  factor  in  dealing  with 
vagrants  set  at  liberty  on  condition  of  leading  a  right  life.  Fifty- 
nine  volunteer  probation  officers  serve  the  State  of  Massachu- 
setts, and  the  number  of  vagrants  on  the  State  Farm  has  dimin- 
ished from  42  per  cent,  of  all  inmates  in  1892  to  16  per  cent,  in 
1903. 

The  application  of  the  Bertillon  system  of  measurement  and 
identification  has  not  yet  been  made  to  vagrants,  though  it  has 
been  proposed.  We  have  still  to  look  to  the  future  for  uniform 
legislation  in  all  the  States,  and  the  adoption  of  measures  of 

^  The  horrors  of  the  police  station  stone  floor  as  a  lodging  place  are  depicted  in 
W.  A.  Wyckoff's  The  Workers  (The  West),  p.  zi- 


454 


MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 


inspection  and  oversight  which  are  already  in  successful  opera- 
tion in  some  commonwealths.^ 

H.  Medical  Relief  of  the  Poor.^ — In  the  poorhouse  of  each 
county  the  i-nmates  are  ordinarily  treated  by  a  medical  officer 
who  is  paid  a  fixed  sum  by  the  year  or  a  fee  for  each  visit,  ac- 
cording to  a  contract.  As  the  poorhouse  is  usually  at  a  distance 
from  towns  this  service  is  occasionally  very  imperfect  and  suf- 
fering results.  It  seems  certain  that  neglect  of  dental  work  is 
a  cause  of  much  misery  among  paupers,  although  this  is  a  topic 
rarely  thought  of  or  discussed. 

Paupers  are  attended  in  their  homes  by  the  "poor  physician," 
who  is  not  seldom  the  same  person  who  visits  the  inmates  of  the 
poorhouse.  He  is  generally  a  young  man,  fresh  from  the  med- 
ical college,  to  whom  the  practice,  the  small  salary  and  the  dis- 
tinction of  a  modest  office  are  the  considerations.  In  the  large 
towns  and  cities  this  outdoor  medical  relief  is  more  systematically 
ordered  and  connected  with  the  outpatient  departments  of  public 
hospitals. 

The  census  of  1890  gave  the  total  number  of  patients  "in 
benevolent  institutions  in  hospitals"  as  22,473  (12,990  males,  9,483 
females),  of  whom  11,690  were  in  the  North  Atlantic  division, 
1,404  in  the  South  Atlantic,  6,302  in  the  North  Central,  1,611  in 
the  South  Central  and  1,506  in  the  Western.  Of  course  this 
exhibit  for  a  single  day's  registration  gave  an  imperfect  notion 
of  the  total  annual  number  of  patients  treated. 

Hospitals. — The  tables  collected  by  Burdett  indicate  that  the 
finances  of  hospitals  in  this  country  are  so  managed  that  they 
seldom  run  into  debt  and  pay  interest,  and  it  is  said  in  explana- 
tion :  "This  is  very  satisfactory,  because  it  indirectly  proves 
that  the  interest  felt  by  individual  citizens  is  constant  and 
considerable.  It  further  indicates  that  the  financial  management 
is  on  the  whole  satisfactory,  although  the  fact  that  the  majority 
of  the  hospitals  are  rate-supported  may  account  in  some  measure 
for  the  circumstance  to  which  we  refer." 

As  to  the  cost  of  treatment  Burdett  says:  "The  highest  cost 
per  in-patient  per  diem  at  a  general  hospital  in  the  United  States 

^  See  Proceedings  of  National  Conference  of  Charities  and  Correction,   1904, 
for  further  discussion. 
*  By  C.  R.  Henderson. 


THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA 


455 


of  America  is  that  at  the  Johns  Hopkins  Hospital,  Baltimore, 
namely,  $2.25  or  9s.  3d,  Dividing  the  other  hospitals  into  two 
classes,  those  with  200  beds  and  over,  and  those  with  under  200 
beds,  we  find  that  in  the  former  class  at  the  Lakeside  Hospital, 
Cleveland,  the  cost  per  in-patient  per  day  was  $2.18  or  9s.,  at  the 
Pennsylvania  University  Hospital,  $2.12  or  8s.  9d. ;  at  the  Roose- 
velt Hospital,  New  York,  $2.01  or  8s.  4d. ;  at  the  Hartford  Hos- 
pital, $1.90  or  7s.  lod.,  and  at  the  Western  Pennsylvania,  $1.68  or 
6s.  iid. ;  while  at  the  other  end  of  the  scale  is  the  Pennsylvania 
Hospital,  with  $1.24  a  day  or  5s.  id."  In  the  second  class  the 
highest  amount  is  expended  at  the  St.  Luke's  Hospital,  San 
Francisco,  $1.90  or  7s.  lod.,  and  the  lowest  at  the  Garfield  Me- 
morial Hospital,  $1.31  or  5s.  4d.^ 

The  cost  of  maintaining  hospitals  has  greatly  increased  of 
recent  years.  An  officer  of  a  metropolitan  hospital  has  said  that 
in  1871  the  average  cost  of  each  patient  per  diem  was  $1.01 
and  in  1903  had  come  to  be  $2.08,  including  all  expenses  except 
improvements  in  the  plants.  This  increased  cost  per  diem  is 
due  chiefly  to  the  higher  prices  for  food  and  other  necessaries, 
to  the  greatly  improved  methods  of  treatment,  the  higher  stand- 
ards of  care,  and  the  better  wages  paid  for  nurses.  The  aggre- 
gate sums  expended  have  been  increased  because  the  cities  are 
larger,  the  houses  are  more  crowded  and  unfit  for  the  treatment 
of  many  medical  and  almost  all  serious  surgical  cases,  and  be- 
cause there  are  more  persons  in  need  of  charitable  help  during 
sickness  in  the  great  centers  of  immigrant  population. 

In  consequence  of  this  heightened  cost  many  urban  hospitals 
on  private  foundations  are  in  a  serious  financial  condition  and 
compelled  to  face  curtailment  of  service  in  the  face  of  increasing 
need.  Mr.  Frank  Tucker  showed  that  the  deficits  of  twenty 
hospitals  in  New  York  City  in  1902  aggregated  $432,368.78,  and 
he  stated  that  there  were  grounds  for  fearing  that  the  deficits 
were  often  met  by  taking  from  the  principal  of  productive  funds, 
a  policy  which  must  before  long  be  ruinous. 

Several  proposals  have  been  made  for  improving  the  situa- 
tion, but  these  suggestions  are  by  no  means  altogether  consistent 
with  each  other.  It  has  been  urged  that  more  dependents  be 
treated  in  their  homes  and  thus  obviate  the  necessity  for  enlarg- 

^  Burdett's  Hospitals  and  Charities,  1903,  p.  161. 


456  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

ing  hospital  service.  Others  who  think  hospital  service  is  even 
now  inadequate  think  that  immense  endowment  funds  must  be 
raised  so  that  the  interest  on  these  funds  will  cover  the  de- 
ficiencies. The  experiment  has  been  tried  of  charging  even  poor 
persons  a  small  fee,  when  it  is  possible  for  them  to  pay,  but  this 
cannot  be  carried  far  without  excluding  those  who  most  need 
medical  aid.  Others  insist  that  cities  and  counties  should  at  least 
pay  the  full  actual  cost  of  dependent  patients  treated  by  private 
institutions ;  but  this  would  be,  so  far  as  it  went,  public  and  not 
private  charity. 

Meantime  municipalities  are  extending  their  medical  and  sur- 
gical care  of  the  indigent  sick  and  thus  narrowing  the  field  of 
benevolent  institutions.^ 

Dispensaries. — The  medical  dispensary  is  thoroughly  established 
in  the  cities  of  the  United  States.  The  poor  are  attracted  to  it 
for  advice  and  medicines  because  it  enables  them  to  secure  com- 
petent physicians,  and  many  are  utterly  unable  to  pay  the  cus- 
tomary fees.  The  physicians  are  ready  to  render  gratuitous  serv- 
ices from  various  motives,  as  philanthropy,  the  desire  to  advance 
the  interests  of  their  science  and  art,  the  love  of  distinction,  the 
necessity  of  having  clinical  material  for  their  instruction  as 
teachers  in  medical  schools,  and  the  chance  to  advertise  them- 
selves as  practitioners.  The  extent  to  which  dispensary  prac- 
tice is  carried  is  indicated,  though  not  accurately  exhibited,  by 
the  results  of  investigations  in  Philadelphia  and  New  York  City. 
In  Philadelphia  it  was  found  in  1903  that  there  were  61  dis- 
pensaries devoted  to  the  relief  of  the  sick  and  injured,  more  than 
half  of  which  were  connected  with  hospitals.  In  42  of  the  dis- 
pensaries 305,980  cases  were  treated  during  1902.  In  New  York 
876,070  patients  were  treated  during  1900.  There  is  a  manifest 
tendency  to  increased  use  of  the  clinic. 

The  public  is  interested  both  in  the  philanthropic  service  and 
the  scientific  and  professional  results  of  the  clinics.  "It  is  often 
to  the  advantage  of  the  Community  that  persons  able  to  pay  a 
small  fee  should  be  treated  without  further  return  than  their  will- 
ingness to  serve  as  subjects  for  demonstration  for  classes  of  med- 
ical students.  It  is  a  strong  argument  for  confining  free  dispen- 
saries to  teaching  institutions." 

^  See  Charities,  Jan.  2,  1904. 


THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA  457 

The  chief  evils  of  the  dispensary  of  which  physicians  and 
other  competent  observers  complain  are :  the  use  of  the  clinic  by 
persons  who  are  able  to  pay  fees,  and  the  consequent  loss  to  the 
income  of  regular  practitioners  ;  the  pauperization  of  persons  who 
thus  get  something  for  nothing;  the  negligent  treatment  of 
patients  which  arises  from  the  attempt  in  crowded  dispensaries 
to  handle  many  persons  in  a  short  time. 

One  of  the  most  significant  attempts  to  keep  the  free  dispen- 
sary while  minimizing  the  abuses  is  that  of  the  State  of  New 
York.  A  law  provides  that  all  dispensaries  shall  be  licensed  by 
the  State  Board  of  Charities,  and  this  board  has  power  to  inspect 
Hcensed  dispensaries  and,  after  due  notice,  to  revoke  licenses 
if  the  public  interest  seems  to  require  such  action.  All  emer- 
gency cases  must  be  admitted  and  receive  prompt  care  and  treat- 
ment. All  applicants  who  are  thought  to  be  needy  are  treated. 
If  there  is  reason  to  think  the  patient  may  be  able  to  pay,  an 
investigation  is  made  and  the  results  recorded  as  a  means  of 
checking  future  imposition.  A  further  safeguard  is  the  clause 
which  requires  the  patient  to  sign  a  statement  of  his  condition 
and  makes  it  a  misdemeanor  to  record  a  false  statement.^ 

One  of  the  serious  defects  in  medical  relief  in  rural  communi- 
ties is  the  absence  of  proper  hospital  facilities.  Persons  of 
wealth  can  be  taken  to  city  institutions  if  their  physical  condi- 
tions admit  of  transportation.  But  in  numerous  instances  it  is 
not  safe  to  move  the  patient  and  in  cases  of  poverty  the  means 
are  lacking.  Indiana,  by  an  act  of  the  legislature  (March  4, 
1903),  has  authorized  the  establishment  and  maintenance  of  hos- 
pitals by  boards  of  county  commissioners,  either  with  or  with- 
out the  aid  of  hospital  associations.  Indigent  patients  may  be 
sent  to  such  hospitals  on  the  certificate  of  the  township  trustee, 
who  is  the  relieving  officer.  Pay  patients  may  be  received  and 
charged  ordinary  rates  for  such  service.  Indigent  patients  may 
be  received  from  other  counties  for  a  payment  of  cost,  and  two 
or  more  counties  may  unite  in  erecting  a  hospital.  Private  phy- 
sicians may  send  pay  patients  under  regulations  of  the  board. 

It  is  very  common  in  certain  States  for  the  Catholic  sisters 
to  establish  a  hospital  in  a  city  or  town  of  moderate  size,  man- 
age it  with  great  industry  and  economy,  add  to  its  wealth  and 

^  F.  B.  Kirkbride,  Annals  Am.  Acad.,  May,  1894,  p.  16  ff. 


458 


MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 


buildings  from  the  profits  on  pay  patients,  gifts  and  subsidies 
from  the  poor-relief  fund,  and  in  a  few  decades  build  up  institu- 
tions of  the  first  class. 

Red  Cross  Society.^ — The  Red  Cross  Society  came  into  existence 
at  Geneva,  Switzerland,  in  1866,  when  thirty-nine  of  the  leading 
nations  of  the  world  signed  a  treaty  making  neutral  in  war  all 
hospitals,  their  stores,  physicians  and  attendants,  promising  pro- 
tection to  the  latter  who  remained  on  the  battlefield  caring  for 
the  dead  and  wounded,  and  making  obligatory  upon  the  members 
of  the  society  impartial  care  for  every  soldier  of  whatever  nation- 
ality. Under  this  treaty  societies  were  formed  in  each  nation, 
with  a  National  Committee  at  Geneva,  with  a  common  purpose 
of  ameliorating  the  condition  of  the  sick  and  wounded  soldiers 
in  time  of  war. 

When  the  United  States  joined  the  Federation  in  1884  under 
the  leadership  of  Miss  Clara  Barton  the  purpose  of  the  society 
was  extended  to  include  aid  given  in  time  of  national  disaster. 
The  terms  of  the  treaty  were  then  made  to  embrace  the  follow- 
ing: 

(a)  In  each  country  there  shall  be  one  national  central  so- 
ciety to  which  the  auxiliary  societies  in  that  country  shall  be  con- 
tributory, the  central  society  being  the  medium  of  communica- 
tion for  all  within  the  seat  of  war  and  with  medical  authorities. 

(b)  The  societies  shall  in  time  of  peace  keep  themselves 
constantly  prepared  for  war,  thus  securing  permanency  of  organi- 
zation. 

(c)  During  war  succor  shall  be  extended  to  foe  equally  with 
friend. 

(d)  Societies  whose  countries  are  at  peace  may  give  relief 
to  the  belligerent  armies  without  being  considered  as  violators  of 
neutrality. 

In  the  United  States  the  work  of  the  Red  Cross  has  been 
mostly  done  in  time  of  national  disaster,  and  the  public  have 
come  to  depend  upon  the  association  as  a  medium  for  distribu- 
tion of  its  contributions  during  such  times.  The  most  memor- 
able services  of  the  society  were  rendered  at  the  time  of  the  floods 
of  the   Mississippi   and   Ohio  rivers,  the   Michigan  forest  fires, 

^  Written  by  Miss  Ashcraft.  See  "A  Story  of  the  Red  Cross,"  by  Clara 
Barton,  1904. 


THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA  459 

Texas  famine,  Charleston  earthquake,  the  cyclones  at  Mt.  Ver- 
non, Illinois,  and  Pomeroy,  Iowa,  Florida  yellow  fever,  Johns- 
town disaster,  Russian  famine,  the  Armenian  massacres,  the 
Cuban  Reconcentrado  wars  and  the  Spanish-American  War. 

Tuberculosis.  —  The  social  movement  to  contend  against  this 
"white  scourge"  of  mankind  may  be  regarded  as  typical,  for  con- 
sumption is  a  communicable  and  preventable  disease  which  di- 
rectly affects  the  community,  causes  pauperism,  diminishes  indus- 
trial efficiency,  increases  the  burden  of  taxation  and  calls  for 
charitable  assistance  on  a  grand  scale.  The  war  on  consumption 
will  teach  the  nation  how  to  deal  with  pneumonia,  diphtheria, 
skin  diseases,  etc.,  and  will  inspire  hope  of  success. 

Tuberculosis  is  one  of  the  most  serious  causes  of  misery  in 
the  United  States.  One-tenth  of  all  deaths  are  due  to  this  cause ; 
in  the  large  cities  the  proportion  ranges  from  7  to  15  per  cent. 
About  100,000  die  annually  in  this  country  from  this  cause.  Dr. 
Herman  M.  Biggs  has  estimated  that  the  total  annual  loss  to 
New  York  City  from  this  disease  is  at  least  $23,000,000,  and  that 
the  loss  to  the  United  States  must  be  more  than  $330,000,000. 
Here  is  one  of  the  causes  of  pauperism  and  one  of  the  chief  tasks 
of  philanthropy.  Sickness  is  said  to  be  the  cause  of  poverty  in 
at  least  one  case  out  of  four,  and  a  lingering  disease  like  con- 
sumption, especially  as  it  is  likely  to  fall  on  the  bread-winner, 
becomes  a  specially  heavy  burden.^ 

The  fundamental  factor  in  this  hopeful  crusade  against  one 
of  the  chief  causes  of  misery  is  the  advance  in  medical  science, 
the  discoveries  in  relation  to  the  nature  and  causes  of  tubercu- 
losis made  in  pathological  laboratories,  hospitals,  dispensaries 
and  practice.  Social  statistical  investigations  of  the  phenome- 
non in  relation  to  age,  sex,  race,  marital  condition,  occupation, 
dwellings,  income,  etc.,  have  made  important  contributions. 

Philanthropy  has  allied  itself  to  the  medical  profession  and 
furnished  resources  for  the  wise  action  of  experts  in  the  heahng 
art.  Hospitals  and  sanatoria  have  been  built  by  benevolent 
persons,  associations,  religious  bodies,  cities,  commonwealths 
and  the  nation. 

Mr.  Henry  Phipps  gave  $1,000,000  for  the  founding  of  an 

^Lilian  Brandt,  The  Social  Aspects  of  Tuberculosis,  in  Handbook  on  the  Pre- 
vention of  Tuberculosis. 


460 


MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 


institution  for  the  investigation,  cure  and  prevention  of  tuber- 
culosis. Four  cities  (Cincinnati,  Boston,  New  York  and  Buf- 
falo) have  erected  municipal  hospitals.  Pennsylvania  has  a  sani- 
tarium in  its  forests.  Massachusetts  and  9  other  States  have 
sanatoria.  Cook  County,  Illinois,  in  which  Chicago  is  situated, 
has  an  isolated  building  for  pauper  consumptives  on  the  grounds 
of  its  almshouse. 

Dr.  S.  A.  Knopfs  has  given  a  partial  list  of  sanatoria  and  hos- 
pitals for  consumptives  in  the  United  States,  which  shows  that 
such  institutions  exist  in  California,  Colorado,  Connecticut,  Illi- 
nois, Iowa,  Louisiana,  Maryland,  Massachusetts,  Minnesota,  Mis- 
sissippi, Missouri,  New  Mexico,  New  York,  North  Carolina, 
North  Dakota,  Ohio,  Pennsylvania,  Texas  and  in  Canada.  These 
are  supported  by  fees  of  patients,  private  benevolent  associations, 
churches,  counties.  States,  and  by  the  general  government. 

Mr.  Homer  Folks,  when  Commissioner  of  Public  Charities  in 
New  York  City  in  1903,  made  a  study  of  the  cost  of  a  municipal 
sanatorium  for  tuberculous  dependent  patients.  Estimating  the 
cost  of  land  at  $250  per  acre  he  concluded  that  an  institution  for 
500  persons  could  be  provided  at  a  cost  of  $450,000.  In  regard 
to  expense  for  maintenance  he  fovmd  wide  variations,  from 
seventy-five  cents  to  $1.42  per  diem.  He  thought  the  expense 
of  maintenance  in  a  municipal  hospital  might  be  about  $1.00  per 
diem,  including  cost  of  food,  clothing,  bedding,  salaries,  medical 
supplies,  light  and  fuel,  and  ordinary  repairs.  Where  there  is 
good  land  for  vegetable  garden,  dairy  and  light  farming  the  cost 
may  be  somewhat  reduced  by  utilizing  the  labor  of  the  inmates. 

Philadelphia  has  erected,  at  an  expense  of  $80,000,  a  hospital 
constructed  of  steel  and  glass,  with  roofs  and  walls  so  arranged 
that  they  can  be  opened  on  hinges.  New  York  has  built  a  sana- 
torium with  20  beds  in  the  Adirondack  mountains  for  the  treat- 
ment of  incipient  pulmonary  tuberculosis.  The  New  Hampshire 
legislature  in  1903  voted  $5,000  to  aid  poor  consumptives  in  a  pri- 
vate establishment.  New  Jersey  gave  $100,000  for  a  State  hos- 
pital. 

By  means  of  dispensaries,  clinics  and  out-patient  service  of 
hospitals  many  ambulant  cases  have  been  helped  or  cured  and 
made  less  dangerous  to  the  community.     District  nurses'  associa- 

^A  Handbook  on  the  Prevention  of  Tuberculosis,  1903,  pp.  357-9. 


THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA  461 

tions  have  sent  their  missionaries  of  health  among  the  poor  and 
ignorant,  have  mitigated  suffering  and  stayed  the  spread  of  the 
terrible  scourage. 

In  Chicago  the  anti-tuberculosis  movement  was  organized 
in  1903  by  the  Visiting  Nurse  Association  by  the  appointment  of 
a  committee  of  persons  representing  the  medical  profession  and 
the  educational,  charitable,  social  and  industrial  movements  in 
the  city.  District  physicians  examine  and  treat  all  cases  of  con- 
sumption coming  to  the  notice  of  the  visiting  nurses  or  the  Bu- 
reau of  Charities.  The  physicians'  headquarters  are  the  twelve 
district  offices  of  the  bureau,  and  a  visiting  nurse  is  assigned  to 
each  physician,  to  care  for  the  cases  under  his  direction.  Care- 
ful records  are  kept  of  the  clinical  history  and  the  material  sur- 
roundings of  each  case  in  order  to  locate  infected  districts  that 
these  may  be  carefully  investigated.  By  means  of  lectures,  tracts 
and  circulars  popular  instruction  is  given. 

•  Charitable  aid  to  the  sick  and  to  their  families  has  made  it 
possible  for  men  to  remain  away  from  work  until  they  could 
recover  strength  or  has  transferred  them  to  occupations  not  too 
severe  and  to  surroundings  more  favorable  to  improvement. 
Philanthropy,  by  means  of  diet  kitchens,  has  provided  nutritious 
food  at  low  cost  or  gratuitously,  and  gathered  the  money  to  pay 
for  medicines  and  nursing  in  homes. 

Benevolent  enterprise  has  taken  the  form  of  preventive  meth- 
ods, through  the  cooperation  of  public  and  private  agencies. 
Myriads  of  publications,  weighty  with  the  high  authority  of  emi- 
nent names  of  physicians,  have  been  scattered  among  the  people. 
Notices  have  been  fastened  to  the  walls  in  public  places  and  in 
street  cars.  The  people  have  been  warned  that  consumption 
is  a  disease  which  spreads  from  person  to  person ;  that  it  is  chiefly 
caused  by  the  filthy  habit  of  spitting;  that  it  is  a  disease  which 
may  be  stopped ;  that  people  are  seldom  born  with  consumption, 
and  that  it  is  caused  by  a  very  small  living  thing  whose  name 
is  "bacillus  tuberculosis;"  that  these  germs  fall  upon  the  earth 
or  floors  where  one  spits,  are  carried  by  dry  dust  to  throat  and 
lungs,  and  then  set  up  the  deadly  malady.  Men  are  instructed 
that  strong  drink  and  all  forms  of  dissipation  enfeeble  the  body 
and  make  it  more  liable  to  contagion.^ 

^And  the  New  York  Charity  Organization  Society  adds:  "If  you  wish  to  read 


462 


MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 


Charitable  societies  in  cities  have  provided  lectures  by  med- 
ical men  in  schools,  clubs,  churches  and  elsewhere  for  the 
instruction  of  the  people.  Boards  of  health  have  exacted  re- 
ports from  physicians ;  have  isolated  dangerous  cases ;  have 
warned  those  who  were  in  peril ;  have  condemned  unfit  habita- 
tions or  cleansed,  disinfected  and  renovated  those  which  could 
be  improved.  Legislatures  and  councils  have  enacted  police 
ordinances  and  regulations  to  prevent  spitting.  The  whole 
movement  to  secure  better  dwellings  for  the  poor,^  with  neces- 
sary light,  ventilation  and  space,  is  in  alliance  with  the  anti- 
tuberculosis crusade. 

The  C.  O.  S.  of  New  York  City  in  1901  appointed  a  commit- 
tee of  12  physicians  and  15  laymen  to  prosecute  the  effort  to 
instruct  the  public.  In  one  year  83  lectures  were  given  and  there 
was  an  attendance  of  6,290  hearers.  Montreal,  Washington,  St. 
Paul,  New  Haven,  Cambridge,  Scranton,  Chicago,  Boston,  Phila- 
delphia and  other  cities  have  followed  the  same  policy. 

Much  that  is  done  to  prevent  the  adulteration  of  food,  the 
sale  of  decaying  fruits  and  meats  and  impure  milk,  to  secure 
more  ample  space  for  parks  and  playgrounds,  cheap  excursions 
and  country  outings,  vegetable  and  flower  gardens  and  open  air 
recreations  has  for  its  motive  the  prevention  of  enfeebling  dis- 
eases. The  wardens  and  directors  of  prisons  are  laboring  to 
secure  better  light  and  ventilation  in  the  institutions  of  correc- 
tion which  have  long  been  notorious  breeding  spots  for  consump- 
tion, especially  where  they  are  dark  and  crowded,  and  where 
isolation  wards  and  shops  are  not  supplied.  The  managers  of 
theatres  and  other  public  places  of  amusement  are  beginning  to 
heed  the  warning  of  science ;  medical  men  are  urging  churches 
to  have  their  edifices  hygienically  constructed,  well  ventilated 
and  without  fixed  carpets,  and  are  urging  clergymen  to  refuse 
to  lend  their  names  to  patent  medicines,  which  are  so  frequently 
made  of  cheap  whiskey  and  dangerous  ingredients.  Newspapers 
are   exhorted   to   cease   advertising  these   nostrums   and   quack 

more  on  this  important  matter,  write  to  the  C.   O.   S.   for  information."     Other 
societies  are  doing  similar  work. 

^  See  DeForest  and  Veiller,  The  Tenement  House  Problem,  1903,  and  Tenement 
Conditions  in  Chicago  (City  Homes  Association  Report,  1901). 


THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA  463 

remedies  for  consumption.     Employers  are  urged  to  take  proper 
precautions  in  places  of  work,  in  factories  and  stores. 

The  anti-tuberculosis  enterprise  has  inevitably  become  a 
temperance  crusade.  Thus  Dr.  Knopf,  one  of  the  chief  apostles 
of  this  movement,  says:  "Concerning  alcoholism  and  other  in- 
temperate habits,  which  are  so  often  the  forerunners  of  con- 
sumption, I  desire  to  speak  plainly.  ...  I  consider  alcohol  a  medi- 
cine, at  times  indispensable  in  the  treatment  of  certain  diseases; 
but  liquor  as  a  beverage  is  never  useful  and  nearly  always  harm- 
ful. Alcoholism  must  be  considered  the  greatest  enemy  of  the 
welfare  of  the  nation,  the  most  frequent  destroyer  of  family  hap- 
piness, the  cause  of  the  ruin  of  mind,  body,  and  soul;  and  cer- 
tainly the  most  active  cooperator  of  the  deadly  tubercle  bacillus. 
....  Alcohol  has  never  cured  and  never  will  cure  tuberculosis. 
It  will  either  prevent  or  retard  recovery." 

Certain  trade  unions,  especially  those  of  the  garment  workers, 
have  rendered  considerable  help  to  sanitary  officers  by  investiga- 
tions of  their  own ;  and  this  is  an  important  ally. 

M.  Casimir-Perier,  formerly  President  of  France,  in  an  ad- 
dress before  the  Central  International  Tuberculosis  Committee 
in  1903,  said :  "The  struggle  with  tuberculosis  is  intimately 
bound  up  with  the  solution  of  the  most  complex  economic  prob- 
lems, and  no  plans  will  be  complete  which  have  not  for  their 
basis  the  material  and  moral  improvement  of  the  people.  The 
struggle  with  tuberculosis  demands  the  mobilization  of  all  social 
forces,  public  and  private,  official  and  voluntary." 

In  consequence  of  improved  methods  of  dealing  with  con- 
sumption the  mortality  from  this  cause  has  diminished  since 
1890.  In  the  registration  area  the  general  death-rate  in  1890 
was  196.5  in  10,000  population,  and  in  1900  was  178.0  or  9.4  per 
cent. ;  while  the  death-rate  from  consumption  fell  from  24.5  to 
19.1, — a  decrease  of  22.4  per  cent.  In  the  State  of  New  York 
since  1886  the  rate  has  fallen  35  per  cent. ;  the  deaths  from  4.27 
per  cent,  of  population  in  1881  to  2.5  in  1901. 

During  these  years  much  thought,  discussion  and  action  have 
been  devoted  to  tuberculosis.  The  people  generally  have  been 
taught  by  medical  men,  boards  of  health  and  popular  articles  to 
understand  the  nature  and  causes  of  the  disease  and  modes  of 
preventing  communication.     Physicians  themselves  have  a  better 


464  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

knowledge  on  the  subject.  The  cities  have  been  making  a  more 
vigorous  effort  to  secure  better  conditions  of  cleanHness,  and 
the  means  of  sustaining  vitahty  have  been  improved.  Improve- 
ment has  been  5  per  cent,  greater  in  cities  than  in  the  rural  part 
of  the  registration  area. 

J.  Defectives.  The  Blind  and  the  Deai.^ — The  teachers  of 
the  blind  and  of  the  deaf  in  the  United  States  earnestly  protest 
against  classifying  their  pupils  among  objects  of  charity.  They 
assert  that  the  State  acknowledges  the  obligation  of  giving  an 
elementary  education  to  all  children,  and  that  the  schools  for  the 
blind  and  for  the  deaf  are  parts  of  the  free  public  school  system. 
This  plea  is  accepted ;  and  yet,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  these  defects 
do  cause  an  expenditure  for  support  which  is  a  burden  upon  pub- 
lic charity,  and  in  adult  life  special  measures  are  necessary  to  pre- 
vent or  alleviate  the  sufferings  of  the  destitute. 

The  methods  of  instruction  and  training  in  the  schools  should 
be  considered  rather  in  special  works  on  pedagogy  than  in  an 
account  of  charitable  systems.^ 

Defective  Children  in  Public  Schools. — There  are  great  advan- 
tages in  retaining  children  at  home  so  far  as  this  is  possible. 
They  need  the  care  of  father  and  mother  and  the  companionship 
and  freedom  of  family  life,  especially  during  childhood.  The 
burden  of  support  should  fall  primarily  on  the  family  and  the 
neighborhood  of  the  home.  The  artificial  life  of  the  institution 
is  a  poor  preparation  for  the  ordinary  modes  of  existence.  For 
these  reasons  the  public  schools  are  gradually  providing  special 
rooms  and  teachers  for  children  who  are  slow,  refractory,  pe- 
culiar, blind,  deaf  and  crippled.  Thus  in  Chicago  (Report  of 
Superintendent  for  1902)  provision  was  made  in  13  different 
school  buildings  for  23  classes  of  deaf  children,  with  an  enroll- 
ment of  192  and  an  average  daily  attendance  of  148.  The  per 
capita  cost  of  instruction,  including  all  current  expenses,  but  not 
including  repairs  and  permanent  improvements  and  incidentals, 
was  $103.97  ^oi"  the  school  year, — or  $135.15  for  average  daily 

*  By  C.  R.  Henderson. 

^  Education  of  Defectives,  by  E.  E.  Allen,  in  Education  in  the  United  States, 
Ed.  N.  M.  Butler,  iqoo.  Also,  monograph  distributed  at  the  St.  Louis  Exposition, 
1904. — G.  S.  Hall,  Bibliography  of  Education,  p.  254  ff. — W.  S.  Monroe,  Bibli- 
ography of  Education,  p.  82  ff. 


THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA 


465 


attendance.  Provision  was  made  for  blind  children  in  three 
different  public  schools,  in  three  rooms,  with  21  pupils,  and 
$202.35  per  capita  cost  on  enrollment.  In  two  buildings  99  crip- 
pled children  were  taught  by  four  teachers,  in  rooms  especially- 
suited  to  their  needs  on  the  ground  floor;  and  in  the  summer  a 
camp  in  the  country  gives  them  vacation  enjoyments. 

It  is  very  gratifying  to  an  American  to  read  the  favorable  com- 
ments of  Europeans  on  our  methods  of  teaching  and  caring  for 
children  with  defects  of  hearing.  Professor  G.  Ferreri,  after  a 
visit  to  America,  praises  the  location,  the  buildings,  the  sanitary 
arrangements,  the  dormitories,  the  methods  of  instruction  and 
the  spirit  of  hope  which  are  observed  in  our  institutions. 
"L'americano  non  discute  mai  quando  crede  di  fare  un'  opera 
buona."^ 

The  Insane. — The  laws  of  the  several  States  provide  that  an 
insane  person  may  be  placed  in  an  asylum  for  treatment,  without 
his  own  consent,  if  he  is  dangerous  or  even  for  his  own  benefit. 
While  all  the  States  provide  for  the  insane,  private  institutions 
are  also  permitted  to  receive  patients  afflicted  with  mental  dis- 
ease, though  not  without  State  supervision  and  control.  No  per- 
son can  be  deprived  of  liberty  without  judicial  process.  When  a 
State  board  of  lunacy  or  of  charities  has  been  created  these  pri- 
vate establishments  are  placed  under  central  supervision ;  the 
qualifications  of  the  managers  are  made  the  subject  of  inquiry; 
the  facilities  of  the  house  are  examined;  reports  are  required; 
modes  of  treatment  are  studied ;  and  regulations  for  safety  are 
established.  The  general  policy  in  the  United  States  is  to  pro- 
vide for  all  the  dependent  insane  on  grounds  of  public  safety  and 
humane  duty;  to  permit  even  those  who  are  able  to  pay  to  use 
the  hospitals  on  the  ground  that  as  taxpayers  they  have  con- 
tributed to  their  support  and  have  a  right  to  their  benefits  when 
required ;  and  to  give  full  liberty  to  families  of  means  to  make 
more  comfortable  provisions  for  their  unfortunate  relatives  in 
private  institutions  which  are  supervised  by  the  State.^ 

It  is  still  in  doubt  whether  the  number  of  the  insane  is  actually 

^  See  Istituzioni  americane  per  I'educazione  dai  sordomuti,  F.  Ferreri,  1903; 
notice  by  P.  Parise  in  Riv.  Ben.  Pubb.,  Feb.,  1904,  p.  148. 

^  The  law  of  commitment  has  already  been  mentioned  above.  See  also  E. 
Freund,  Police  Power,  p.  242  ff. 

30 


466 


MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 


increasing  in  the  United  States.  The  statistics  probably  indicate 
an  increase  somewhat  more  apparent  than  real  because  more 
patients  are  sent  to  hospitals  and  the  records  of  cases  are  more 
complete  than  formerly.  But  there  is  no  room  for  doubt  that 
the  number  of  the  insane  who  are  dependent  on  public  relief  has 
increased,  and  the  financial  burden  has  become  one  of  the  most 
serious  factors  in  State  taxation,  Massachusetts  has  kept  good 
records  for  over  40  years,  and  while  in  1863  there  were  1,900 
insane  paupers  out  of  6,000.  in  July,  1902,  there  were  8,497  insane 
out  of  16,324  paupers,  an  increase  in  ratio  from  one-third  to  one- 
half.  In  six  States  of  New  England  there  are  19,000  insane  in 
a  population  of  5,800,000,  or  one  to  300  inhabitants. 

In  i860  the  total  number  of  the  insane,  including  idiots,  was 
48,824;  in  1870,  59.677;  and  the  ratios  i  to  728,  and  i  to  637  re- 
spectively. In  1889  the  total  number  treated  in  both  public  and 
private  hospitals  was  97,535-  Dr.  Maudsley's  explanation  of  the 
apparent  increase  in  England  applies  to  the  United  States. 
There  is  no  satisfactory  evidence  of  an  increase  in  the  proportion 
of  cases  of  insanity  to  the  population.  The  registration  of  the 
insane  is  now  more  complete  than  formerly,  the  diagnosis  of  the 
disease  being  better  understood.  The  lower  rate  of  mortality 
accounts  for  part  of  the  total  amount  of  insanity. 

Almost  all  the  States  have  one  or  more  institutions  for  the 
treatment  and  custody  of  the  insane,  and  many  of  these  rank 
among  the  best  in  the  world  and  meet  the  highest  requirements 
of  modern  knowledge.  But  the  provision  remains  inadequate; 
institutions  are  often  crowded ;  acute  cases  are  occasionally  re- 
fused ;  indigent  chronic  patients  are  frequently  sent  back  to  rural 
almshouses  to  suffer  unspeakable  misery  from  ignorance  and 
neglect. 

It  would  be  unprofitable  and  apart  from  the  scope  of  this 
volume  to  enter  into  the  medical  technique  of  treatment  of  the 
insane  in  the  United  States,  since  only  the  methods  of  social 
organization  and  administration  are  here  under  consideration. 
But  there  is  one  matter  which  relates  to  the  professional  side  of 
the  subject  that  should  receive  attention  of  the  public,  the  con- 
nection between  the  merit  system  and  the  advancement  of  that 
branch  of  medical  science  which  deals  with  mental  diseases.  In 
some  way  the  people  must  learn  that  the  most  eminent  service  of 


THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA  467 

investigators  cannot  be  given  by  a  medical  officer  who  is  hounded 
by  partisan  poHticians  and  who  is  uncertain  of  the  tenure  of  his 
office.  The  development  of  knowledge  goes  on  only  in  quiet  and 
security.  Fortunately  in  some  States  these  offices  are  almost 
entirely  "out  of  politics,"  and  the  medical  officers  are  fairly  cer- 
tain that  they  can  go  steadily  on  improving  their  methods  and 
perfecting  their  policies  without  rude  and  brutal  interruption 
from  place-hunters. 

The  writer  would  be  profoundly  gratified  if  he  could  honestly 
publish  to  the  civilized  world  that  this  happy  condition  is  true  of 
all  States ;  but  with  the  evidence  before  him  from  repeated  and 
extended  investigations  he  is  ashamed  to  confess  that  in  some 
commonwealths  the  changes  are  frequent,  unreasonable  and  de- 
structive of  all  possibility  of  contributing  to  the  science  of  psy- 
chiatry or  the  art  of  curing  or  helping  the  insane.  At  the  same 
time  the  abuses  are  not  quite  so  great  or  common  here  as  in  some 
other  branches  of  the  public  care  of  dependents,  because  the 
dangers  to  the  community  are  so  obvious  and  terrible  if  the  help- 
less maniacs  are  entrusted  to  the  incompetent.  In  some  States 
it  remains  true  that  every  time  there  is  a  change  in  the  party 
strength,  or  even  if  a  new  faction  of  a  party  gains  a  victory  over 
the  clique  in  power,  all  the  sviperintendents  and  their  corps  of 
assistants  are  given  notice  that  their  places  are  wanted  for  others, 
and  these  others  are  frequently  persons  without  professional 
training  for  the  positions. 

The  policy  of  providing  for  all  patients  by  the  State  in  Massa- 
chusetts includes  the  following  recommendations  of  the  board : 
hospital  buildings  for  the  acute,  curable  class ;  industrial  and 
home  colonies  for  the  quiet,  harmless  and  able-bodied  insane ;  in- 
firmaries for  the  sick  and  the  feeble ;  buildings  specially  adapted 
to  the  care  and  treatment  of  chronic  patients  who  are  disturbed ; 
farmhouses  for  farm  working  patients ;  tuberculosis  pavilions ; 
separate  houses  for  nurses ;  private  residences  for  superintend- 
ents. 

The  classes  of  persons  who  come  under  the  supervision  of  the 
Massachusetts  Board  of  Insanity  are  the  insane,  the  feeble- 
minded, the  epileptic  and  the  inebriate.  Gradually  all  the  insane 
will  be  removed  from  local  almshouses  to  State  institutions. 
Private  institutions  must  be  licensed  and  supervised  by  the  board. 


468 


MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 


The  experiment  of  boarding  out  a  limited  number  of  harm- 
less patients,  carefully  selected,  in  supervised  families,  is  going 
on  under  the  care  of  the  State  Board  of  Insanity  in  Massachu- 
setts. On  September  30,  1903,  159  patients  were  in  this  cate- 
gory. During  the  year  194  different  persons  were  thus  placed, 
and  the  average  number  at  one  time  144.  The  total  expenditure 
was  $23,050.84,  and  the  weekly  rate  for  public  charges  was  $3.45. 
There  was  no  accident  of  a  serious  nature  during  the  year.  The 
results  in  respect  to  improvement  and  comfort  of  patients  are  re- 
garded as  encouraging.  Most  of  these  patients  are  women  and 
are  boarded  with  farmers  or  with  widows  in  the  country,^ 

The  policy  of  Wisconsin  is  in  contrast  with  that  of  Massa- 
chusetts. This  policy,  which  has  had  considerable  influence  in 
other  States,  is  one  of  county  care  of  the  confirmed  cases  of  in- 
sanity, but  with  supervision  by  the  Board  of  Control.  The  re- 
cent and  supposedly  curable  patients  are  sent  to  the  State  hos- 
pitals, but  when  it  is  thought  that  they  are  beyond  recovery  they 
are  sent  to  the  county  asylum.  It  is  claimed  that  this  plan  is 
economical,  since  the  per  capita  cost  is  less  than  in  a  large  estab- 
lishment ;  and  it  is  also  asserted  by  advocates  of  the  system  that 
it  is  more  humane,  since  the  numbers  kept  together  are  smaller, 
freedom  of  movement  less  constrained,  and  visits  from  relatives 
and  friends  more  frequent.  Criticism  of  the  method  is  very  strong 
in  some  quarters,  and  one  reads  complaints  that  supervision  is 
very  ineffective  where  the  small  institutions  are  so  numerous  and 
widely  scattered.  It  is  also  claimed  that  the  medical  service 
is  defective ;  that  patients  are  sometimes  abused ;  and  that  super- 
intendents trained  to  care  for  the  insane  are  not  and  cannot  be 
provided. 

Certainly  the  Wisconsin  plan  is  far  superior  to  that  of  many 
other  States  where  the  pauper  insane  are  confined  in  county  poor- 
houses  without  any  kind  of  State  supervision.  Some  of  the  de- 
scriptions of  such  poorhouses  are  revolting  in  the  extreme.  As 
there  is  not  room  in  the  State  hospitals  the  dependent  insane  are 
sent  back  to  the  counties  from  which  they  came  to  make  room 
for  acute  and  curable  patients.  The  number  of  the  insane  in- 
creases so  rapidly  that  the  legislatures  are  slow  to  build  enough 

*  Fifth  Annual  Report  of  the  Massachusetts  State  Board  of  Insanity,  1904,  p.  66, 
Dr.  Owen  Copp,  executive  officer. 


THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA  469 

new  hospitals  to  accommodate  all,  and  thus  there  is  no  alternative 
but  to  crowd  the  poorhouses  with  these  helpless  and  often  dan- 
gerous patients.  As  the  superintendents  of  these  small  estab- 
lishments are  without  training  for  the  delicate  task  of  caring  for 
the  insane,  and  as  there  are  seldom  competent  nurses,  the  dis- 
turbed and  violent  patients  are  often  chained  to  a  wall,  or  thrust 
into  a  cell,  or  punished  with  whipping  as  if  they  were  criminals. 
In  some  instances  the  miserable  county  jail  has  been  used  for 
the  confinement  of  lunatics.  Almost  any  kind  of  inspection  by  a 
State  board  will  improve  these  conditions  in  some  degree ;  but 
even  after  many  years  of  such  inspection  stories  of  barbarity  re- 
appear and  shock  the  community,  while  many  of  the  worst  abuses 
never  come  to  the  knowledge  of  the  humane  public.  One  thing 
is  made  perfectly  clear  by  American  experience.  State  central 
control,  as  well  as  supervision,  is  necessary  to  prevent  the  wrongs 
sure  to  occur  in  local  poorhouses  and  jails,  unless  the  oversight 
is  extremely  strict  and  eflfective. 

State  inspection  of  hospitals  for  the  insane  is  a  necessary 
means  of  securing  reliable  service.  This  inspection  is  sometimes 
made  by  boards  of  charities  and  sometimes  by  special  commis- 
sioners. Dr.  D.  H.  Tuke  stated  that  he  found  the  medical  super- 
intendents averse,  in  many  instances,  to  supervision  of  visitors 
who  were  without  medical  training.  He  expressed  the  judg- 
ment: "Some  irritation  and  annoyance  will  almost  inevitably 
arise  at  times,  in  regard  to  advice  tendered  on  points  upon  which 
doctors  ought  to  be,  if  they  are  not,  better  judges  than  their  ad- 
visers. But  it  appears  to  us  that,  officious  and  harassing  as  indi- 
vidual members  may  sometimes  be,  such  a  board  is  of  use,  and 
must  certainly  be  continued  until  medical  lunacy  boards  are  intro- 
duced ;  and  even  then  I  should  regard  it  as  very  desirable  to 
secure  the  unpaid  services  of  the  same  class  of  men  and  women 
as  visitors,  though  no  longer  as  commissioners.  .  .  .  Ladies  may 
prove  invaluable  in  this  way,  for  they  often  see  the  necessity 
of  certain  comforts  and  changes  which  may  escape  the  attention 
of  officials."^ 

Reception  Hospitals. — Very  general  regret  is  expressed  among 
alienists  in  this  country  that  many  families  fail  to  send  their  rela- 
tives to  a  hospital  for  the  insane  until  the  psychosis  is  so  far  ad- 

*  D.  H.  Tuke,  The  Insane  in  the  United  States  and  Canada,  1885,  p.  73. 


470 


MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 


vanced  that  cure  is  hopeless.  The  ordinary  physician  has  httle 
experience  in  the  diagnosis  of  insanity,  and  people  dread  the  dis- 
grace of  having  a  friend  in  the  confinement  of  State  institutions. 
To  remedy  these  evils  it  is  proposed  to  have  wards  of  general 
hospitals  in  cities  set  apart  for  this  class  of  patients,  with  trained 
attendants  and  specialists  in  charge  of  the  medical  service.  To 
enter  these  wards  of  detention  and  observation  a  tedious  and  try- 
ing legal  inquisition  would  not  be  necessary.  Patients  would  go 
to  them  voluntarily.  Some  beginnings  have  been  made  already 
in  this  direction,  as  at  Bellevue  Hospital,  New  York  City ;  Al- 
bany, New  York ;  Philadelphia,  and  at  the  University  Hospital 
at  Ann  Arbor,  Michigan.^ 

Fechlc-Minded  and  Epileptics. — Only  in  part  has  the  difference 
between  the  insane  on  the  one  hand  and  the  feeble-minded  and 
epileptic  on  the  other  been  practically  acknowledged  in  the  social 
methods  of  the  United  States.  It  has  not  been  very  long  since 
they  were  all  herded  together  in  jails  or  almshouses,  or  left,  if 
harmless,  to  go  about  exposed  to  ridicule,  outrage  or  cruelty.  It 
was  an  advance  to  establish  hospitals  and  custodial  asylums  for 
the  insane,  with  whom  idiots  and  epileptics  were  mingled.  It 
was  a  mark  of  further  progress  when  special  wards,  pavilions  or 
cottages  were  assigned  to  epileptics.  Now  the  process  of  further 
specialization  is  urged  by  the  National  Conference  of  Charities 
and  Correction,  by  State  conferences,  by  medical  officers  and  b^ 
enlightened  philanthropists,  and  the  effects  of  this  agitation  are 
to  be  noted.  As  the  sun  moves  from  east  to  west,  so  the  progress 
of  a  social  idea  may  be  observed  to  follow  the  direction  from  New 
England  westward,  along  the  line  of  social  development,  migra- 
tion and  settlement ;  only  that  now  in  the  West  and  South  inde- 
pendent centers  of  original  initiative  are  established  and  multi- 
plied. 

The  earlier  conception  of  work  for  the  feeble-minded  was 
symbolized  in  the  word  "school,"  since  it  was  thought  that  many, 
if  not  most,  of  this  class  could  be  educated  and  trained  for  inde- 
pendent life.  It  is  still  held  that  each  child  should  have-  ali  the 
help  which  can  be  given  it  to  develop  its  limited  and  crippled 
faculties,  but  the  emphasis  has  come  to  be  placed  on  the  idea  of 
custody,   segregation    and    prevention    thereby   of   propagation. 

^  N.  C.  C,  1903,  p.  436,  Drs.  Spink  and  Herdmann. 


THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA 


471 


Rarely  are  those  who  are  seriously  affected  restored  to  civil  life. 
Those  who  wander  about,  or  are  given  freedom  of  entrance  to 
almshouses,  especially  feeble-minded  girls  and  women,  are  ex- 
posed to  grave  dangers  and  evils.  Generations  of  defectives  re- 
turn to  the  poorhouse  and  a  source  of  contamination  is  kept  open. 
Social  defence  calls  for  the  isolation  and  permanent  custody  in 
farm  colonies  of  all  members  of  this  class,  and  this  claim  is  now 
generally  accepted,  although  the  means  of  carrying  out  the  right 
conviction  are  given  grudgingly  by  legislatures.  The  beliefs  of 
scientific  minds  must  be  more  widely  diffused  before  the  back- 
ward States  can  be  brought  up  to  the  level  of  the  more  advanced. 

The  earliest  movement  in  the  United  States  on  behalf  of  the 
feeble-minded  was  made  under  the  leadership  of  Dr.  S.  G.  Howe 
in  Massachusetts,  and  the  legislature  of  that  State  in  1846  appro- 
priated $2,500  for  an  experimental  school.  New  York  followed 
in  1851.  A  private  school  was  opened  at  Barre,  Mass.,  in  1848, 
and  it  is  still  in  successful  operation.  Pennsylvania  established 
a  school  at  Germantown  in  1853.  The  Ohio  Institution  for  the 
Feeble-Minded  was  created  in  1857.  Then  followed  Connecti- 
cut, Kentucky  (i860),  Illinois  (i860),  Iowa  (1876),  Minnesota 
(1879),  Indiana  (1879),  Kansas  (1881),  California  (1883),  Ne- 
braska (1887),  Maryland  (1888),  New  Jersey  (1888-9),  Wash- 
ington (1891),  Michigan  (1895),  Wisconsin  (1897),  North  Da- 
kota. Other  States,  as  Colorado,  New  Hampshire  and  Maine, 
have  made  progress  toward  providing  training  and  asylums  for 
members  of  this  unhappy  class.^ 

The  separate  care  of  epileptics  makes  its  way  more  slowly 
than  that  of  the  feeble-minded,  and  their  situation  in  most  of 
the  States  is  still  truly  pathetic,  especially  when  the  jail  is  the 
only  place  owned  by  the  county  where  the  dangerous  patients 
can  be  restrained.  The  almshouse,  with  its  lack  of  medical  care, 
is  but  one  shade  better.  The  epileptics  are  not  wanted  by  man- 
agers of  the  insane,  for  they  are  a  disturbing  factor  and  render 
recovery  of  other  patients  more  difficult.  Epileptics  themselves, 
in  their  lucid  periods,  feel  the  companionship  of  the  insane  and 
of  the  feeble-minded  to  be  irksome  and,  in  a  degree,  humiliating. 
The  highest  standards  of  science  and  of  humanity  require  sepa- 
rate treatment,  and  a  few  of  the  commonwealths  have  already 

*  Letter  of  Dr.  A.  W.  Wilmarth.  in  Kly,  Evolution  of  Industrial  Society,  p.  183. 


472  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

shown  the  way  for  the  others  by  estabHshing  special  hospitals 
and  colonies  for  epileptics. 

The  State  of  New  York  has  taken  an  advanced  position  in 
the  care  of  epileptic  patients.  The  Brunswick  Home,  incor- 
porated in  1887,  is  a  private  charity.  In  1902  it  cared  for  248 
patients  (epileptics,  idiotic  and  paralytic),  of  whom  "jy  were  pay- 
ing patients  and  171  were  supported  by  public  funds.  But  the 
chief  institution  is  at  Sonyea,  named  from  an  eminent  philanthro- 
pist Craig  Colony,  and  opened  in  January,  1896.  A  steady  de- 
velopment and  a  continuous  policy  have  been  made  possible  be- 
cause the  very  competent  superintendent,  Dr.  William  P.  Sprat- 
ling,  has  directed  the  enterprise  from  its  legal  inception  in  1895, 
and  because  the  boards  of  managers  and  of  State  charities  have 
taken  a  pride  in  protecting  it  from  the  spoilsmen.  The  property 
of  the  institution  at  the  last  report  was  valued  at  $660,517.81. 
The  institution  possesses  1,895  acres  of  land  and  has  a  capacity 
for  830  patients.  The  average  weekly  cost  of  support,  including 
the  value  of  home  and  farm  products  consumed,  was  $3.59;  ex- 
cluding such  value,  $3.16.  Application  for  admission  is  made 
through  the  county  superintendent  of  the  poor.  The  object  of 
the  institution,  as  stated  in  the  law,  is  to  furnish  epileptics  in- 
trusted to  its  care  every  chance  of  recovery  and  improvement  that 
scientific  treatment,  humane  care,  pleasant  and  gentle  associa- 
tions can  provide.  The  institution  is  removed  from  the  excite- 
ments of  city  life  and  gives  on  its  extensive  grounds  an  oppor- 
tunity for  a  quiet,  natural  and  wholesome  existence.  The  entire 
separation  from  all  other  forms  of  disease,  insanity  and  idiocy, 
makes  it  possible  to  give  to  the  patients  the  specific  kind  of  treat- 
ment which  is  best  adapted  to  their  peculiar  needs,  without  the 
necessity  of  making  concessions  to  the  demand  of  afflicted  per- 
sons of  entirely  different  requirements.  At  the  same  time  other 
persons  are  spared  the  pain  and  injury  caused  by  constantly  wit- 
nessing the  terrifying  convulsions  of  epilepsy,  and  the  restraints 
which  accompany  the  dangerous  types  of  this  malady. 

Massachusetts  opened  its  hospital  for  epileptics  in  1898.  It 
then  had  about  220  beds  available  for  patients ;  and  at  the  last 
report  the  daily  average  patient  population  was  409.5  for  the 
year,  of  whom  303.20  were  town  patients,  80.52  State  patients  and 
25.81  private  patients.     On  October  i,  1903,  there  were  913  epi- 


THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA 


473 


leptics  under  supervision  of  the  State  Board,  of  whom  422  were 
in  the  State  Hospital  for  Epileptics,  115  in  the  insane  hospitals, 
93  in  the  School  for  the  Feeble-Minded,  93  in  the  hospital  cot- 
tages for  children,  2  in  private  institutions  for  the  insane,  8  in  a 
private  institution  for  the  feeble-minded,  2  boarded  out.  In  addi- 
tion to  these  there  are  about  100  epileptics  in  city  and  town  alms- 
houses and  in  private  families  under  control  of  overseers  of  the 
poor.  There  are  groups  of  buildings  on  the  farms  and  conges- 
tion at  one  place  is  avoided.  There  is  a  house  for  40  female 
nurses.  No  recoveries  are  reported  but  improvement  is  observed 
in  a  great  majority  of  cases.  The  mortality  was  3  per  cent,  of  the 
whole  number  treated.  The  total  expenditures  for  maintenance 
in  the  last  year  reported  were  $97,162.90,  and  the  property  was 
valued  at  $443,974.24.     The  net  weekly  per  capita  cost  was  $4.09. 

Inebriates. — Public  policy  in  regard  to  the  treatment  of  habitual 
drunkards  is  by  no  means  clear  and  consistent.  The  drunkard 
is  a  sick  man,  in  the  eyes  of  physicians ;  yet  the  hospitals  are  not 
prepared  to  give  adequate  treatment.  Alienists  recognize  brain 
disorder,  but  the  asylums  for  the  insane  cannot,  for  legal  and 
financial  reasons,  retain  a  drunkard  after  he  is  sober  enough  to 
walk  away.  Inebriates  are  very  liable  to  commit  crime  and  are 
generally  dangerous  to  public  order  and  comfort,  but  they  cannot 
be  treated  as  criminals  unless  they  actually  commit  some  offense, 
and  then  a  prison  gives  little  promise  of  healing  their  disease  or 
restoring  them  to  moral  uprightness.  The  medical  profession 
seems  to  be  in  agreement  that  habitual  drunkards,  to  be  per- 
manently cured,  must,  in  many  instances,  be  placed  under  re- 
straint and  held  under  control  for  two  to  four  years,  until  the 
poison  is  eliminated  from  the  body  and  a  new  life  is  built  up. 
For  this  kind  of  treatment  very  little  preparation  has  been  made 
in  the  United  States. 

In  some  commonwealths  the  sellers  of  liquor  are  forbidden 
to  sell  to  intoxicated  or  intemperate  persons.  When  a  statute 
has  been  enacted  creating  a  power  to  restrain  the  drunkard  of 
liberty  and  place  him  imder  treatment  in  an  asylum,  he  must 
have  notice  of  such  action  and  opportunity  to  defend  himself. 
The  ordinary  penal  treatment,  a  short  sentence  in  jail  or  bride- 
well, has  no  value  in  restoration  to  health.  It  disgraces  a  man 
without  helping  him  to  recover  himself. 


474  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

Massachusetts  has  a  Hospital  for  Dipsomaniacs  and  Inebri- 
ates to  which  patients  are  committed  when  they  give  promise  of 
amendment  by  hospital  treatment.  The  fifth  annual  report  of 
the  State  Board  of  Charities  (1904)  states  that  the  average  pa- 
tient population  in  1903  was  140,  against  204  in  1902  and  243  in 
1901.  Some  inquiry  has  been  made  as  to  the  conduct  of  patients 
discharged  since  the  opening  of  the  hospital.  Of  1,043  patients 
who  completed  the  full  course  of  treatment,  243,  or  23  per  cent., 
were  reported  abstinent  or  temperate ;  206,  or  20  per  cent,,  im- 
proved ;  594,  or  57  per  cent.,  unimproved,  unknown  or  deceased. 
The  information  indicates  that  a  certain  number  have  been 
helped,  but  does  not  exactly  reveal  how  many  have  become 
abstainers. 

The  necessity  for  measures  of  restraint  and  close  supervision 
is  shown  in  the  fact  that  in  the  decade  since  the  establishment 
of  the  hospital,  3,005  commitments  have  been  made  and  1,685 
escapes  have  been  effected,  being  56  per  cent,  of  all  commitments. 
Most  of  the  patients  are  supported  at  public  expense. 

The  Census  Bureau  is  now  engaged  in  a  special  investigation 
of  the  statistics  of  crime,  pauperism  and  benevolence,  and  of  the 
deaf,  dumb  and  blind,  but  the  results  are  not  yet  accessible.  We 
have  the  volume  of  the  Tenth  Census  (1880)  on  Defective,  De- 
pendent and  Delinquent  Classes  of  the  Population,  and  two  vol- 
umes of  the  Eleventh  Census  (1890)  on  Crime,  Pauperism  and 
Benevolence,  and  the  volume  on  the  Insane,  Feeble-Minded,  Deaf 
and  Dumb,  and  Blind  in  the  United  States. 

K.  Treatment  of  Children.^ — The  time  has  passed  when 
philanthropy  will  permit  the  adult  and  the  child  to  be  classed 
together.  When  children  were  placed  in  almshouses  and  were 
made  companions  of  the  criminals  in  jail,  the  possibilities  that 
lay  in  the  child  were  overlooked,  for  then  the  work  of  charity 
consisted  merely  in  making  existence  possible  for  those  who  were 
unable  to  care  for  themselves  and  in  keeping  society  untainted 
by  contact  with  its  criminal  members  by  the  intervention  of  the 
stone  wall  and  prison  bars.  But  charity  is  no  longer  satisfied 
with  being  a  mere  conscience  alleviator,  for  it  has  found  among 
its  most  discouraging  tasks  that  the  education  of  ill-bred  youth 
would  restore  to  society  as  useful  citizens  those  who  had  been 

'  By  Miss  Ashcraft. 


THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA  475 

its  dependents.  Work  among  the  children  has  caused  inspira- 
tion and  hope.  Study  and  experience  have  shown  that  the  de- 
pendent and  delinquent  children  differ  from  the  normal  only  in 
that  they  lack  proper  counsel  and  guardianship ;  that  they  have 
been  brought  up  amidst  poverty  and  crime;  that  "home"  is  a 
foreign  word  to  them ;  that  they  have  no  incentives  from  parental 
interest ;  and,  consequently,  see  no  purpose  in  life.  It  is  the  duty 
of  charitable  workers  to  give  these  children  a  chance  to  live, 
surrounded  by  the  opportunities  which  belong  to  them. 

The  Juvenile  Court. — The  institution  of  the  Juvenile  Court  is  a 
recognition  of  this  duty.  Its  object  is  to  reach  the  delinquent 
children  and  juvenile  offenders  who  have  been  accustomed  to 
stand  trial  among  the  criminals,  and  to  become  their  counsellor 
and  guardian.  To  carry  out  its  purpose  several  States  have 
passed  Juvenile  Court  acts,  which  in  substance  have  given  the 
power  to  any  reputable  resident  of  the  State  to  petition  the  court 
and  call  attention  to  a  neglected  or  delinquent  child.  The  acts 
also  provide  that  a  summons  shall  issue  requiring  the  person 
who  has  charge  of  the  child  to  appear  in  the  court  and  give 
answer  to  the  declarations  of  the  petition.  The  court  is  given 
authority  to  appoint  one  or  more  persons  of  good  moral  character 
to  serve  as  probation  officers,  whose  duties  are  to  make  investi- 
gation of  the  case  on  trial,  to  represent  the  interests  of  the  child 
in  court,  to  furnish  the  court  such  information  and  assistance  as 
the  judge  may  require  and  to  take  such  charge  of  any  child  before 
and  after  trial  as  may  be  directed  by  the  court. 

Disposition  of  Delinquent  Children. — The  law  further  provides 
that  in  the  case  of  the  delinquent  child  the  court  may  continue 
the  hearing  from  time  to  time,  or  may  commit  the  child  to  the 
care  of  a  probation  officer,  or  may  allow  the  child  to  remain  at 
home  subject  to  the  visitation  of  the  probation  officer  and  sub- 
ject to  be  returned  to  the  court  for  further  trial  whenever  such 
action  may  appear  to  be  necessary ;  or  the  court  may  cause  the 
child  to  be  placed  in  a  suitable  family  home  subject  to  the  super- 
vision of  the  probation  officer,  or  it  may  authorize  the  child  to  be 
boarded  out  in  some  suitable  family  home  ;  or  the  court  may  com- 
mit the  child,  if  a  boy,  to  a  training  school  for  boys,  and  if  a  girl, 
to  an  industrial  school ;  or  the  court  may  commit  the  child  guilty 
of  criminal  offense  to  any  institution  within  the  county  incorpor- 


476  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

ated  under  the  laws  of  the  State  for  the  care  of  delinquent  chil- 
dren. In  no  case  shall  the  child  be  committed  beyond  his  or  her 
minority. 

The  thirteen  or  fourteen  cities  which  have  introduced  the 
Juvenile  Courts  have  followed  very  closely  the  general  course 
given  above  and  their  work  has  been  successful,  but  attention 
should  be  called  to  several  points  which  the  law  does  not  in  every 
State  cover.  In  the  first  place,  children  awaiting  trial  should  not 
be  committed  to  the  jail  or  police  station.  The  county  or  State 
should  provide  a  suitable  place  for  such  detention.  A  judge 
should  be  chosen  with  special  regard  to  his  ability  in  dealing  with 
children.  Kindly  and  fatherly  admonition  should  take  the  place 
of  many  sentences.  It  is  important  that  no  one  judge  should  be 
required  to  hear  as  many  as  forty  or  fifty  cases  in  one  session. 
The  decisions  are  the  making  or  marring  of  the  child's  career,  and 
time  is  needed  for  deliberation.  Too  much  thought  cannot  be 
spent  upon  the  manner  of  conducting  a  trial.  A  child  will  never 
forget  the  scene  of  a  trial  in  a  confused  and  crowded  courtroom. 
Special  hours  are  set  aside  for  the  trial  of  juvenile  offenders.  Per- 
sons not  connected  with  the  trial  are  requested  to  leave  the  court- 
room. The  officer  who  made  the  arrest  tells  his  story,  the  com- 
plainant his,  and  the  witnesses  are  examined.  The  child  is  called 
to  the  judge's  desk  and  tells  his  story.  Confidential  relations  are 
at  once  established  between  the  child  and  the  judge.  The  pro- 
bation officer  then  makes  his  report,  after  which  the  judge  an- 
nounces his  decision. 

The  Juvenile  Court  has  been  accused  of  being  a  medium 
through  which  parents  have  been  relieved  of  the  responsibility 
of  caring  for  their  wayward  children.  Such  a  tendency  is  pres- 
ent and  it  carries  with  it  its  problem.  It  is  often  necessary  for 
the  sake  of  the  child  to  take  it  from  its  parents.  At  the  same 
time  the  home  is  the  only  place  for  the  natural  development  of 
the  child.  Unfortunately,  the  home  often  means  more  to  the 
child  than  the  child  does  to  the  home.  In  such  cases  the  parents 
need  the  instruction  and  discipline,  not  the  child.  In  this  con- 
nection Colorado  has  provided  penalties  and  the  parent  may  be 
made  to  answer  for  his  neglect  of  the  child  or  for  the  act  which 
resulted  in  delinquency. 

Probation  OfJiccrs. — The  most  important  work  of  the  Juvenile 


THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA  477 

Court  is  done  by  its  probation  officers.  The  object  of  the  proba- 
tion system  is  not  punishment,  but  the  prevention  of  crime  and 
rescue  of  the  child  from  a  criminal  career.  Every  endeavor  is 
made,  especially  after  the  first  offense,  to  give  the  child  another 
and  a  fair  chance  to  show  his  ability  to  live  rightly.  For  this  pur- 
pose a  probation  officer  is  required  to  make  a  complete  investi- 
gation of  the  child's  character,  home  and  environments  before 
the  trial.  After  the  trial  the  care,  custody  and  discipline  of  the 
child  is  made  to  approximate  as  nearly  as  possible  that  which 
should  be  given  by  its  parents,  and  in  all  cases  where  it  is  pos- 
sible to  be  done  the  child  is  placed  in  a  family  home  and  made  a 
member  of  the  family  by  legal  adoption,  or  otherwise.  Wher- 
ever the  child  is  placed  the  probation  officer  is  expected  to  keep 
especial  oversight  by  frequent  visits  and  by  reports  from  the 
parents  or  guardian.  In  some  States  the  period  of  probation  is 
limited  to  three  years,  in  others,  until  the  child  has  reached  his 
or  her  majority. 

Much  is  required  of  the  probation  officers.  They  must  be 
persons  who  have  the  ability  to  enter  into  the  child's  life  and 
exert  an  influence  in  the  home.  The  work  calls  for  much  sac- 
rifice. As  a  rule  the  services  are  voluntary,  no  provision  being 
made  by  law  for  their  compensation.^  In  many  cases,  however, 
the  salaries  are  paid  by  the  contributions  of  the  Women's  Clubs, 
Children's  Aid  Societies  and  other  charitable  organizations. 

The  importance  of  the  probation  system  lies  in  the  fact  that 
the  child  is  no  longer  placed  behind  the  high  walls,  where  con- 
tamination is  warded  off  at  the  expense  of  blunting  the  young 
life,  but  the  child  is  guided  from  the  contagions  of  the  daily 
life  to  a  natural  development.  The  probation  method  also  em- 
phasizes the  importance  of  home  life.  Where  it  is  impossible 
to  raise  the  home  surroundings  and  to  instruct  the  parents  in 
its  care,  a  new  home  is  found.  The  child  is  spurred  on  by  the 
feeling  that  he  has  some  one's  interest  and  sympathy,  and  in  the 
probation  officer  he  has  found  not  only  a  watchman,  but  a  coun- 
sellor and  friend. 

The  following  report  of  the  Juvenile  Court  of  Cook  County 

^  This  may  prove  to  be  merely  a  feature  of  the  pioneer  stage  of  the  movement.  In 
some  States  provision  is  made  by  law  for  payment  of  probation  oificers. — C.  R.  H. 


478 


MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 


shows  in  a  general  way  the  work  that  is  being  done  by  these 
courts:  During  the  year,  from  July  i,  1900,  to  July  i,  1901, 
2,378  children  were  docketed  and  disposed  of  by  the  court.  Of 
these,  1,204  were  delinquents,  126  of  whom  were  girls;  1,071 
were  dependents,  of  whom  528  were  girls;  1,089  were  placed  on 
probation,  658  of  these  being  children  released  from  the  John 
Worthy  School.  There  were  only  195  probationers  returned  to 
the  court.  The  delinquencies  consisted  of  petty  thefts  (374), 
vagrancy  (161),  disorderly  conduct  (261),  and  incorrigibility 
(153).  The  causes  of  dependency  were  lack  of  proper  parental 
care,  desertion,  drunkenness,  or  death  of  one  or  both  of  the 
parents. 

Institutional  Care  of  Children. — What  is  most  needed  in  the  insti- 
tutional care  of  children  is  the  introduction  of  those  elements 
which  will  do  away  with  the  artificial  institutional  life  and  will 
introduce  more  of  the  home  life.  The  Chicago  Jewish  Orphans' 
Home  shows  that  this  end  can  be  reached  even  by  a  large  institu- 
tion. One  feels  in  this  home  that  he  is  in  the  midst  of  a  large 
and  happy  family.  The  children  do  not  get  up  by  bells,  bells 
do  not  summon  them  to  get  in  line  for  dinner  or  bed ;  they  sit 
down  to  their  meals  as  a  large  family.  Once  in  a  while  a  strag- 
gler will  come  in  a  few  minutes  late,  but  it  is  considered  no  crime. 
The  children  attend  the  public  schools.  After  school  they  toss 
their  books  on  the  desk  and  run  out  to  play  with  the  rest  of  the 
children.  After  dinner  they  go  to  the  library,^  where  they  find 
the  superintendent  ready  to  help  them  with  their  lessons,  and  one 
by  one  they  drop  ofif  to  bed.  In  the  superintendent  they  find  a 
father  and  in  the  matron,  a  mother. 

Other  institutions  have  endeavored  to  reach  the  same  results 
by  the  cottage  plan.  Under  this  arrangement  it  is  designed  that 
from  twenty  to  forty  children  shall  occupy  each  cottage  under 
the  direction  of  one  matron.  The  groups  sleep  and  live  in  the 
separate  cottages,  but  the  dining-hall,  school,  chapel,  offices  and 
shops  are  in  the  main  building. 

Support  and  Control. — The  subsidizing  by  the  State  of  the  pri- 
vate institutions  has  begun  to  be  almost  universally  discouraged. 
Where  the  private  institutions  are  unable  to  carry  on  the  work  it 
is  the  duty  of  the  State  to  act.  More  of  the  institutions  should 
be  entirely  under  public  control. 


THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA 


479 


The  general  management  of  State  institutions  is  represented 
by  the  following  methods  as  found  in  different  States. 

Michigan  has  adopted  the  State  school  and  "placing  out"  sys- 
tem. Destitute  and  neglected  children,  committed  by  the  courts, 
become  wards  of  the  State.  They  may,  however,  be  returned  to 
their  parents  by  the  voluntary  action  of  the  board  in  control  of 
the  school.  This  board  is  composed  of  three  unsalaried  mem- 
bers appointed  by  the  Governor.  The  school  is  conducted  on 
the  cottage  plan.  In  connection  with  it  are  the  "placing  out" 
agents  who  are  appointed  in  each  county  to  investigate  applica- 
tions from  families  desiring  to  receive  children,  and  to  visit  the 
children  placed  in  homes  in  the  county  from  any  of  the  State 
institutions. 

The  weak  points  in  the  Ohio  and  Connecticut  plans  speak  for 
themselves.  Ohio  has  provided  homes  in  each  county  under  the 
control  of  a  board  of  trustees  appointed  by  the  county  commis- 
sioners. There  are  no  exact  records  kept  nor  close  supervision 
made  of  "placed  out"  children.  Connecticut  makes  the  homes 
only  temporary  and  provides  for  the  subsidizing  of  the  private 
institution. 

Some  States  put  especial  emphasis  upon  the  "boarding  out" 
and  "placing  out"  systems.  Massachusetts,  Pennsylvania  and 
New  Jersey,  as  a  rule,  board  their  children  in  private  families 
until  permanent  free  homes  in  private  families  can  be  found. 

When  public  attention  was  called  to  the  evils  connected  with 
the  care  of  children  in  almshouses  it  was  natural  that  people 
should  seek  to  place  them  in  private  institutions  or  in  families ; 
and  in  Ohio  and  Indiana  the  county  authorities  began  to  provide 
in  various  ways  for  separate  institutional  local  care.  This  was 
a  decided  advance,  and  yet  it  has  proved  to  be  a  transitional  and 
provisional  method.  As  early  as  1866  the  Ohio  legislature  took 
action  which  gave  support  to  a  children's  home,  and  gradually 
the  system  of  county  homes  has  been  developed  and  children 
taken  from  infirmaries.  Trustees  without  pay  are  appointed  by 
the  county  board  to  direct  the  school,  and  a  visitor  is  appointed 
in  the  county  to  place  children  in  families.  Each  institution  has 
its  own  school  and  some  institutions  have  kindergartens.  Be- 
tween 1866  and  1899  5^'  bomes  were  established.  The  impor- 
tance of  placing  ovit  children  was  not  realized  for  several  years. 


48o 


MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 


In  1900  only  two  homes  were  employing  agents  for  this  purpose. 
May,  1901,  48  of  the  88  counties  had  county  homes,  each  with  its 
own  board  of  trustees.  Nine  counties  maintained  children  in 
private  institutions. 

In  25  counties  there  were  no  homes,  either  public  or  semi- 
public,  and  in  these  cases  provision  was  made  in  the  homes  of 
other  counties.  In  April,  1901,  there  were  in  51  homes,  2,260 
inmates,  the  average  age  of  whom  was  over  9  years.  It  was  not 
until  1902  that  the  legislature  provided  for  State  agents  to  facili- 
tate the  placing  out  and  supervision  of  children.  Local  ad- 
ministration had  proved  to  be  inadequate  and  central  control 
necessary,  and  the  success  in  Indiana  influenced  a  change.  In 
1902  there  were  3,281  children  in  the  county  institutions,  and  the 
expense  for  care  was  $308,696.87.  The  report  for  1903  shows 
the  eflfect  of  State  intervention  and  of  the  recent  demand  for  plac- 
ing out.  There  were  then  43  homes,  several  having  been  closed, 
and  the  number  retained  is  diminishing.  The  tendency  is  toward 
the  reduction  of  the  number  of  institutions,  the  improvement  of 
their  management,  the  placing  of  children  in  families  and  the 
reduction  of  expense.' 

In  1881  the  legislature  of  Indiana  authorized  boards  of  county 
commissioners  to  establish  homes  for  orphans  in  order  to  give 
asylum  to  children  then  kept  in  almshouses.  In  1897  was  estab- 
lished the  system  of  State  supervision  of  county  institutions  and 
the  placing-out  agency  of  the  State  Board  of  Charities,  and  a 
law  was  enacted  requiring  the  removal  of  children  from  the 
poorhouses.  In  consequences  of  the  new  policy  not  only  are  the 
children  removed  from  contact  with  paupers,  but  the  number 
of  and  population  of  county  homes  is  reduced.  The  average  ex- 
pense for  each  child  was  $229.57  at  25  cents  a  day,  and  this  is 
saved  by  placing  in  families. ~ 

Michigan  was  fortunate  in  the  early  discovery  of  the  wisdom 
of  central  management  of  State  wards,  and  in  1874  led  the  ad- 
vance movement  by  establishing  its  State  public  school  and  its 
system  of  selection  and  supervision  of  families  by  its  own  agents. 
Hence  this  State  has  not  built  up  a  series  of  petty  local  estab- 
lishments and  has  none   to   destroy.      Nor  has   it  become   en- 

^  Ohio  Bulletin,  lo,  i'903,  Vol.  lo. 

*i3th  Report  of  Board  of  State  Charities  of  Indiana,  1902. 


THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA  481 

tangled  in  alliances  with  private  institutions  to  which  it  must 
pay  subsidies,  as  in  New  York  and  California. 

The  scope  of  the  work  yet  to  be  done  in  addition  to  combin- 
ing and  altering  the  above  plans  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  the 
following  States  have  no  public  system  of  caring  for  children 
except  outdoor  relief,  almshouses,  and  occasional  "placing  out" 
in  families,  either  directly  or  through  "placing  out"  agencies: 
Alabama,  Arkansas,  Florida,  Georgia,  Idaho,  Illinois,  Missouri, 
Iowa,  Kentucky,  Louisiana,  Mississippi,  North  Carolina,  South 
Carolina,  South  Dakota,  Tennessee,  Utah,  Vermont,  West  Ver- 
ginia  and  Wyoming. 

"Placing  Out"  System. — As  has  been  indicated,  the  object  of  the 
institution  is  becoming  more  and  more  to  serve  as  a  temporary 
home  for  the  children.  The  goal  which  it  is  the  endeavor  to 
reach  is  to  find  a  suitable  home  for  each  child.  Care  must  be 
taken  in  the  selection  of  such  a  home.  Where  the  system  is 
used  with  best  success  careful  investigation  is  made  of  the  home, 
surroundings  and  guardians.  The  child  and  the  home  are  visited 
regularly,  and  the  institution  through  its  agent  kept  in  close  com- 
munication with  the  child.  The  "placing  out"  system  is  too 
apt  to  be  used  as  a  convenient  way  of  disposing  of  the  wards  of 
the  State.  The  children  after  leaving  the  institution  are  too 
often  lost  sight  of.  Careful  records  are  necessary,  giving  the 
child's  previous  history,  as  far  as  known,  and  reporting  the  prog- 
ress made  in  the  institution's  care. 

Life  in  the  Institution. — The  time  that  the  children  are  in  the  insti- 
tution is  spent  in  preparing  them  to  take  their  place  in  the  work- 
a-day  world.  When  it  is  impossible  to  send  them  to  the  public 
schools  the  institution  usually  has  its  own  school  rooms.  Out 
of  school  hours  the  boys  have  classes  in  manual  training  and 
sloyd,  and  the  girls  their  classes  in  sewing,  cooking  and  house- 
work. There  should  be  a  kindergarten  and  nursery  in  every 
institution  for  the  younger  children.  On  Sunday  there  are  Sun- 
day school  or  chapel  exercises  in  the  home,  or  the  children  attend 
the  churches  in  the  neighborhood. 

Foundling  Asylums. — The  care  of  foundlings  and  abandoned  in- 
fants is  a  problem  which  as  yet  is  far  from  being  solved.  The 
object  of  endeavor  along  this  line  is  toward  the  saving  of  the 
child  and  restoration  of  the  parents,  but  it  is  a  difficult  task  and 

31 


482 


MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 


many  of  the  efforts  which  have  been  exerted  to  save  the  child 
have  resulted  in  the  greater  moral  degradation  of  the  parents. 
Among  the  methods  now  in  existence  the  baby-farm,  where  in- 
fants are  adopted  and  placed  in  the  hands  of  some  home-finding 
society,  and  the  institutions  where  no  investigations  are  made, 
are  institutions  to  be  condemned.  Careful  investigation  should 
be  insisted  upon,  and  the  legal  responsibility  for  support  enforced 
upon  both  parents. 

Marriage  has  often  been  the  device  for  the  rescue  of  the  un- 
married mother,  but  no  general  rule  can  be  laid  down.  Separa- 
tion is  often  better  for  both  the  child  and  the  parent.  Wherever 
it  is  possible,  however,  the  mother  should  be  urged  to  remain  with 
the  child.  This  is  often  accomplished  by  securing  a  position  in 
domestic  service  where  she  can  take  the  child  with  her.  Rural 
communities  afford  many  such  accommodations. 

Experience  has  shown  that  the  large  institutions  which  at- 
tempt to  care  for  a  great  number  of  infants  are  not  advisable. 
The  ideal  method  at  present  calls  for  a  small  hospital  for  the 
temporary  shelter  of  the  children.  Then  in  cases  where  it  is 
impossible  to  bring  either  parent  to  the  sense  of  their  responsi- 
bilities or  to  arouse  parental  affection  the  child  should  be  placed 
in  a  home  where  it  can  receive  good,  motherly  care.  Experience 
has  shown  that  as  a  rule  the  children  should  not  at  once  be 
placed  out  for  adoption,  but  wherever  placed  should  be  under  the 
supervision  and  medical  care  of  a  hospital. 

Partial  Care:  Day  Nurseries. — The  day  nursery  began  as  a  place 
where  mothers  might  leave  their  babies  while  they  went  out  to 
work.  Its  usefulness  has  broadened  until  it  has  become  a  train- 
ing school  for  the  little  men  and  women  to  come.  It  has  games 
for  the  children  to  direct  their  thoughts.  It  is  forming  their 
habits  and  making  them  lovers  of  cleanliness.  That  it  might  not 
rob  the  parents  of  their  sense  of  responsibility  in  the  care  of  the 
child  it  has  strictly  provided  that  its  benefits  shall  be  only  for  the 
working  people  unable  to  provide  for  their  children  and  for  work- 
ing mothers,  preference  being  given  to  widows.  That  it  may 
reach  only  these  people  careful  records  are  kept  and  investiga- 
tions often  in  cooperation  with  the  associated  charities  are  made 
before  the  children  are  received. 

For  the  successful  carrying  out  of  its  purpose  the  nursery 


THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA  483 

itself  needs  careful  supervision.  Regulations  need  to  be  adopted 
and  faithfully  followed  by  every  nursery,  limiting  the  number  of 
children  to  be  admitted,  requiring  the  use  of  iron  beds  and  wire 
mattresses  covered  with  blankets.  Due  consideration  must  be 
given  to  ventilation  of  the  room ;  the  outside  garments  of  the 
children  should  be  fumigated  daily ;  children  who  have  come  from 
quarters  infected  with  contagious  disease  should  not  be  admitted, 
or  should  be  confined  in  separate  rooms ;  a  regular  physician  is 
needed  in  daily  attendance,  or  within  call;  and  any  child  show- 
ing any  unusual  symptoms  should  be  isolated  until  its  case  can 
be  decided  upon. 

The  working  of  an  ideal  nursery  is  given  in  a  report  of  the 
Virginia  Day  Nursery  of  New  York.  At  this  nursery  at  the 
nominal  charge  of  5c  a  day  children  under  seven  years  may  be 
cared  for,  receiving  two  meals  a  day,  and  in  addition,  a  phy- 
sician's supervision,  physical  care,  kindergarten  instruction, 
amusement  and  the  opportunity  for  sleep  and  rest.  There  are 
two  play  rooms  on  the  roof,  one  enclosed  and  one  shaded  by  an 
awning.  The  construction  and  appointments  of  the  building  are 
in  keeping  with  modern,  scientific  and  hygienic  requirements. 
The  house  has  beds  and  swinging  cribs  for  seventy-five  children, 
three  bath  rooms,  rooms  for  the  matron  and  attendants,  and  iso- 
lation rooms  for  use  in  sickness,  dining-room,  kitchen  and  laun- 
dry. Mothers'  meetings  are  held  at  the  nursery  with  instruction 
on  sanitary  topics,  and  in  cooking,  sewing  and  the  care  of  the 
home  and  children.  The  work  of  the  nursery  is  reaching  more 
and  more  into  the  crowded  tenement  house  sections  in  the 
vicinity. 

Federations  of  day  nurseries  are  being  formed,  with  encour- 
aging results.  The  object  of  these  federations,  as  stated  by  the 
New  York  Association,  is  "to  benefit  by  conference  the  work 
done  by  the  nurseries,  the  extension  of  the  work  into  the  needy 
districts  of  the  city  and  the  encouragement  and  development  of 
every  feature  which  shall  educate  and  elevate  the  beneficiaries." 
There  is  also  a  general  federation  of  day  nurseries  whose  purpose 
is  to  have  a  central  body  uniting  all  the  day  nurseries  through- 
out the  United  States,  so  that  by  united  effort  the  standard  of 
the  day  nursery  may  be  raised  to  a  high  level. 

Kindergartens. — The  need  of  kindergartens  among  the  poor  chil- 


484  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

dren  is  every  day  becoming  more  evident.  A  worker  among  the 
children  has  observed  that  "many  poor  children  of  our  cities  are 
living  under  inhuman  conditions.  The  over-worked  mother, 
helping  in  the  wage-earning,  has  little  time  or  desire  to  make 
home  what  it  should  be.  The  child  is  naturally  the  sufferer. 
Poverty  starves  the  spirit  and  robs  him  of  his  childhood.  The 
mind  of  the  child  should  have  thoughtful  attention  and  direction. 
The  kindergarten,  with  its  large  airy  room,  its  pictures,  grow- 
ing plants  and  happy  atmosphere,  gives  the  young  human  plants 
a  hardy,  eager,  vigorous  growth.  The  sense  of  beauty,  harmony 
and  order  found  here  are  in  broad  contrast  with  the  child's  home 
surroundings." 

A  great  influence  is  exerted  by  the  kindergarten  on  the  home. 
In  the  first  place,  there  is  a  general  awakening  of  the  child. 
Through  its  games  the  social  nature  is  developed,  its  songs  and 
plays  brighten  the  home.  The  mother  is  reached  through  the 
mothers'  meetings,  she  is  benefited  by  association  with  the  kin- 
dergartner,  and  by  instruction  in  discipline,  games,  cleanliness, 
clothing,  etc.  The  social  time  that  these  meetings  afford  also 
means  much  to  her. 

School  Cliildrcii's  Aid. — The  work  that  is  being  done  by  the 
School  Children's  Aid  Society  of  Chicago  illustrates  some  of  the 
work  that  is  being  done  among  the  school  children.  The  object 
of  this  society  is  to  enable  the  children  to  attend  the  public 
schools  comfortably  clad,  who  by  reason  of  poverty  or  other 
causes  have  been  neglected,  and  who,  by  the  enactment  of  the 
compulsory  law,  would  be  forced  into  school  wretchedly  clothed. 
The  society  is  a  voluntary  one,  being  supported  by  contributions 
from  the  charitable,  the  contents  of  globes  placed  throughout 
the  city  and  a  Thanksgiving  offering  of  the  school  children.  The 
Board  of  Education  assists  the  society  by  furnishing  a  distrib- 
uting room,  heat,  janitor  service  and  the  delivery  of  the  cloth- 
ing to  the  respective  schools,  all  orders  being  given  through  the 
teachers.  The  sewing  is  largely  contributed  by  the  sewing 
societies  of  the  city.     Nothing  but  new  clothing  is  distributed. 

Besides  distributing  clothing  the  society  cooperates  with  the 
Bureau  of  Charities  and  Truant  Oflficers  in  placing  children  in 
school  who  have  been  deprived  of  this  right  by  parental  greed 
or  indifference.     It  also  extends  its  work  into  the  homes  of  the 


THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA  485 

children,  bringing  to  the  notice  of  the  benevolent  associations, 
or  individuals,  many  cases  of  suffering  found  there. 

The  health  of  the  school  children  is  also  looked  after.  The 
practice  of  physicians  visiting  the  schools  and  inspecting  the 
general  health  of  the  children  has  been  in  operation  for  some 
time.  Recently  in  New  York  two  trained  nurses  have  been 
assigned  to  the  schools  in  the  neglected  districts.  Their  duty  is 
to  treat  minor  disorders  in  school  and  to  visit  the  homes  of  the 
children  and  instruct  their  mothers  in  the  treatment,  and  advise 
in  the  more  serious  cases.  The  nurses  also  distribute  leaflets 
containing  advice  to  the  children  about  personal  cleanliness.  To 
all  children  who  cannot  afford  it  are  furnished  soap,  towel  and 
tooth  brushes. 

Sick  and  Weak  Children. — The  work  for  sick  and  weak  children 
has  not  yet  received  its  due  share  of  attention.  It  is  one  branch 
of  charity  which  has  not  been  thoroughly  organized,  but  its 
work  has  begun,  and  organization  will  undoubtedly  follow. 
Among  its  general  efforts  are  the  Day  or  Fresh  Air  Sanatoriums. 
In  their  tents  or  houses  by  the  lake  or  sea  they  have  nursed  many 
children  through  the  hot  summer  days.  Attendants,  physicians 
and  a  corps  of  nurses,  supported  by  voluntary  contributions,  have 
carried  on  the  work.  Cleanliness  has  been  their  watchword  in 
the  care  of  their  little  patients.  For  their  future  protection  their 
mothers  have  been  given  instruction  in  their  care. 

But  the  work  of  the  sanatoriums  has  not  reached  as  many  chil- 
dren as  it  should.  Their  distance  from  the  crowded  tene- 
ment districts  will  always  prove  a  barrier,  although  transpor- 
tation is  furnished  free.  It  is  hard  for  the  mother  to  leave  home, 
or  it  is  almost  impossible  for  a  very  sick  child  to  make  the  trip 
daily,  as  most  of  the  sanatoriums  are  not  provided  with  the  equip- 
ments for  caring  for  any  but  day  patients.  Until  such  obstacles 
have  been  overcome  the  possibilities  of  the  work  cannot  be 
realized.  When  the  sanatorium  admits  day  and  night  patients 
a  permanent  building  is  necessary.  The  work  is  under  the  di- 
rection of  a  board  of  managers,  with  a  resident  nurse,  a  physician 
and  assistants ;  an  isolation  ward  for  contagious  diseases  is  essen- 
tial. There  should  be  ample  facilities  for  bathing,  both  for  the 
children  and  the  mothers.  Provision  is  often  made  for  caring 
for  the  sick  mother,  but  unless  the  mother  is  sick  it  is  rarely  ad- 


486  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

visable  that  she  should  remain  with  the  child.  The  medicine 
chest  needs  to  be  well  supplied  and  the  linen  closet  amply  stored. 
There  should  be  a  dining-room,  diet  kitchen  with  necessary  pro- 
vision for  the  preparation  of  special  foods,  such  as  sterilized  milk, 
etc. 

The  treatment  at  the  sanatorium  should  be  followed  by  fre- 
quent visits  to  the  home,  for  the  supervision  of  the  child's  care 
and  food.  Careful  records  should  be  kept.  The  receiving  and 
visiting  of  the  children  is  best  accomplished  through  cooperation 
with  the  Associated  Charities,  or  Children's  Aid  Societies. 

St.  John's  Guild  of  New  York  City  has  conducted  a  novel 
society  which  is  suggestive  of  the  possibilities  of  this  work. 
Under  their  direction  a  barge,  appropriately  named  "The  Float- 
ing Hospital,"  makes  six  trips  weekly  to  the  lower  bay.  For  ad- 
mission to  the  privileges  of  the  barge,  tickets  are  distributed  to 
the  poor  mothers  with  sick  babies  or  young  children  by  physi- 
cians at  the  city  hospitals  and  dispensaries,  or  at  work  among  the 
poor.  Fifteen  hundred  people  are  comfortably  cared  for  on  each 
excursion.  A  physician  from  the  Board  of  Health  is  in  attend- 
ance and  guards  against  the  admission  of  contagious  diseases. 
The  attendant  physician  and  his  staff  of  trained  nurses  attend 
to  the  needs  of  each  family  group.  The  "Floating  Hospital"  is 
provided  with  abundant  bathing  facilities.  A  hot  meal  is  served 
at  noon  to  the  adults  and  sterilized  milk  twice  daily  to  the  babies. 

On  Staten  Island,  the  destination  of  the  "Floating  Hospital," 
is  erected  the  guild's  Seaside  Hospital,  where  the  most  serious 
cases  are  transferred.  Wherever  it  is  possible,  the  mother  re- 
mains and  assists  in  nursing  the  baby.  Where  she  cannot  be 
spared  from  home  over  night  season  tickets  are  given  good  for  a 
succession  of  trips. 

Indigent  Crippled  Children. — Humanity  and  economy  are  good 
grounds  for  timely  care  of  children  who  may  be  made  strong  and 
industrially  productive  if  their  defects  are  early  brought  under 
skillful  treatment.  Minnesota  in  1899  made  an  arrangement  with 
the  State  university  and  with  a  hospital  for  the  treatment  of 
crippled  children,  and  the  legislature  voted  an  appropriation  of 
$10,000  for  the  purpose.  At  the  beginning  of  the  year,  August  i, 
1899,  28  children  were  in  the  hospital.  The  average  cost  per 
child  was  $193.56.     The  results  were  satisfactory,  and  the  appro- 


THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA  487 

priation  was  renewed  for  1902-3.  The  Ohio  legislature  of  1902 
ordered  the  appointment  of  a  commission  to  consider  this  matter. 

Seaside  and  Country  Outings. — This  work  began  by  taking  a  few 
children  to  spend  the  day  in  the  park.  Their  wild  enthusiasm 
over  the  grass  and  "real  trees,"  and  their  shouts  of  joy  at  the 
sight  of  water  revealed  to  charity  workers  that  what  these  chil- 
dren needed  more  than  an3^thing  else  was  to  become  acquainted 
with  nature  and  have  a  chance  to  live  in  the  great  "real  world," 
a  world  where  their  ambitions  might  have  room  to  develop  and 
their  ideals  to  broaden.  The  revelation  aroused  the  determina- 
tion to  create  an  opportunity.  Kind  people  were  found  in  the 
country  who  were  willing  to  share  for  a  few  weeks  the  pleasures 
of  their  homes  and  farm  life  with  the  little  children  from  the 
crowded  city.  Where  it  was  impossible  to  find  a  sufficient  num- 
ber of  hosts  and  hostesses,  parties  of  women  and  children  have 
been  boarded  in  the  country,  or,  better  still,  a  camp  has  been 
established  in  the  woods  or  on  the  shores  of  some  lake. 

Under  whatever  form  the  summer  outings  do  their  work  a 
careful  supervision  is  necessary.  If  children  are  placed  in  homes, 
endeavor  is  made  to  select  homes  to  suit  the  children  and  the 
children  the  homes.  In  establishing  a  camp  a  site  should  be 
chosen  in  a  beautiful  spot  in  the  woods,  or  on  the  lake  front, 
but  by  all  means  not  in  a  vacant  lot  in  the  residence  district.  An 
ideal  camp  is  equipped  with  one  or  more  sleeping  tents  adjoining 
a  cooking  tent.  The  camp  belongs  to  the  children,  and  in  the 
camp  life  each  should  bear  his  or  her  share  of  the  burden,  tak- 
ing turns  in  being  dish  washers,  milk  boys  and  camp  cleaners. 
Much  depends  upon  the  play  activities  of  the  camp  life.  The 
program  of  one  successful  camp  reads  as  follows : 

"The  morning  we  spend  in  rambles  about  the  beautiful  coun- 
try, studying  geological  constructions,  picking  flowers  and  berries 
and  chasing  rabbits.  In  the  evening  the  swimming  hole  is  the 
center  of  attraction.  Baseball  is  the  boys'  chief  sport,  and  the 
playing  of  theatre  is  one  of  the  girls'  favorite  pastimes.  After 
supper  we  gather  on  top  of  the  hill  for  our  little  vesper  service, 
where  we  read  or  tell  stories  and  sing  familiar  hymns." 

Some  of  the  most  commendable  branches  of  the  summer  out- 
ing work  has  been  done  among  delinquent  children.  A  sum- 
mer home  is  maintained  for  the  inmates  of  the  industrial  schools. 


488  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

These  are  the  children  who  most  need  to  be  reached,  and  this  is 
the  way  to  reach  them. 

City  Play  Grounds. — Play  grounds  have  been  established  in  be- 
half of  the  children  whose  only  opportunity  for  play  has  been 
limited  to  the  narrow  street  or  alley.  Until  a  few  years  ago  the 
city  seemed  satisfied  with  having  taken  care  of  these  children 
during  school  hours.  After  school  its  only  care  was  to  hurry 
them  out  in  the  street,  locking  the  gates  behind  them  to  guard 
the  only  patch  of  green  grass  the  neighborhood  possessed.  But 
the  municipality  has  become  awakened  to  the  fact  that  many  of 
its  little  citizens  were  growing  up  with  a  misconception  of  social 
conduct  because  their  opportunities  for  forming  social  habits  in 
play  were  so  meagre.  In  consequence  the  school-house  gates 
now  always  stand  open,  so  that  as  within  the  building  the  chil- 
dren are  taught  how  to  know,  so  without  they  are  taught  how  to 
live. 

The  city  has  not  been  content  to  convert  its  school  yards  into 
play  grounds,  but  has  utilized  for  this  purpose  vacant  lots,  and 
even  roofs  of  buildings  in  its  most  populous  districts.  In  Boston, 
Philadelphia,  New  York  and  Chicago  the  play  grounds  have 
been  well  established.  New  York  City  has  required  every  new 
school  building  to  have  an  open  air  play  ground  attached.  The 
ideal  play  ground  is  equipped  with  a  complete  outdoor  gym- 
nasium and  running  track,  swings,  sand  bins,  shower  baths,  toilet 
rooms,  and  where  possible,  a  swimming  tank.  Experienced 
teachers  are  in  charge  to  direct  the  games.  There  is  also  a  room 
and  kindergarten  for  the  little  folks. 

In  winter  the  play  ground  sends  its  devotees  to  the  play  room, 
where  both  afternoon  and  evening  the  children  meet  to  play 
games,  to  sew  or  to  read.  Chicago  and  several  other  cities  have 
tried  the  successful  experiment  of  flooding  the  play  grounds  and 
vacant  lots  for  skating  rinks.  Thus  in  winter  as  well  as  in  sum- 
mer the  children  are  provided  with  play  grounds  which,  as  Jacob 
Riis  says,  are  the  "royal  paths  out  of  the  slums." 

Care  of  the  Morally  Imperilled  Children. — The  provisions  made 
by  the  States  for  the  care  of  their  morally  imperilled  children  are 
very  similar.  The  provision  made  by  Illinois  may  be  taken  as 
typical.  The  statutes  of  this  State  class  these  children  as  neg- 
lected and  dependent,  applying  these  terms  to  any  child  who  for 


THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA  489 

any  reason  is  destitute  or  homeless,  or  abandoned  and  dependent 
upon  the  pubhc  for  support,  or  who  has  not  proper  parental  care 
or  guardianship,  or  who  habitually  begs  or  receives  alms,  or  is 
found  living  in  any  house  of  ill-fame,  or  with  vicious  or  disrepu- 
table persons,  or  whose  home  by  reason  of  neglect  or  depravity 
on  the  part  of  the  parents  or  guardians  is  an  unfit  place  for  such 
child,  or  who  from  any  cause  shall  be  a  wanderer  through  the 
streets  and  alleys  or  in  public  places,  and  any  child  under  the  age 
of  ten  years  who  is  found  begging,  peddling  or  selling  any  article, 
or  singing  or  playing  any  musical  instrument  upon  the  street,  or 
giving  any  public  entertainment,  or  who  accompanies  or  is  in 
aid  of  any  person  so  doing.  Such  children  the  State  empowers 
the  court  to  commit  to  some  suitable  State  institution,  or  to  the 
care  of  some  reputable  citizen  of  good  moral  character,  or  to  the 
care  of  some  training  school,  or  an  industrial  school  as  provided 
by  law,  or  to  the  care  of  some  association  embracing  in  its  object 
the  purpose  of  caring  for  or  obtaining  homes  for  dependent  or 
neglected  children.  The  court  may  also,  when  the  health  or  the 
condition  of  the  child  so  requires  it,  cause  such  child  to  be  placed 
in  a  public  hospital  or  institvition  for  treatment,  or  special  care,  or 
in  a  private  hospital  or  institution  which  will  receive  it  for  like 
purposes  without  charge. 

Reference  has  already  been  made  to  the  State's  care  of  these 
children  through  its  probation  officers.  The  weakness  and 
strength  of  its  institutional  provisions  have  also  been  considered. 
Attention  is  here  called  to  the  inadequate  provision  made  by  the 
State  to  carry  out  the  purpose  of  this  law  for  the  treatment  of 
dependent  and  neglected  children.  The  law  reads,  that  these 
children  shall  be  brought  before  the  court  for  commitment  upon 
the  petition  of  a  reputable  citizen  who  has  knowledge  of  the  de- 
pendency or  neglect  of  any  child  in  his  county,  and  is  willing  to 
bring  the  facts  verified  by  an  affidavit  before  the  court,  but  not 
many  of  the  little  waifs  or  newsboys  of  the  great  city  ever  be- 
come very  intimately  acquainted  with  the  reputable  people..  For 
this  reason  the  State  should  have  its  agents  at  work  among  these 
boys,  or  it  should  do  its  work  in  cooperation  with  the  child  saving 
societies  of  the  city. 

A  plea  is  made  for  the  extension  of  State  industrial  and  train- 
ing schools  for  the  dependent  children  separate  from  such  insti- 


490 


MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 


tutions  for  juvenile  delinquents.  The  necessity  for  these  schools 
is  apparent,  but  they  should  not  be  regarded  as  the  only  means 
of  reaching  the  children.  For  many  children  institutional  life  is 
worse  than  imprisonment.  The  love  of  the  child  for  liberty 
should  not  be  disregarded,  but  encouraged.  For  this  reason  the 
work  done  by  the  boys'  home  and  clubs  has  proved  invaluable. 
It  is  this  also  that  places  a  large  part  of  the  dut}^  for  the  care  of 
morally  imperilled  children  in  the  hands  of  private  charity.  In- 
stitutions, and  especially  State  institutions,  with  their  official 
routine  cannot  reach  the  child  because  they  are  necessarily  un- 
sympathetic ;  it  is  the  sympathy  and  interest  of  the  superintend- 
ent of  the  home,  or  the  leader  of  the  club  that  brings  out  the 
manhood  of  these  little  people. 

The  following  illustrations  show  the  general  scope  of  work 
being  done  by  private  organizations  among  these  children,  and 
suggest  possibilities  for  furthering  such  undertakings : 

Newsboys. — Los  Angeles  Newsboys'  Home  supplies  the  news- 
boys of  that  city  with  all  the  luxuries  of  home  life  and  home  coun- 
sel. The  purpose  of  the  home  is  to  elevate  the  work  of  the  news- 
boys. The  boys  are  encouraged  in  opening  news  stands  and 
stores,  and  in  making  a  trade  of  the  delivery  of  the  daily  papers, 
but  none  of  the  boys  of  the  home  are  found  on  the  street  corners 
selling  papers  or  jumping  on  and  off  the  cars. 

New  York  has  recently  passed  a  law  in  the  interest  of  news- 
boys. No  boys  under  ten  years  of  age  are  licensed  to  sell  papers 
and  boys  between  ten  and  fourteen  are  not  permitted  to  work 
later  than  ten  o'clock  at  night. 

Homeless  Lads. — The  Children's  Temple  Home  in  Chicago  en- 
deavors to  reach  the  homeless  lads,  and  especially  those  who  have 
been  confined  in  the  prisons  for  stealing.  The  practical  work  of 
the  home  is  done  on  the  farm  in  Southern  Michigan.  Beulahland 
Farm  is  a  junior  commonwealth,  being  owned  by  the  boys  and 
all  the  work  being  done  by  the  owners.  The  profits  accruing 
from  the  farm  are  managed  in  the  following  manner:  The  boy 
who  does  his  very  best  receives  three  credits  per  hour  in  the  pay 
of  the  commonwealth;  ten  credits  make  one  merit;  ten  merits 
make  one  share.  The  financial  year  closes  July  4th,  when  stock- 
holders ascertain  the  gross  profits,  from  which  the  expenses  are 
deducted.     The  net  profit  is  then  divided  by  the  total  number  of 


THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA 


491 


shares  held  by  all  the  members  of  the  commonwealth.  Each 
member  is  credited  with  his  share  of  the  profits.  At  eighteen  the 
boys  leave  the  farm  and  take  with  them  their  earnings  as  a  start 
in  life. 

Paroled  Boys. — The  Junior  Business  Club,  also  of  Chicago,  is  an- 
other unique  organization.  The  membership  of  the  club  is  lim- 
ited to  boys  paroled  from  the  John  Worthy  School  (reform 
school),  and  is  intended  to  furnish  them  a  home  until  they  have 
found  one  elsewhere.  The  club  has  its  own  apartments  which 
are  divided  into  reading  rooms,  drill  rooms,  lounging  and  sleep- 
ing rooms  and  dining  hall.  The  club  is  practically  self-support- 
ing, and  at  the  present  time  has  forty-three  members,  each  mem- 
ber has  a  small  bank  account  in  the  Illinois  Trust  and  Savings 
Bank.  Many  of  the  members  have  secured  positions  in  large 
business  firms  of  the  city.  The  club  has  won  for  itself  a  good 
reputation  and  has  been  pronounced  the  best  plan  yet  devised 
to  put  boys  on  their  feet  who  have  been  through  a  penal  institu- 
tion. 

Stage  Children. — The  Dorothy  Dix  Hall  of  Boston  provides  a 
home  and  furnishes  an  education  for  children  whose  parents  are 
actors  and  are  unable  to  provide  a  home  for  them.  Where  pos- 
sible the  parents  pay  a  nominal  sum  for  the  care  and  instruction 
of  their  children.  The  most  important  work  is  done  through  a 
dramatic  club,  only  such  children  as  are  used  in  the  theatres,  or 
do  concert  work,  are  admitted.  It  is  the  aim  of  the  club  to  pro- 
tect and  instruct,  interfering  with  work  that  is  not  suitable  and 
assisting  in  that  which  seems  advisable.  The  children  sign  an 
agreement  through  their  parents  placing  themselves  under  the 
care  of  the  club.  Each  child  who  performs  has  an  under-study, 
ready  to  alternate  at  the  least  sign  of  fatigue,  thus  enabling  the 
child  to  rest  without  losing  its  position. 

Clubs. — What  clubs  can  do  is  shown  by  the  last  report  of  the 
Chicago  Boys'  Club.  "During  the  ten  months  just  closed  the 
club  has  had  an  aggregate  attendance  of  11,673.  Three  hundred 
and  ninety-eight  free  lodgings  and  1,645  ^^^^  meals  were  given, 
and  medical  services  were  rendered  139  boys.  The  club  has  its 
quarters  in  the  waifs'  corner  of  the  city.  It  has  tried  to  carry  on 
its  work  by  transporting  its  youths  to  the  country,  but  this  did 
not  prove  successful  because  the  boys  always  wanted  to  get  back 


492  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

to  the  city  by  Sunday  so  that  they  could  go  to  the  "the-ater"  and 
"play  tag  wid  de  kids  in  de  depot."  It  has  been  discovered  that 
the  only  way  to  reach  the  boys  is  to  go  down  to  their  level  and 
work  up  with  them.  It  has  opened  its  doors  in  opposition  to  the 
saloons  and  billiard  halls,  and  the  reports  show  it  has  proved  the 
more  popular  place.  Pool  and  billiards  were  at  first  eliminated, 
but  the  dominoes  were  used  as  balls  and  wands  as  cues.  The 
basket  ball  and  nine-pins  and  basement  floor  furnished  all  the 
equipment  the  boys  needed  for  a  bowling  alley,  so  these  games 
have  been  added  to  the  list  of  indoor  sports  and  the  boys  are 
being  taught  to  use  them  as  they  were  intended.  The  basement 
windows  have  been  screened  so  that  the  baseball  and  punching 
bag  need  not  be  wanting.  They  play  the  same  old  games,  but 
in  a  new  way  and  under  kindly  influence  and  direction. 

The  Home  Library. — The  Home  Library  movement  is  rapidly  be- 
coming a  recognized  branch  of  philanthropic  work.  The  object 
of  the  movement  is  to  place  good  books  within  the  reach  of  those 
children  whose  opportunities  for  reading  are  confined  to  unwhole- 
some literature.  A  library  case,  containing  about  twenty  books, 
is  placed  in  the  home  of  a  child  who  acts  as  librarian  Once  a 
week  a  group  of  ten  or  twelve  children  from  the  neighborhood, 
under  the  direction  of  a  volunteer  visitor,  gather  about  the  library 
case  to  exchange  books,  discuss  the  books  they  have  read,  play 
games,  tell  stories  and  have  a  general  good  time.  When  a  set 
of  books  has  been  sufficiently  read,  it  is  moved  on  to  a  new 
group,  and  another  case  takes  its  place. 

In  Boston,  Baltimore  and  Philadelphia  the  Home  Libraries 
are  supervised  by  charitable  institutions.  In  New  York,  Cincin- 
nati, Helena  and  Pittsburg  they  are  maintained  by  the  public 
libraries.  The  charitable  and  library  associations  in  Providence 
combine  in  the  work.  Brooklyn,  Chicago  and  Albany  have 
placed  them  under  the  management  of  library  schools  and  asso- 
ciations. Boston  and  Pittsburg  alone  have  paid  supervisors  in 
charge  of  the  work.     Chicago  is  planning  to  do  the  same  soon. 

Removal  of  Children  from  Poorhouses. — Mr.  Folks  touched  a 
weak  place  in  the  methods  when  he  wrote:  "The  delay  in  the 
removal  of  children  from  almshouses  is  a  lamentable  illustration 
of  the  slowness  with  which  such  reforms  proceed.  Thirty-five 
years  have  passed  since  Ohio  enacted  the  first  law  in  the  United 


THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA 


493 


States  looking  toward  the  removal  of  all  children  from  alms- 
houses, but  as  yet  barely  a  dozen  States  have  followed  her  ex- 
ample, and  even  in  those  States  the  laws  are  not,  in  all  cases,  en- 
forced." The  Iowa  Senate  (1904)  has  refused  to  pass  a  bill 
already  passed  by  the  Assembly  forbidding  the  further  retention 
of  children  in  poorhouses  and  providing  for  their  transfer  to 
State  institutions.  And  the  reason?  That  parents  of  the  chil- 
dren would  be  unable  to  visit  them,  if  removed  to  the  more  dis- 
tant State  institutions ! 

Deserving  special  mention  is  the  remarkable  service  of  the 
New  York  Children's  Aid  Society,  founded  in  1853  by  the  gifted 
and  devoted  Charles  Loring  Bruce.  This  man  believed  that  the 
Christian  missionary  spirit  among  the  farmers  could  be  trusted 
to  receive  and  humanely  care  for  even  unattractive  little  waifs. 
Since  its  beginning  up  to  1903  this  society  has  rescued  and  placed 
in  family  homes  23,061  orphans  or  abandoned  children,  provided 
situations  for  25,200  older  boys  and  girls,  and  restored  5,551  runa- 
way children  to  parents.  While  not  all  have  done  well  the  ma- 
jority have  become  assimilated  with  the  general  population  and 
some  have  reached  distinction.  Material  help  had  been  given 
in  some  form  in  the  year  1903  to  49,983  boys  and  girls;  of  whom 
15,816  were  enrolled  in  the  industrial  schools,  10,236  were  re- 
lieved in  their  homes,  4,302  were  sheltered  in  the  lodging  houses, 
602  were  trained  in  the  farm  school,  389  were  in  the  charge  of  a 
probation  officer,  8,648  were  given  a  week's  country  outing,  5,408 
a  day's  outing,  1,522  treated  by  the  sick  children's  mission,  533 
placed  in  family  homes.  The  attractive  lodging  houses  help  to 
win  homeless  boys  from  the  cheap  poolrooms,  Bowery  theatres, 
gambling  places,  and  the  company  of  thieves ;  and  the  society  has 
diminished  juvenile  vagrancy  and  crime. 

Federation  and  Cooperation  on  a  National  Basis.^ — The  situation 
at  the  present  hour  is  about  as  follows  :  There  are  in  some  States 
public  institutions  for  dependent  children.  Thus  we  have  State 
public  schools  for  temporary  homes,  supplemented  by  a  State 
agency  for  selecting  homes,  placing  children  and  supervising 
their  care,  as  in  INIichigan,  Wisconsin,  Minnesota.  There  are 
homes  for  the  orphans  of  soldiers  in  Illinois,  Iowa  and  elsewhere. 

^  By  C.  R.  Henderson. 


494  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

There  are  State  infirmaries  for  the  treatment  of  eyes  and  ears, 
and  cripples,  as  in  Illinois  and  Minnesota.  Very  generally  in 
the  case  of  defective  and  undesirable  children  the  county  poor- 
house  is  still  used,  although  much  less  commonly  than  in  earlier 
years. 

In  some  States  boards  have  been  charged  with  the  care  of 
dependent  children  in  institutions  and  families:  as  the  State 
Board  of  Charities  in  Massachusetts  and  Indiana;  a  board  of 
guardians  in  New  Jersey  and  the  District  of  Columbia.  In  In- 
diana there  are  county  boards  of  guardians ;  in  Baltimore  and 
Boston,  municipal  boards ;  in  Michigan,  county  agents. 

The  recent  rapid  development  of  juvenile  courts,  with  pro- 
bation officers,  is  another  form  of  public  care. 

A  survey  of  methods  of  private  care  would  reveal  many  types 
and  methods;  for  example:  orphan  asylums  and  half-orphan 
asylums,  supported  by  churches,  societies,  endowments  and 
sometimes  in  part  by  subsidies.  The  home-finding  societies 
usually  own  or  rent  temporary  receiving  homes  where  children 
are  sheltered  until  they  are  sent  to  families  to  be  boarded  out  or 
permanently  adopted.  Then  come  the  home  farms,  the  George 
Junior  Republic,  homes  for  waifs  and  newsboys  in  cities,  board- 
ing industrial  schools,  foundling  asylums,  hospitals  and  sanatori- 
ums,  day  industrial  schools,  vacation  schools,  night  schools, 
schools  for  cripples,  parental  schools  for  truants. 

There  are  now  in  most  of  the  States  some  kind  of  placing-out 
societies  and  children's  aid  societies  whose  chief  function  is  to 
find  suitable  families  to  take  homeless  children  and  educate  them. 
For  special  needs  are  organized  societies  to  prevent  cruelty  to 
children,  and  others  to  send  them  for  a  time  to  the  country  for 
an  outing. 

In  adition  to  these,  closely  allied  to  them,  are  all  the  agencies 
for  dealing  with  delinquent  children. 

With  all  this  array  of  child  saving  agencies  there  are  impor- 
tant gaps  to  fill.  Even  in  States  where  the  government  provides 
for  all  dependent  children  in  a  very  noble  way,  as  in  Michigan, 
voluntary  associations  find  a  great  work  to  do  and  for  many 
special  reasons  are  needed  to  supplement  State  action.  Thus  the 
members  of  a  church  wish  to  place  their  dependent  children 
under  the  continued  influence  of  the  family  faith.       Catholics, 


THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA 


495 


Jews,  Protestants  and  members  of  various  nationalities  have  this 
feeHng,  and  the  State  respects  it. 

In  most  of  the  States  there  is  no  general  public  policy  of 
child  saving,  and  the  initiative  must  be  taken  by  private  associa- 
tions to  avoid  utter  neglect.  It  seems  likely  that  for  many  years 
to  come  this  will  be  true ;  and  many  believe  that  voluntary  asso- 
ciations can  carry  on  the  work  of  placing  and  caring  for  depend- 
ent children  better  than  a  political  and  public  administration.  It 
must  be  remembered  that  the  benevolent  public  in  the  United 
States  is  constantly  shocked  by  the  revelations  of  the  inhumanity 
and  cold  blooded  cruelty  of  partisan  politicians  when  placed  in 
office. 

In  several  States  neither  the  government  nor  voluntary  socie- 
ties attempt  to  meet  the  need  and  provide  for  all  dependent  chil- 
dren, and  many  little  ones  are  left  in  immoral  homes,  in  poor- 
houses,  even  in  jails  because  there  is  no  responsible  agency  alert 
and  ready  to  protect  them  and  care  for  them. 

Even  where  there  are  such  agencies  there  are  serious  defects 
to  be  corrected  by  better  organization  and  by  State  supervision. 
There  is  occasionally  an  unhappy  conflict  between  competing 
societies  in  the  same  territory.  At  times  the  selection  and  super- 
vision of  families  are  very  much  neglected,  and  helpless  wards 
are  subjected  to  neglect  and  cruelty. 

The  necessity  for  inter-State  cooperation  is  revealed  in  the 
fact  that  the  Eastern  States  and  cities  have  long  been  accustomed 
to  send  their  homeless  children  to  families  in  the  Western  States, 
sometimes  without  further  attention  to  them.  This  has  naturally 
produced  evil  results,  complaints  have  grown,  and  unfriendly  or 
regulative  laws  have  been  enacted.  This  experience  has  shown 
that  the  migration  of  wards  must  be  brought  under  the  strict 
and  intelligent  control  of  some  national  agency,  public  or  volun- 
tary. 

The  beginnings  of  coordination  and  federation  have  been 
made  by  the  National  Children's  Home  Society.  This  society 
has  an  imperfect  organization,  and  is  simply  a  federation,  without 
authority  in  its  executive  board  to  control  the  action  of  its  mem- 
bers ;  and  yet  through  counsel,  advice,  information,  conference 
and  correspondence  it  has  already  corrected  abuses,  pushed  ag- 
gressive work  in  several  States,  secured  the  local  appointment 


496 


MODERN  iMETHODS  OF  CHARITY 


of  agents  and  helped  to  educate  the  pubhc  in  the  duty  and  meth- 
ods of  child  saving  work. 

The  National  Children's  Home  Society  was  organized  in  1883, 
and  is  now  a  federation  of  26  State  societies.  The  total  number 
of  children  received  by  all  the  societies  included  in  this  federa- 
tion since  1883  is  23,726;  the  number  now  under  guardianship  is 
12,473;  children  in  receiving  homes,  491;  children  handled  in 
1903,  3,720.  The  current  expenses  of  all  the  societies  in  1903 
were  $230,000,  and  the  value  of  property  in  their  possession 
March  i,  1904,  was  $279,014.  It  will  be  observed  that  a  very 
considerable  amount  of  work  has  been  accomplished  with  a  very 
modest  average  outlay  for  each  child.  The  States  having  socie- 
ties of  this  federation  are:  California,  Colorado,  Florida,  Illi- 
nois, Indiana,  Iowa,  Kansas,  Kentucky,  Michigan,  Minnesota, 
Missouri,  Montana,  Nebraska,  New  Jersey,  North  Carolina, 
North  Dakota,  Ohio,  Oklahoma  (including  Indian  Territory), 
Oregon,  Pennsylvania,  South  Dakota  (including  Wyoming), 
Texas,  Virginia,  Washington,  West  Virginia,  Wisconsin.^ 

Legal  Protection. — In  addition  to  the  measures  already  mentioned 
in  connection  with  the  poor  law,  it  may  be  said  in  general  that 
the  educational  and  preventive  agencies  of  society  in  relation  to 
minors  are  receiving  increasing  attention  from  legislatures  and 
courts.  The  tendency  has  always  been  to  regard  minors  as  under 
special  court  protection,  but  this  principle  has  been  of  late  much 
extended  into  new  applications,  although  as  the  minor  approaches 
maturity  the  degree  of  control  is  properly  relaxed. 

"Our  constitutions  are  silent  upon  family  rights  and  relations, 
and  we  should  have  to  regard  the  parental  power  not  only  as  a 
natural  right,  but  as  a  natural  right  above  the  power  of  the  State, 
to  declare  its  legislative  restraint  to  be  unconstitutional.  It  has, 
however,  been  held  that  the  right  of  parental  control  is  a  natural, 
but  not  an  inalienable  one ;  that  there  is  no  parental  authority 
independent  of  the  supreme  power  of  the  State;  that  in  other 
words  the  parental  right  is  no  vested  right. "^ 

The  welfare  of  the  child,  considered  in  relation  to  the  interests 

^  The  office  of  the  Society  is  Unity  Building,  Chicago;  the  secretary  is  H.  H. 
Hart,  and  the  president  C.  R.  Henderson. 

s  E.  Freund,  Police  Power,  p.  248,  and  cases  cited. 


THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA 


497 


of  the  community,  is  the  decisive  matter  with  legislatures  and 
courts. 

The  first  demand  of  the  law  is  laid  upon  parents,  as  the  re- 
sponsible authors  of  the  existence  of  the  child  and  as  the  persons 
who  are  bound  to  give  proper  training  for  citizenship.  The 
tendency  is  to  bring  all  possible  legal  pressure  to  bear  on  the 
family  to  induce  it  to  perform  its  duty.  Thus  the  father  of  an 
illegitimate  infant  is  sought  for,  and,  if  found,  is  required  to  fur- 
nish it  support.  The  mother  is  held  to  her  task.  If  the  parents 
cannot  be  found,  or  if  they  die,  or  become  wholly  unfit  for  the 
office  of  education  the  State  assumes  the  place  of  parent,  but 
transfers  the  neglected  child  to  a  new  home.  When  the  parents 
have  not  abandoned  a  child  and  claim  their  natural  rights  of  cus- 
tody they  are  entitled  to  a  hearing,  but  not  to  a  jury  trial,  since 
it  is  not  of  the  nature  of  a  criminal  proceeding. 

Private  institutions  may  be  recognized  as  moral  persons  and 
clothed  with  the  powers  of  legal  guardians.  Such  institutions 
have  no  more  control  than  the  laws  give  them,  and  they  may 
be  and  often  are  subjected  to  State  supervision  and  control. 

The  States  go  further  in  their  care  of  children  in  such  matters 
as  compulsory  attendance  at  school  and  prohibition  of  such  pre- 
mature labor  as  interferes  with  the  growth  and  education  of  the 
young  person.  While  parents  are  free  to  send  their  offspring 
to  a  private  or  parochial  school  if  they  choose  to  do  so  at  their 
own  expense,  the  States  generally  provide  free  instruction  for 
all,  and  many  of  them  make  attendance  on  some  school  for  a 
certain  minimum  period  obligatory. 

Parental  Schools. — The  law  in  some  States  goes  still  further 
and  provides  special  schools  for  children  whose  parents  are  un- 
able to  control  them  and  secure  their  attendance  in  the  public 
schools.  Various  devices  have  been  tried.  In  some  cities  special 
rooms  or  buildings  are  set  apart  for  unruly  and  truant  pupils,  and 
special  methods  are  used  for  interesting,  influencing  and  bringing 
them  under  control.  The  children  live  at  home,  are  looked  after 
by  special  officers  of  the  police  or  schools,  and  are  rewarded  for 
good  conduct  by  permission  to  return  to  their  places  in  the  ordi- 
nary school  rooms. 

But  when  more  close  watchcare  is  necessary  for  discipline 
and  training  the  unruly  child  may  be  sent  to  a  "parental"  school, 

32 


498 


MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 


as  in  Massachusetts  and  Illinois,  where  he  is  boarded,  taught  and 
trained  for  several  months,  until  he  seems  ready  and  willing  to 
take  his  proper  place  at  home  and  in  school. 

L.  Care  of  Youth  from  12  to  18.^ — This  topic  is  not  confined 
to  the  care  of  the  wayward  youth,  but  suggests  for  consideration 
the  treatment  of  all  youth  who  have  been  deprived  of,  or  who 
have  lost  all  opportunities  for  self-cultivation  and  expression ; 
those  who  have  never  had  a  hope  nor  a  desire  satisfied ;  who  have 
never  known  the  support  of  another's  interest;  but  whose  ambi- 
tions have  died  from  lack  of  the  friendly  counsellor;  whose  paths 
upward  have  been  more  difficult  and  less  inviting  than  the  ones 
downward ;  those  whom  we  have  misunderstood  and  allowed 
society  to  maltreat.  Until  a  few  years  ago  the  only  attempt  that 
was  made  to  reach  these  boys  and  girls  was  after  they  had  be- 
come a  menace  to  the  community  and  had  a  fairly  good  start  in 
the  way  of  criminality.  That  attempt  ended  by  confining  them 
amid  prison  surroundings,  high  walls,  gloomy  cells  and  dark 
dungeons.  The  idea  that  hope  should  replace  the  despair  which 
the  prison  surroundings  cast  upon  the  young  lives  did  not  occvtr 
to  anyone.  It  is  a  new  idea.  It  has  introduced  industrial  and 
reform  schools  to  take  the  place  of  prisons ;  but  until  it  has  been 
made  a  more  fundamental  part  of  these  institutions  they  will  not 
accomplish  the  work  hoped  for. 

It  is  of  prime  importance  to  study  the  causes  which  have  made 
these  youths  dependent  and  refractory.  Not  very  much  can  be  ex- 
pected from  the  youth  who  has  not  known  home  life  or  home  sur- 
roundings. Nor  is  the  child  apt  to  have  a  very  high  ideal  of  life 
or  hopeful  ambitions  who  has  only  seen  life  as  it  is  pictured  in 
the  gloomy,  squalid  streets  and  alleys  where  thousands  live  hud- 
dled together.  It  is  not  reformation  that  these  children  need. 
They  have  all  the  faculties  of  the  normal  youth,  but  their  forces 
are  dormant.  They  need  to  be  awakened.  Due  consideration 
should  also  be  paid  to  the  trials  which  accompany  changes  going 
on  in  the  child's  life  at  this  time.  It  is  the  critical  period.  It  is 
the  time  when  the  individuality  demands  expression  and  if  not 
allowed  to  take  one  course  will  take  another.  It  is  the  time 
when  the  youths  most  need  guidance  for  they  have  reached  the 
age  when  they  are  supposed  to  be  able  to  shift  for  themselves. 

*  By  Miss  Ashcraft. 


THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA 


499 


Poverty  compels  them  to  support  themselves  or  take  criminal 
risks  to  gratify  their  needs ;  but  they  are  at  an  age  and  are  sur- 
rounded by  circumstances  which  make  them  less  capable  of  earn- 
ing an  honest  living  or  to  resist  temptations.  Adverse  conditions 
have  drowned  every  ambition ;  there  is  no  self-respect  nor  self- 
interest  because  there  has  been  no  opportunity  to  test  their  own 
powers  or  to  become  acquainted  with  their  better  selves.  The 
lower  self  is  dominant,  and  in  keeping  with  its  nature  persists 
in  dragging  down,  but  it  cannot  make  the  nature  so  depraved  nor 
the  heart  so  hardened  as  not  to  be  awakened  by  friendly  interest. 
It  is  only  this  interest  with  sympathy  and  a  keen  understanding, 
and  with  the  due  allowance  made  for  the  hardships  that  have 
been  borne  that  can  arouse  ambition,  incite  self-respect,  and  gain 
self-control,  and  hence  character,  for  the  wayward  youth.  The 
correctional  institutions  which  lack  these  lack  all. 

Clubs. — The  institutions  do  not  reach  all  of  these  young  people. 
Many  of  them  pursue  their  daily  rounds  without  disturbing  the 
community.  The  young  girls  employ  themselves  in  peddling  or 
strolling  about  the  city  as  rag  and  bone  pickers.  The  boys  sell 
papers  or  become  the  frequenters  of  saloons  and  gambling  dens. 
For  these  the  clubs  answer  the  same  needs  as  they  did  for  the 
younger  boys  and  girls  and  should  be  conducted  in  the  same  man- 
ner. There  should  be  a  library,  reading  room,  gymnasium  and 
class  rooms.  The  hunger  of  these  young  men  and  women  for 
instruction  and  learning  should  be  satisfied.  The  director  of 
the  club  should  be  their  counsellor  and  surround  the  club  rooms 
with  an  atmosphere  of  home.  It  is  best  that  the  ckibs  for  the 
boys  and  girls  be  separate.  Where  it  is  possible,  a  lodging  house 
should  be  conducted  with  the  clubs,  at  least  in  each  city  there 
should  be  a  lodging  house  for  the  young  men  and  one  for  the 
young  women  apart  from  those  for  the  older  men  and  women. 

Day  Industrial  Schools. — The  day  industrial  schools,  with  their 
manual  training  and  sloyd  for  the  boys  and  their  domestic  sci- 
ence for  the  girls,  have  proved  an  attraction  to  many  of  the  way- 
ward youths.  Where  they  have  been  tried  in  connection  with 
the  public  schools  they  have  been  the  means  of  preventing  tru- 
ancy and  they  hold  the  interest  of  the  backward  children.  But 
a  greater  good  would  be  derived  for  young  people  from  the  in- 
dustrial schools  if  they  were  made  entirely  independent  of  the 


500 


MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 


public  school  and  were  situated  in  the  populous  districts.  The 
program  should  be  made  to  appeal  to  the  older  ones,  the  same 
things  v/hich  hold  the  interests  of  the  younger  children  in  the 
public  schools  will  not  attract  the  older  ones.  The  courses  of- 
fered should  be  practical,  not  those  whose  only  object  is  to  in- 
struct, but  those  which  afford  preparation  for  some  business  pur- 
suit. A  night  industrial  school  would  reach  many  who  would 
not  be  able  to  take  advantage  of  the  day  school.  Social  activity 
should  have  a  part  in  the  school,  finding  expression  in  such 
organizations  as  the  clubs. 

Rural  Industrial  Schools. — Much  attention  has  been  directed  to- 
ward the  care  and  training  of  the  city  youth,  but  until  recently 
little  has  been  said  of  the  need  of  such  training  in  the  rural  dis- 
tricts. The  work  that  is  being  done  in  the  South  shows  the 
possibilities  and  need  of  such  work.  The  greater  part  of  the 
undertaking  is  being  accomplished  through  industrial  schools. 
Booker  T.  Washington  is  doing  much  for  the  colored  youth  at 
Tuskegee.  The  Calhoun  colored  school  at  Calhoun,  Ala.,  in- 
cludes in  its  work  the  academic  industrial  departments.  In  the 
academic  department  courses  are  given  in  arithmetic,  reading, 
geography,  history,  citizenship,  drawing,  spelling,  science,  sing- 
ing and  methods  of  teaching.  The  industrial  department  has 
the  usual  classes  in  manual  training,  in  carpentry  and  farming  for 
boys,  and  domestic  science,  with  cooking,  laundry  and  sewing 
for  the  girls.  Similar  work  is  carried  on  among  the  poor  whites 
by  the  Southern  Industrial  Institute  at  Camp  Hill,  Ala.  The 
object  of  this  school  is  to  help  deserving  young  men  and  women 
to  help  themselves  by  providing  a  course  of  study  and  a  way 
for  any  boy  or  girl  to  pursue  such  a  course ;  farming,  saw-milling 
and  carpentry  are  among  the  industries  in  operation;  cooking, 
sewing,  weaving  and  laundering  are  taught  in  the  domestic  sci- 
ence department ;  in  general,  primary  and  secondary  academic 
courses  are  offered.  This  same  work  is  urged  for  the  rural  dis- 
tricts of  the  North.  Much  is  gained  by  aiding  these  young  peo- 
ple before  they  drift  into  the  city  and  increase  its  number  of 
vagrant  youth. 

State  Provisions. — The  industrial  school  for  girls  and  the  training 
school  for  boys  and  the  reformatory  are  the  usual  State  institu- 
tions provided  for  this  class  of  children.     The  commitments  to 


THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA 


501 


these  institutions  are  in  general  the  same.  For  commitment  to 
the  reformatory  the  Ilhnois  statutes  provide  that  any  boy  be- 
tween the  ages  of  ten  and  sixteen  years  shall  be  committed  to 
the  State  Reformatory  whenever  he  is  convicted  before  any  court 
of  competent  jurisdiction  of  any  crime  which  if  committed  by  an 
adult  would  be  punishable  by  imprisonment  in  the  county  jail  or 
penitentiary.  Similar  provisions  are  made  for  the  commitments 
to  the  State  Home  for  Juvenile  Female  Offenders.  The  object 
of  the  industrial  and  training  schools,  when  first  established,  was 
to  afford  training  for  the  dependent  boys  and  girls  only.  At 
present,  especially  where  the  Juvenile  Court  law  prevails,  they 
receive  delinquent  children  as  well.  A  more  general  use  of  these 
schools  for  the  delinquents  should  be  encouraged,  but  such  insti- 
tutions for  juvenile  offenders  should  be  separate  from  those  for 
the  dependent  children. 

Industrial  and  Training  Schools. — The  most  successful  of  these 
schools  are  built  on  good  farming  land  which  can  be  cultivated  by 
the  pupils,  thus  affording  an  opportunity  for  agricultural  em- 
ployment for  both  hygienic  and  educational  reasons.  The 
grounds  are  large  and  have  all  the  conveniences  for  outdoor  oc- 
cupation and  recreation.  The  buildings  are  best  constructed  on 
the  cottage  plan  in  order  to  permit  the  necessary  classification 
and  sub-divisions  of  the  pupils  according  to  age,  ability,  disposi- 
tion and  character.  Each  cottage  accommodates  not  more  than 
thirty  students,  with  their  matron  and  teacher,  and  should  con- 
tain school  rooms  and  dormitories.  There  is  usually  a  central 
building  containing  the  dining-hall,  offices,  shops,  etc.  The  ideal 
life  of  the  institution  is  that  of  a  family.  The  buildings  should 
be  free  from  bars,  grated  windows  and  all  features  of  the  prison. 
There  should  be  an  outdoor  play  ground,  gymnasium  and  chapel 
for  religious  and  literary  exercises. 

Instruction. — In  addition  to  the  school  work  there  are  shops  for 
the  industrial  training  for  the  boys.  Opportunity  is  given  for 
instruction  in  many  of  the  different  trades,  such  as  carpentry, 
printing,  shoe  making,  farming,  etc.  In  the  selection  of  the  trade 
the  boy's  special  aptitudes  and  desires  are  considered.  It  is  im- 
portant that  each  should  choose  a  profession  or  trade  and  be  en- 
couraged to  carry  out  one  line  of  work.  The  Jack-of-all-trades 
spirit  should  not  have  too  much  encouragement.     The  girls  have 


502  -AlODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

their  school  -work  and  opportunities  for  instruction  in  business 
courses,  such  as  stenography. 

Period  of  Detention. — The  time  that  the  students  should  be  con- 
fined to  the  schools  has  been  a  matter  of  dispute.  The  general 
rule  has  been  that  sentences  are  not  to  be  less  than  three  months 
nor  more  than  two  years,  and  in  any  case  commitment  does  not 
extend  beyond  minority.  Experience  has  shown  that  the  larg- 
est per  cent,  of  commitments  has  been  due  to  home  environment, 
and  the  return  home  to  evil  associates  after  short  sentences  has 
resulted  in  re-commitment.  For  this  reason  it  is  urged  that 
sentences  should  be  made  long  and  release  should  not  be  granted 
until  the  boy  or  girl  has  been  safely  launched  into  some  occupa- 
tion, or  until  some  suitable  home  surrounding  has  been  assured. 
Discharge  under  any  condition  should  be  under  parole  and  sub- 
sequent supervision  of  the  probation  officer.  This  supervision 
should  not  end  before  majority  has  been  reached,  and  even  then 
advice  should  still  be  given  if  the  youth  is  not  strong  enough  to 
pursue  his  course  without  counsel  and  guidance.  The  purpose 
of  these  institutions  is  for  the  training  of  children  above  ten  and 
twelve  years  of  age.  Children  under  that  age  are  usually  placed 
in  families  for  adoption  or  boarded  out  under  the  supervision  of 
a  responsible  society  until  final  disposition  of  them  can  be  made. 

Support. — For  the  sake  of  children  and  parents,  the  parents  as  a 
rule  are  obliged  to  furnish  clothing  and  pay  the  board  of  their 
children  in  so  far  as  they  are  able.  In  cases  of  inability  of  the 
parents  to  pay,  or  where  the  parents  are  not  living,  or  are  un- 
known, the  duty  falls  upon  the  State  or  county. 

Separate  Institutions  for  Girls  and  Boys. — It  has  been  generally 
agreed  that  the  industrial  school  for  girls  and  the  training  school 
for  boys  should  be  located  in  different  communities.  However, 
several  successful  institutions  have  found  it  profitable  and  bene- 
ficial to  combine  the  institutions.  There  is  a  great  saving  of  ex- 
pense to  the  State,  and  by  locating  the  buildings  in  different  parts 
of  the  grounds  complete  separation  is  possible  and  all  the  advan- 
tages of  separate  institutions  are  secured. 

Subject  of  Reformatory. — We  have  always  regarded  the  inmates 
of  the  reformatory  as  youthful  criminals  and  have  too  often 
treated  them  as  such  ;  but  study  has  revealed  that  they  are  not 
criminals  at  heart,  but  that  their  misconduct  is  due  to  influences 


THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA 


S03 


over  which  they  have  no  control.  An  examination  of  the  records 
of  the  various  reformatories  has  shown  that  in  cases  where  re- 
formatory inmates  had  both  parents  Hving,  in  nine  out  of  ten  of 
these  cases  one  or  the  other  of  the  parents  was  distinctly  dis- 
reputable ;  not  6  per  cent,  of  the  children  had  homes  which  were 
morally  fit  for  the  child  to  live  in  and  not  more  than  15  per  cent, 
of  the  juveniles  committed  to  the  reformatories  and  industrial 
school  came  from  homes  in  which  they  were  fairly  housed,  fairly 
fed  or  fairly  clad.  It  is  evident  from  this  that  the  juvenile  of- 
fender is  the  joint  product  of  bad  heredity  and  bad  environment. 
It  has  been  estimated  that  90  per  cent,  of  them  are  morally  de- 
praved, and  when  at  liberty  are  surrounded  by  depraving  associa- 
tions. 

Such  disclosures  have  led  those  interested  in  relief  and  child- 
saving  work  to  insist  that  the  following  regulations  should  be 
carried  out  in  the  treatment  of  the  juvenile  offenders.  Several 
States  have  embodied  the  spirit  of  these  regulations  in  their 
statutes. 

First,  imprisonment  of  juvenile  and  first  offenders  should  be 
absolutely  prohibited  except  as  a  last  resort  for  those  convicted 
of  flagrant  crimes. 

Second,  when  a  limited  imprisonment  is  necessary,  it  must  be 
by  entirely  separate  confinement. 

Third,  juvenile  and  first  offenders  should  never  be  confined  in 
jail  with  older  criminals  while  awaiting  trial. 

Fourth,  the  primary  and  supreme  object  of  the  sentences  of 
the  convicted  juvenile  or  first  offender  should  be  his  rescue  from 
a  criminal  life. 

Fifth,  the  character  and  circumstances  of  the  accused  should 
be  carefully  investigated  and  allowed  full  weight  and  influence  in 
determining  whether  the  juvenile  or  first  offender  should  be  tried 
and  convicted  or  not,  and  in  placing  the  kind  of  sentence  which 
should  be  imposed  upon  conviction. 

Construction  of  Reformatory  Buildings. — The  reformatory  school 
should  be  built  upon  the  same  plan  as  the  industrial  school. 
There  should  be  shops  and  facilities  for  industrial  training,  gym- 
nasium and  a  chapel.  The  cottage  system  with  the  classifica- 
tion of  the  inmates  and  the  family  life  are  even  more  essential 
than  in  the  industrial  school.     As  yet  it  has  not  seemed  wise  to 


504  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

dispense  with  all  of  the  prison  features ;  barred  windows,  high 
walls  and  solitary  cells  for  punishment  have  not  found  efficient 
substitutes. 

Instruction  for  the  Boys. — More  than  all  else  the  boys  need  a 
steady  training  in  some  industry  by  which  they  can  earn  their 
living  when  they  leave  the  reformatory.  In  addition,  they  should 
have  a  good  common  school  education,  a  course  in  civics,  music, 
military  drill  and  a  physical,  moral  and  spiritual  training. 

Discipline. — The  aim  of  the  reformatory  discipline  is  correction 
and  saving  the  youth  from  repetition  of  the  crime.  This  end 
is  not  gained  by  intimidating  measures.  By  such  measures 
and  the  usual  prison  discipline  "the  will  is  obliterated,  the 
individual's  power  of  action  and  decision  reduced  to  a  nullity ; 
he  is  shut  up  within  the  narrow  horizon  of  his  own  disordered 
imaginings ;  he  lives  and  breathes  in  the  polluted  atmosphere  of 
monotony,  solitude  and  crime;  his  social  sympathies  are  sup- 
pressed and  starved ;  society,  friendship  and  affection,  the  pillars 
upon  which  human  happiness  repose,  are  demolished."  The  op- 
posite of  all  this  is  what  he  needs.  He  has  been  a  product  of 
abnormal  circumstances;  his  economic  conditions,  and  all  the 
opportunities  for  making  anything  of  himself  have  been  of  an 
adverse  character,  and  as  long  as  abnormal  conditions  continue, 
abnormal  conduct  will  be  inevitable.  For  his  reformation  such 
a  youth  must  be  placed  in  the  midst  of  wholesome  material  and 
moral  surroundings.  The  reformatory  could  be  a  home  where 
parental  care  and  love  are  paramount.  His  life  may  be  made 
hopeful  and  happy.  The  idea  that  he  is  in  imprisonment  should 
be  lost  sight  of  in  his  interest  in  his  work,  in  the  desire  he  has  had 
instilled  in  him  to  create  something  and  in  the  awakening  of 
self-respect,  and  interest. 

Superintendents. — Much  depends  upon  the  superintendent.  His 
position  should  be  one  entirely  free  from  politics  and  all  of  his 
interests  should  be  centered  in  his  work.  He  needs  a  cautious 
judgment  and  strong  will,  true  sympathy  and  a  keen  understand- 
ing of  human  conduct.  He  must  not  only  be  a  master  of  the 
work,  but  a  willing  leader  and  a  partaker  in  it.  The  boys  should 
find  in  him  a  friend  and  counsellor.  He  is  aided  by  his  assistants, 
clerks  in  the  office,  physician,  chaplain,  teachers,  housekeeper, 
foreman  of  the  shops  and  director  of  the  kitchen. 


THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA 


SOS 


Release. — Release  is  usually  granted  only  when  the  boy  has  shown 
himself  able  to  take  care  of  himself.  Even  then,  only  condition- 
ally with  the  discharged  under  the  care  of  a  probation  officer  who 
secures  employment  and  tools  for  him,  and  assists  him  by  advice 
and  support  to  maintain  himself  honestly. 

There  is  need  for  a  more  definite  plan  by  which  the  boy  dis- 
charged from  a  reformatory  can  secure  permanent  work  and  can 
be  relieved  of  every  kind  of  police  espionage.  One  plan  under 
consideration  aims  to  secure  a  manufacturing  site,  upon  which  a 
large  working  institution  may  be  placed.  It  is  proposed  that  this 
institution  be  equipped  with  machinery  and  be  made  modern  in 
every  particular.  All  of  the  work  is  to  be  done  by  the  men  and 
boys  discharged  from  a  house  of  correction  and  the  training 
school.  The  work  undertaken  would  depend  largely  upon  the 
kind  of  employment  most  adaptable  to  these  men  and  boys.  It 
is  a  novel  and  suggestive  project,  but  its  disadvantages  are  very 
apparent. 

Homes  for  Juvenile  Female  Offenders. — The  home  of  the  juvenile 
female  offenders  should  be  constructed  and  conducted  on  the 
same  plan  as  the  reformatory.  The  girls  come  from  the  same 
surroundings  and  conditions  as  the  boys  and  should  receive  the 
same  consideration.  In  discipline,  hope  should  be  made  to  take 
the  place  of  fear,  and  reward,  of  punishment.  The  object  of 
their  education  should  be  to  fit  them  for  earning  a  livelihood  and 
living  an  honest  life.  For  these  purposes  there  must  be  oppor- 
tunities given  for  a  common  school  education,  classes  in  cook- 
ing, dress-making,  laundry  work  and  nursing.  Training  may  be 
given  in  physical  culture,  music  and  social  etiquette.  For  the 
girls  who  prefer  a  business  career,  instruction  is  offered  in  teleg- 
raphy, typewriting,  stenography,  etc.  Release  is  not  granted  to 
any  girl  before  she  is  in  a  position  to  care  for  herself.  After  her 
discharge  she  should  be  placed  under  the  supervision  of  a  pro- 
bation offfcer,  and  aided  in  securing  work  or  a  proper  home. 

Child  Labor  Laws.'^ — The  following  States  have  prohibited  the 
employment  of  children  below  the  age  of  fourteen  years :  Massa- 
chusetts, Connecticut,  New  York,  Indiana,  Illinois,  Michigan, 
Wisconsin,  Minnesota,  Colorado,  Missouri,  and  in  Louisiana  and 
New  Jersey  the  employment  of  girls  under  fourteen  is  prohibited. 

^  Ey  C.  R.  Henderson. 


5o6  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

In  Pennsylvania  and  Ohio  the  age  Hmit  is  thirteen  years  in  fac- 
tories, while  in  mines  it  is  fourteen  in  Pennsylvania  and  fifteen 
in  Ohio.  In  the  following  States  the  limit  is  placed  at  twelve 
years :  New  Hampshire,  Maine,  Rhode  Island,  North  Dakota, 
California,  Maryland,  West  Virginia,  Tennessee,  and  in  Louisi- 
ana and  New  Jersey  twelve  is  the  age  limit  for  boys  only.  In 
two  of  our  States  ten  years  is  the  age  limit,  /'.  e.,  in  Vermont  and 
Nebraska.  In  some  States  child  labor  is  prohibited  in  the  mines, 
while  no  restriction  is  placed  on  their  employment  in  factories 
and  workshops.  The  year  1903  was  prolific  of  new  enactments, 
all  tending  to  more  strict  control  of  child  labor.  In  the  South 
the  first  statutory  regulation  has  been  secured  in  six  States.  "Lit- 
tle, if  any,  provision  has  been  made  in  the  Southern  States  for  the 
enforcement  of  these  regulations  by  factory  inspectors,  health 
officers  or  other  public  officials  which  experience  has  demon- 
strated to  be  necessary.  Florida,  Georgia  and  Mississippi  are  still 
without  protective  statutes."  But  the  conscience  of  the  people 
is  awake  and  vested  interests  in  property  will  not  permanently 
override  the  social  interest  in  childhood.^ 

AI.  Preventive  Measures.^  Free  Employment  Bureaus. — 
The  Free  Employment  Bureau  of  the  State  of  New  York  in  1902 
had  5,903  applicants  for  work,  4,106  applicants  for  help,  and  se- 
cured 3,662  situations.  Of  the  applicants,  2,656  were  men  and 
3,247  women. 

The  free  employment  bureaus  in  13  States  of  the  United 
States  are  conducted  and  managed  principally  by  departments  of 
labor.  The  chief  reason  for  the  establishment  of  State  bureaus  is 
the  dishonesty  of  many  of  the  private  agencies  who  take  fees  but 
do  not  render  service,  and  some  of  them  are  agencies  of  betraying 
innocent  girls  into  the  control  of  houses  of  ill-fame.  The  Italian 
padrone  system  is  also  severely  condemned  as  a  means  of  exploit- 
ing immigrants  for  the  benefit  of  the  padrone. 

Most  of  the  States  have  passed  laws  regulating  employment 
agencies.  The  Bureau  of  the  Statistics  of  Labor  of  Massachu- 
setts investigated  the  workings  of  free  bureaus  in  1903  and  has 

^  Handbook  of  Child  Labor  Legislation  of  National  Consumers'  League.  Rep. 
New  York  Dept.  of  Labor,  1902,  p.  Ill,  586. — Rep.  Industrial  Commission,  Vol.  V, 
pp.  50-52. 

*  By  C.  R.  Henderson, 


THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA  507 

reported  to  the  legislature  that  such  ofBces  at  home  and  abroad 
have  been  uniformly  successful,  and  recommends  their  establish- 
ment by  State  authority  in  the  principal  cities.^ 

Insurance  of  Workingmcn. — The  value  of  insurance  agains""  fire, 
death,  sickness,  accidents,  unemployment  and  old  age  is  coming 
to  be  more  generally  recognized.  The  majority  of  our  people 
live  on  farms  and  believe  that  the  best  protection  against  suffer- 
ing is  an  investment  in  land.  But  even  with  farmers  the  prin- 
ciple of  insurance  is  accepted  and  acted  upon. 

It  is  in  cities  and  among  our  rapidly  growing  wage  earning 
group  that  other  methods  of  protection,  better  suited  to  their 
economic  situation  and  prospects,  are  sought.  At  present  both 
custom  and  law  are  in  a  chaotic  condition,  but  the  experiments 
now  under  trial  are  full  of  promise  for  the  near  future ;  each  at- 
tempt increases  the  fund  of  knowledge  and  opens  the  eyes  of 
men  to  the  need,  and  sets  them  upon  inquiry  after  the  best  solu- 
tion of  the  problem. 

Legal  Aspect  of  Compulsory  Insurance. — "The  community  is  cer- 
tainly interested  in  averting  sudden  and  unexpected  losses  as 
well  as  the  destitution  following  from  sickness  and  disease,  and 
the  distribution  of  these  losses  over  large  numbers  through  insur- 
ance is  a  legitimate  end  of  governmental  policy.  ...  It  may,  how- 
ever, be  safely  asserted  that  compulsory  insurance  requires  that 
either  the  state  itself  becomes  the  insurer,  or  that  it  exercise  an 
efficient  control  over  private  or  semi-public  associations  which 
the  individual  is  compelled  to  join ;  for  this  alone  eliminates  from 
the  problem  the  difficulty  that  the  state  would  force  the  indi- 
vidual to  enter  into  contract  relations  with  other  private  parties 
without  substantially  guaranteeing  performance  to  the  individual 
who  is  required  to  part  with  his  money."^ 

The  methods  now  upon  their  trial  may  be  classified  as  follows: 
(i)  Schemes  of  thrift  and  savings;  (2)  building  and  loan  asso- 
ciations ;  (3)  mutual  benefit  associations,  local  and  national ;  (4) 
insurance  against  sickness,  accidents  and  unemployment,  by  trade 
unions  ;  (5)  insurance  funds  under  the  impulse  and  direction  of 
employers,  especially  of  large  corporations ;  (6)  "industrial  insur- 

^  New  York  State  Library,  Legislative  Bulletin,  1903.     Rep.  New  York  Dept. 
of  Labor,  1902,  p.  51,  7th  An.  Rep.  of  Free  Employment  Bureau  in  N.  Y.  City. 
^  E,  Freund,  Police  Power,  p.  464. 


508  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

ance,"  with  a  motive  of  profit,  by  insurance  companies;  (7)  the 
pension  funds  of  firemen,  policemen,  teachers  and  other  munici- 
pal servants ;  (8)  the  pension  system  for  soldiers  and  sailors  by 
the  Federal  government.  As  yet  the  State  and  National  govern- 
ments have  not  entered  upon  the  policy  of  insuring  wage  earners. 

The  subject  of  compulsory  government  insurance  is  now  be- 
fore the  people  of  the  United  States.  It  has  been  carefully  stud- 
ied by  the  Department  of  Labor  and  the  results  published.  It 
has  come  before  Congress  in  a  resolution  asking  for  further  study 
of  the  situation.  The  Industrial  Commission  gave  the  matter 
some  attention  and  printed  the  facts  relating  to  methods  already 
in  use  in  the  country.  The  National  Conference  of  Charities  and 
Correction  appointed  a  commission  of  seven  persons  to  consider 
the  bearing  of  insurance  on  public  and  private  charity  and  to 
make  a  report  in  1905. 

Cruelty  to  Animals. — The  growth  of  humane  feeling  has,  even  in 
the  absence  of  express  legislation,  abolished  much  of  the  harsh- 
ness of  former  barbarous  habits,  and  extended  mercy  to  all  senti- 
ent creatures.  Through  the  organization  and  activity  of  societies 
for  the  prevention  of  cruelty  to  animals  many  offensive  practices 
have  been  abandoned  or  greatly  mitigated.  Under  the  common 
law  or  statutes  drivers  of  horses  have  been  arrested  for  maltreat- 
ing their  humble  servants ;  the  use  of  pigeons  for  targets  at 
shooting  matches  has  been  diminished;  cattle  on  trains  and  in 
stockyards  must  be  properly  fed,  watered  and  protected  from 
cold  and  heat.  Needless  suffering  in  the  use  of  vivisection  for 
scientific  purposes  will  soon  be  brought  under  suitable  regulation. 

Pawnbroking. — With  the  growth  of  cities  and  of  a  class  of  people 
always  living  close  up  to  the  margin  of  want,  the  necessity  of 
securing  small  loans  for  consumption  becomes  more  urgent. 
Legal  protection  of  the  borrower  goes  with  defence  of  society 
against  theft,  and  the  pawnbroker  is  ever  tempted  to  become  a 
"fence"  for  the  sale  of  stolen  goods.  Thus  it  is  required  in  Chi- 
cago that  the  pawnbroker  shall  deliver  daily  to  the  superintend- 
ent of  police  a  book  showing  every  article  pledged  and  the  name 
and  residence  of  the  pledger.  Since  the  risk  of  loss  and  the  cost 
of  collection  are  very  great  where  sums  lent  are  small  and  the 
habits  of  borrowers  unknown,  some  States  have  permitted  pri- 
vate lenders  and  pawners'  societies  to  receive  higher  than  legal 


THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA 


Sog 


rates  of  interest.  Otherwise  the  business  could  not  be  carried 
on,  and  poor  persons  would  be  obliged  to  borrow  secretly  at 
still  more  oppressive  rates. 

Provident  Loans} — Various  semi-philanthropic  methods  have 
been  used  in  American  cities  to  provide  means  for  small  loans 
on  personal  and  chattel  security.  Many  of  the  charity  organiza- 
tion societies  keep  a  fund  to  lend  to  approved  persons  to  tide 
them  over  an  emergency  and  save  them  from  falling  into  the 
hands  of  hard  and  unscrupulous  lenders.  When  the  records  of 
the  borrowers  are  carefully  studied  and  only  honest,  healthy  and 
industrious  persons  are  given  credit,  this  method  has  yielded 
good  results.  With  vagabonds,  drunkards  and  idlers  some  other 
course  must  be  taken. 

On  a  larger  scale,  chiefly  as  a  preventive  measure,  provident 
loan  associations  and  public  pawners'  societies  "capitalize  the 
credit"  of  honest  poor  persons  and  secure  them  temporary  accom- 
modations at  reasonable  rates  of  interest,  either  to  prevent  imme- 
diate sufifering  or  to  furnish  a  capital  for  some  small  venture  in 
business. 

The  American  cities  have  not  yet  followed  the  European  ex- 
ample by  opening  pawnshops  under  the  direct  management  of 
the  municipal  administration. 

Among  the  measures  which  come  under  the  "police  power" 
of  the  State  and  which  aid  in  the  prevention  of  pauperism 
are:  sanitary  control  of  houses  and  lodging  places;  employ- 
ers' liability  and  compensation  laws ;  factory  inspection ;  regu- 
lation of  the  hours  of  labor  in  mines  and  factories ;  prevention 
of  labor  of  women  and  children  where  health  or  morals  may  be 
injured;  the  guardianship  of  habitual  spendthrifts  whose  extrava- 
gance threatens  their  families  with  want ;  the  creation  of  boards 
of  health;  the  control  of  contagious  and  epidemic  diseases;  the 
protection  of  debtors ;  and  many  others.^ 

Care  of  Discharged  Prisoners  and  Their  Families. — In  the  year 
1890,  at  the  hour  of  taking  the  census,  there  were  97,000  persons 
in  the  prisons  of  the  United  States  (52,894  in  State  prisons,  and 
the  others  in  local  houses  of  correction).  In  1902-3  10,850  pris- 
oners were  discharged  from  36  establishments  studied  by   Mr. 

^J.  Lee,  Constructive  and  Preventive  Philanthropy,  ch.  III. 

*  All  these  are  discussed,  with  citation  of  authorities,  in  Freund,  Police  Power. 


510  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

E.  B.  Woods.  Twenty-four  of  these  institutions  gave  no  help  of 
any  kind,  except  a  suit  of  clothes  and  transportation. 

In  order  to  protect  the  discharged  prisoners  and  lend  them  a 
helping  hand  at  the  critical  hour  when  they  face  a  frowning  world 
with  only  a  bad  record  behind  them,  voluntary  associations  have 
been  formed.  The  methods  employed  are  as  various  as  the 
agencies.  Some  societies  simply  act  as  employment  bureaus  and 
guide  the  discharged  person  to  his  occupation;  others  provide 
temporary  homes.  Some  societies  receive  State  subsidies,  while 
others  derive  all  their  income  from  private  means. 

Clothing  and  tools  are  sometimes  supplied;  employment  is 
sought  and  arrangements  made  with  employers  to  give  the  ex- 
convict  a  friendly  reception  and  a  patient  trial ;  broken  families 
are  brought  together,  and  correspondence  with  the  home  is  en- 
couraged ;  the  wife  and  children  are  aided  during  the  enforced 
absence  of  the  bread-winner;  religious  services  and  personal  care 
of  souls  are  supplied ;  religious  and  moral  associations  for  mutual 
encouragement  are  established  in  the  prisons  and  jails ;  proba- 
tion officers  are  selected  and  supported  in  the  work  of  looking 
after  prisoners  out  on  conditional  release  and  parole ;  men  are 
protected  from  unreasonable  surveillance  of  the  police,  while 
they  are  trying  to  regain  a  reputation  for  honesty  and  industry ; 
prisons  are  inspected  and  abuses  corrected  or  reported  to  the 
highest  authorities ;  and,  out  of  the  knowledge  gained,  public 
opinion  is  instructed  and  guided  into  rational  decisions  as  to 
policy. 

In  1776  the  first  Prisoners'  Aid  Society  (now  called  the  Penn- 
sylvania Prison  Society)  was  organized  in  Philadelphia.  Among 
the  most  conspicuous  societies  are  the  New  York  Prison  Asso- 
ciation, the  Massachusetts  Society  for  Aiding  Discharged  Con- 
victs, the  Connecticut  Prison  Association  and  the  Maryland  Pris- 
oners' Aid  Society.  The  Central  Howard  Association  of  Chi- 
cago is  a  younger  branch  of  the  family.^ 

^  E.  B.  Woods,  "The  Work  of  American  Prison  Societies,"  in  Jour.  Prison  Dis- 
cipline and  Philanthropy,  Jan.,  1903. — E.  C.  Wines,  Prisons  and  Child  Saving 
Institutions. — Report  of  A.  W.  Butler,  National  Prison  Association,  1902,  pp.  282- 
326. — P.  W.  Ayres,  "Care  of  Discharged  Prisoners  in  the  United  States,"  in  report 
of  the  International  Prison  Congress  of  1900,  at  Brussels. — Mrs.  B.  Booth,  "After 
Prison — What?"  (1903). 


THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA 


511 


There  are  industrial  homes  for  temporary  shelter  and  train- 
ing of  discharged  prisoners,  as  the  Hope  Halls  sustained  by  the 
American  Volunteers  under  the  leadership  of  Mrs.  Maud  Balling- 
ton  Booth.  Mrs.  Booth's  homes  have  aided  1,300  men  in  (1902), 
75  per  cent,  of  whom  are  said  to  be  doing  well. 

In  a  few  of  the  States  agents  are  employed  to  secure  employ- 
ment for  discharged  prisoners  and  to  see  that  they  keep  their 
promises.  This  is  done  by  Connecticut,  Illinois,  Indiana,  Kan- 
sas, Alassachusetts,  Minnesota,  New  York,  and  Ohio ;  but  there 
are  too  few  agents  and  they  are  not  provided  for  all  institutions. 

Societies  exist  in  Virginia,  Kansas,  Connecticut,  Illinois, 
Michigan,  Iowa,  Pennsylvania,  Massachusetts,  New  York,  New 
Hampshire,  Maryland,  California,  and  in  Canada. 

The  Salvation  Army  and  the  Volunteers  of  America  both  are 
active  in  helping  prisoners  and  former  convicts. 

As  the  care  of  convalescents  or  of  the  insane  after  discharge 
from  a  hospital  is  regarded  as  essential  to  their  permanent  cure, 
so  humane  and  sensible  aid  to  discharged  prisoners  is  necessary 
to  secure  their  re-adaptation  to  normal  life  and  conduct. 

Criticisms  of  the  "indeterminate  sentence"  and  the  parole 
system  would  generally  disappear  if  the  State  and  private  asso- 
ciations would  provide  an  adequate  number  of  agents  and  proba- 
tion officers  to  aid  the  discharged  persons  who  are  really  willing 
and  eager  to  return  to  honest  life,  and  to  detect  and  return 
promptly  those  who  associate  with  evil  companions  and  refuse 
to  be  industrious,  sober  and  upright.  The  success  of  the  Juvenile 
Court  laws  depends  on  the  probation  officers,  and  the  same  state- 
ment will  be  found  true  in  respect  to  conditional  release  of  adult 
offenders. 


PART  II 

LATIN  COUNTRIES 

CHAPTER  IX 

FRANCE 

BY   ANNIE    MARION    MACLEAN,    PH.  D. 

Historical  Sketch. — One  must  approach  this  study  through 
centuries  of  effort  filled  with  failure  and  successes,  leading  up  to  an 
administration  characterized  by  sanity  and  on  the  whole  by  scientific 
purpose.  Entering  through  the  gateway  of  the  Middle  Ages,  we 
find  the  work  of  poor-relief  almost  entirely  a  function  of  the  church. 
Charity  was  ever  an  essential  Christian  virtue,  and  it  was  to  be  ex- 
pected that  the  church  or  her  officers  should  become  known  as  the 
legitimate  guardians  of  the  poor  and  distressed.  And  when  the  storm 
of  strife  in  Gaul  was  over,  and  a  new  order  prevailed,  it  was  the 
bishops  alone  who  were  left  to  give  relief,  and  during  the  reign  of 
Clovis,  the  council  of  (Orleans  ( A.D.  507)  voiced  a  belief  in  the  justice 
of  this  in  the  sentence :  "Let  the  bishop  in  as  far  as  may  be  possible, 
give  food  and  clothing  to  the  poor  and  to  those  who  are  unable  to 
labor."  The  church  was  always  regarded  merely  as  a  trustee  of 
goods  held  for  the  poor,  and  in  a  council  at  Rome  in  324,  it  had  been 
decreed  that  one-quarter  of  all  church  revenues  should  be  reserved 
for  the  poor. 

At  this  time  the  church  and  king  worked  in  unison,  and  we  learn 
that  Charlemagne  and  Louis  the  Pious  both  assumed  a  protectorate 
over  widows,  orphans,  and  other  poor.  A  church  council  held  in 
Paris  in  829  insisted  on  the  sovereign's  obligation  in  regard  to  such. 
This  oneness  of  state  and  church  in  poor  relief  is  characteristic  of  the 
earliest  charity  in  France.  We  notice  two  forces  at  work  determining 
the  future  method  of  relief.  First,  the  Roman  heritage  of  belief  in  a 
strongly  centralized  authority,  and  second,  the  Teutonic  influence 
which  resulted  in  a  certain  measure  of  localization  of  responsibility 

512 


FRANCE 


513 


toward  the  poor.  A  nice  adjustment  of  these  two  principles  prevails 
iu  the  case  of  unfortunates  in  France. 

The  council  of  Tours  decreed  as  follows :  "Let  every  city  accord- 
ing to  its  means  nourish  with  becoming  aliments  the  poor  and  needy 
of  the  place ;  let  the  local  clergy  as  well  as  all  the  citizens  feed  their 
own  poor  so  that  the  poor  may  not  go  wandering  through  the  cities."^ 

In  806  Charlemagne  issued  the  following  proclamation :  "As  to 
the  beggars  who  pass  to  and  fro  through  the  country,  it  is  our  will 
that  every  one  of  our  faithful  subjects  feed  his  own  poor  either  from 
his  benefice  or  from  his  own  estate,  and  do  not  allow  them  to  go 
begging  elsewhere.  And  when  such  beggars  shall  be  found  let  them 
labor  with  their  hands,  and  let  no  one  presume  to  give  them  any- 
thing," This  principle  grew  naturally  in  a  feudal  society  which 
furnished  each  person  a  natural  protector.  The  foregoing  serves  to 
show  the  principle  of  responsibility  in  mediaeval  charity,  but  so  far 
as  administration  was  concerned  the  church  was  the  means  of  distri- 
bution, and  it  was  through  the  church  almost  exclusively  that  alms 
were  given.  We  notice  during  this  period  the  establishment  and  de- 
velopment of  hospitals^  for  the  needy.  These  were  at  first  simply 
places  set  apart  in  the  church,  under  the  care  of  the  bishop.  And  as 
early  as  the  fifth  century,  Gregory  of  Tours  claims  that  there  was 
such  a  Maison  Dieu  in  every  church.^  We  find  the  following  five 
classes  of  inmates  recognized  and  cared  for, — the  able-bodied  poor, 
the  sick,  orphans,  the  old,  and  destitute  children.  The  religious  fervor 
which  terminated  in  the  Crusades  gave  a  new  impetus  to  the  founding 
of  hospitals  and  other  charitable  homes.  Tliese  were  usually  the 
result  of  private  gifts  and  were  under  the  care  of  the  church,  unham- 
pered by  civic  interference.  All  the  towns  and  cities  were  well  sup- 
plied with  hospitals  and  devoted  people  endeavored  to  make  sure  of 
their  souls'  salvation  by  contributing  to  their  support.  Synchronous 
with  the  growth  of  these  was  the  rise  of  various  religious  orders, 
notable  among  which  may  be  mentioned  the  Hospitallers.  They  de- 
voted themselves  to  all  good  works  and  were  unremitting  in  their 
efforts  to  secure  the  best  public  service  possible,  and  most  especially 

*  Quoted  by  Miss  Balch,  p.  12. 

^  These  were  not  hospitals  in  the  modern  sense,  but  rather  were  refuges  for 
all  need  and  distress. 

^  The  notable  Hotel-Dieu  of  Paris  was  founded  in  800  by  the  Bishop  Saint- 
Laudry. 

33 


514  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

did  they  seek  to  equip  and  work  in  hospitals.  The  steady  increase 
in  the  growth  of  these  hospitals  during  the  thirteenth  and  fourteenth 
centuries  appears  to  assert  that  poverty,  too,  must  have  been  on  the 
increase,  but  this  was  not  necessarily  the  case ;  it  may  merely  mean 
that  the  decay  of  feudalism  emphasized  the  existence  of  the  poor  and 
needy  now  that  their  natural  protectors  were  no  longer  responsible 
for  their  support.  People  were  more  free  to  move  about,  and  mobili- 
zation of  population  usually  means  the  growth  of  a  vagrant  class. 
The  laws  of  Saint  Louis  were  quite  rigorous  in  regard  to  vagabonds, 
as  may  be  seen  from  the  following  provision  :  "Any  idler,  who  having 
naught  and  earning  naught,  frequents  taverns,  shall  be  arrested, 
questioned  as  to  his  means  of  livelihood,  and  banished  from  the  city 
if  he  be  taken  in  a  lie  or  convicted  of  an  evil  life."^  Even  at  this 
somewhat  early  period,  the  poor  flocked  to  Paris  as  they  do  at  present, 
and  then  as  now  caused  much  trouble  to  the  municipal  officers.  As 
an  offset  to  this  tendency,  Saint  Louis  built  hospitals  in  surrounding 
towns.  It  was  apparently  easy  then  to  get  money  for  such  institu- 
tions. Religious  enthusiasts  gave  willingly  and  others  contributed 
in  the  hope  of  saving  their  souls,  but  in  the  latter  part  of  the  four- 
teenth century  interest  in  charitable  institutions  began  to  wane.  This 
was  inevitable  with  the  political  disturbances  and  the  gradual  break- 
ing up  of  religious  orders.  And  we  find  a  growing  lack  of  confidence 
in  the  clergy  manifesting  itself  in  enactments  to  place  hospitals  under 
lay  control,  a  noteworthy  change  from  the  days  when  Gregory  for- 
bade laymen  to  participate  in  the  government  of  charitable  institu- 
tions. All  these  upheavals  helped  to  swell  the  number  of  beggars 
roaming  about  and  uncared  for,  and  this  in  turn  led  to  the  enactment 
of  many  measures  designed  to  rid  the  country  of  beggary.  In  the 
stringent  ordinances  of  John  the  Good  (1350)  we  find  that  all  idlers 
and  beggars  of  either  sex  in  Paris  must  go  to  work  or  leave  the  city 
within  three  days  on  pain  of  imprisonment  for  the  first  offence,  of 
the  pillory  for  the  second,  of  branding  and  punishment  for  the  third. 
And  all  preachers  were  ordered  to  warn  their  hearers  not  to  give  alms 
to  those  "sound  of  body  and  limb"  who  are  able  to  work  for  a  living. 
But  the  efforts  to  rid  the  country  of  the  curse  of  beggary  were  not 
very  successful.  The  time  was  inopportune.  Pestilence  and  war 
increased  paupers  and  left  France  at  the  close  of  the  fourteenth  cent- 

^Gerando,  De  la  Bienfaisance  Publique,  IV.  483.     Quoted  by  Miss  Balch,  p.  12. 


FRANCE  515 

ury  utterly  unable  to  cope  with  the  situation  in  a  satisfactory  manner. 
The  end  of  the  fifteenth  century  witnessed  a  change  in  the  political 
and  social  order.  Freedom  brought,  as  we  have  seen,  a  more  pre- 
carious existence  to  the  serfs  and  villains,  for  the  duties  of  the  feudal 
lord  vanished  with  his  rights.  With  this  unsettled  condition  ends 
what  may  be  regarded  as  the  first  period  of  poor-relief  in  France. 

The  second  period  then  may  be  fixed  from  the  sixteenth  century 
to  the  Revolution,  beginning  after  a  lapse  of  two  chaotic  centuries  and 
ending  in  the  fury  of  1789.  It  is  convenient  here  to  study  relief 
under  two  heads :  first,  in  Paris,  and  second,  in  the  provinces.  It  is 
noteworthy  that  all  charitable  institutions,  whether  in  Paris  or  in  the 
provinces,  continued  to  be  licensed;^  but  they  were  not  obliged  to 
specify  the  particular  class  of  persons  for  which  they  were  intended. 

Louis  XIV  harmonized  the  administration  of  the  large  charitable 
institutions  in  the  capital.  The  letters-patent  of  1690  made  of  the 
Bureau  of  the  Hotel-Dieu  a  sort  of  superior  council  for  the  discussion 
of  questions  of  general  order.  It  was  composed  of  the  archbishop  of 
Paris,  and  five  other  important  personages,  all  laymen.  In  1607,  the 
hospital  St.  Louis,  and  in  1637,  the  Home  for  Incurables,  later  called 
the  Hospital  Laennec,  were  founded,  and  these  were  administered  by 
the  Bureau  of  I'Hotel  Dieu.  Formerly  the  Home  for  Incurables  had 
controlled  its  own  funds.  Hospitals  abounded  in  Paris,  and  it  is 
claimed-  that  in  1786  with  a  population  of  660,000  souls  there  were  48 
establishments  capable  of  accommodating  20,341  persons  as  follows : 

L'Hotel-Dieu  et  Saint  Louis 2,500 

Les  Incurables 426 

Les  Menages  382 

L'Hospital  general 12,000 

L'Hospital  royal  et  des  Invalides 3,ooo 

Maison  de  fous  de  Charenton 692 

Hospital  militaire  du  Gros-Caillon 264 

Les  Quinze-Vingts  ,. .  300 

Divers  (Charite,  Necker,  Cochin,  etc.) 'j'j'j 

Nombre  des  hospitalises 20,341 

^  Derouin,  Traite  Theorique  et  Pratique  d' Assistance  Publique,  I,  p.  14.  Here- 
after the  author's  name  only  will  be  used  in  referring  to  this  work. 

*Terron,  Memoires  sur  les  hospitaux  de  Paris,  1788,  p.  24.  Quoted  by  Derouin, 
pp.  17  and  18. 


5j5  modern  methods  of  charity 

The  revenue  of  these  was  reckoned  at  eight  million  Hvres  at  the 
time  of  the  Revolution.     To  recapitulate,  we  find : 

1.  The  administration  of  I'Hotel-Dieu,  first  in  the  hands  of  the 
clerg>',  had  been  made  laical  at  the  beginning  of  the  i6th  century. 

2.  The  municipality  of  Paris  did  not  exercise  the  regulative 
power  over  I'Hotel-Dieu  given  by  the  acts  of  1505,  but  in  1544  insti- 
tuted Bureaus  for  the  poor. 

3.  The  king  in  1656  effected  a  centralization  of  administrative 
power  by  the  creation  of  a  general  bureau. 

4.  Each  institution  enjoyed  a  measure  of  autonomy. 

5.  Each  institution,  having  revenue  accruing  from  its  own  en- 
dowment, was  granted  privileges  and  exemptions.  In  regard  to 
relief  to  the  poor  in  the  provinces,  many  difficulties  appeared.  An 
edict  of  1543  gave  to  bailiffs,  seneschals  and  other  justices  the  care  of 
lazarettos  in  so  far  as  the  selection  of  persons  to  handle  their  revenue 
was  concerned.  That  this  was  not  altogether  satisfactory  is  seen  from 
the  great  number  of  acts  that  were  passed  in  the  half  century  follow- 
ing. In  1606  Henri  IV  ordered  a  general  reform  in  regard  to  the 
auditing  of  hospital  accounts.  This  was  not  efficacious  and  was 
renewed  by  Louis  XIII  in  1612.  In  1656  the  king  opened  in  Paris 
a  general  hospital  for  mendicants  of  the  city  and  environs.  This  only 
served  to  attract  beggars  from  the  country  and  rendered  the  problem 
of  relief  more  complex.  As  an  antidote  to  this,  an  edict  of  1662 
ordained  the  establishment  of  a  general  hospital  in  every  city  and 
town  of  importance.  A  law  of  1666  prohibited  the  opening  of  any 
hospitals  whatsoever  without  express  permission  of  the  king  ac- 
corded in  letters  patent.  This  principle  holds  to-day,  for  the  state 
alone  has  power  to  create  moral  bodies,  but  it  was  interpreted  by  the 
king  to  confer  on  him  the  opposite  right,  the  suppression  of  corpora- 
tions no  longer  filling  a  social  need.  Thus  by  an  edict  of  1672,  the 
king  gave  to  the  Orders  of  Notre  Dame  and  Mont-Carmel  and  Saint- 
Lazare  the  wealth  of  other  institutions  which  were  no  longer  neces- 
sary for  the  public  good.  This  led  to  complicated  legal  difficulties, 
but  finally  the  law  of  1698  determined  the  manner  of  administration 
of  hospitals  created  or  enriched  by  the  earlier  edicts  and  this  method 
remained  in  use  in  many  cases  until  the  Revolution. 

A  declaration  of  1698  gave  to  each  establishment  a  bureau  of 
management  composed  of  (i)  members  by  virtue  of  office,  as  the 


FRANCE 


517 


mayor,  consuls,  principal  justice;  (2)  members  elected  by  the  gen- 
eral assembly. 

There  were  in  the  kingdom  before  the  Revolution,  according  to 
Dupin,^  740  civil  hospitals,  besides  130  small  establishments  of  three 
or  four  beds.  All  these  were  capable  of  caring  for  110,000  persons, 
25,000  sick,  40,000  children,  and  40,000  old  people  and  others  inca- 
pacitated for  work.  Their  revenues  were  valued  at  about  thirty 
million  livres. 

It  is  claimed-  that  the  chief  advance  made  by  charity  in  the  i8th 
century,  and  particularly  in  the  reign  of  Louis  XIII,  was  in  the  field 
of  medical  assistance.  Free  consultations  outside  of  the  hospitals 
had  been  established  under  Louis  XIV.  During  the  reign  of  Louis 
XV  filled  medicine  chests  were  distributed  among  the  poor  in  the 
country.  The  spirit  of  reform  in  sanitation  and  hygiene  was  at  work 
and  it  was  none  too  soon,  for  in  the  hospitals  could  be  found  five  and 
six  patients  in  one  bed,  and  frequently  each  was  suffering  from  a  dif- 
ferent loathsome  or  contagious  disease.  The  publicity  given  to  these 
horrors  led  to  most  bitter  discussions  in  regard  to  the  value  of  hos- 
pitals. Many  urged  their  disuse,  others  advocated  their  speedy 
multiplication.  A  middle  course  was  adopted  and  four  general  and 
several  special  hospitals  were  then  opened.  The  dying  years  of  this 
period  were  brightened  by  agitation  by  Philippe  Pinel  for  more  hu- 
mane treatment  of  the  insane ;  the  invention  by  Valentine  Haiiy  of 
raised  type  for  the  blind ;  the  invention  of  the  sign  language  by 
Abbe  I'Epee,  and  the  working  out  of  an  educational  system  for  deaf 
mutes  by  Abbe  I'Epee  and  Abbe  Sicard.^  The  period  of  the  Revolu- 
tion was  characterized  by  much  doctrinaire  Biscussion  of  principles  of 
assistance,  but  by  small  results.  The  men  of  the  Revolution  felt  that 
with  the  gift  of  liberty  to  each  individual,  the  state  should  guarantee 
him  the  minimum  means  of  existence  either  in  aid  or  work.  "L'Etat 
doit  a  tous  les  citoyens  une  subsistence  assuree"  was  their  belief. 

The  Convention  in  1793  proclaimed  the  following  principles  :* 

I.  Poor-relief  being  a  national  debt,  the  wealth  of  hospitals, 
foundations  and  endowments  for  the  poor  shall  be  sold  for  the  profit 
of  the  nation.^ 

^  Le  Baron  Dupin,  Histoire  de  rAdministration  des  secours  publics,  p.  13. 

*  Miss  Balch,  p.  64.  *  Ibid. 

*  Montesquieu,  Esprit  des  loij  XXIII,  p.  29.     Quoted  by  Derouin,  I,  p.  23. 
'Decret  du  19  mars  1793,  Art.  S- 


5i8  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

2.  Public  relief  is  a  sacred  debt,  and  it  is  for  the  law  to  deter- 
mine the  extent  and  application  of  it.^ 

3.  Fathers  and  mothers  unable  to  support  their  families  are  en- 
titled to  aid  from  the  nation.^ 

4.  A  man's  domicile  is  the  place  to  which  the  needy  must  look 
for  relief.^ 

The  only  immediate  result  of  the  reform  programme  was  a  dimi- 
nution of  hospital  funds ;  no  reforms  resulted,  and  the  Revolutionary 
years  contributed  nothing  of  value  toward  the  solution  of  the  problem 
of  charity.  Visionary  schemes  for  the  obliteration  of  poverty  came 
to  naught,  and  the  legislation  of  the  time  can  only  be  regarded  as  a 
side  light  on  the  vagaries  of  the  period.* 

The  modern  period  may  conveniently  be  regarded  as  ushered  in 
by  the  dawning  days  of  the  19th  century.  Charity  was  in  a  chaotic 
condition,  and  the  Directoire  had  neither  the  time  nor  the  inclination 
to  elaborate  a  new  plan  for  poor-relief;  so  it  simply  reestab- 
lished an  organization  similar  to  that  existing  in  pre-Revolutionary 
days,  and  regulated  by  three  laws  : 

1.  Relating  to  hospitals  and  almshouses."^ 

2.  Relating  to  Bureaus  of  Charity.^ 

3.  Relating  to  needy  children.'^ 

Provision  for  the  insane  was  made  by  the  law  of  June  30,  1838, 
and  it  was  not  until  1893  that  a  law  was  passed  providing  for  the 
treatment  of  the  ill  in  their  homes.  In  addition  to  the  foregoing 
classes  of  charitable  enterprise,  there  are  some  others  which  must  be 
enumerated  to  make  the  classification  complete.  These  are  either  of 
a  purely  local  or  special  character,  and  are  as  follows :  The  general 
administration  of  public  relief  in  Paris,  the  national  institutions  of 
charity,  the  inter-communal  institutions,  the  departmental  institu- 
tions, and  the  communal  institutions.     Such  then  is  the  machinery 

^Declaration  des  droits  de  rhomme,  du  28  mai  1793,  Art.  la. 
*Decret  du  28  juin  1793,  Art.  i. 

*  Decret  du  24  vendemiaire  an  II  title  V,  Art.  la. 

*  Perhaps  it  would  be  fair  to  add  that  the  ideas  of  the  Revolution  relating  to 
the  prevention  of  pauperism,  though  crude  and  impractical,  have  entered  into  the 
recent  movements  to  establish  government  insurance  on  a  scientific  basis,  as  in 
Germany. — C.  R.  H. 

'  Loi  du  16  vendemiaire  an  V  (7  Octobre,  1796). 

*  Loi  du  7  frimaire  an  V  (28  Novembre,  1796). 
^  Loi  du  27  frimaire  an  V  (17  Decembre,  1796). 


FRANCE 


519 


which  is  in  use  in  France  for  the  distribution  of  aid  to  the  helpless. 
To  facilitate  administration,  by  a  decree  of  1886/  all  branches  of 
public  relief  were  united  under  a  board  known  as  the  "Directoire  de 
I'Assistance  Publique,"  and  this  was  divided  into  four  committees 
having  charge  of^  (i)  national  institutions,  beggary,  the  insane;  (2) 
children;  (3)  communal  hospitals  and  asylums,  bureaux  de  bienfai- 
sance,  public  hygiene ;  and  (4)  benefit  societies,  monts-de-piete.  In 
1888  there  was  established  the  "Conseil  Superieur  de  I'Assistance 
Publique,"^  composed  of  about  60  members.  The  Conseil  formu- 
lated the  following  rules  as  a  guide  in  its  work : 

1.  Public  aid  is  due  those  who,  either  temporarily  or  perma- 
nently, are  unable  to  support  themselves. 

2.  Public  aid  is  due  only  in  default  of  other  aid. 

3.  Public  aid  is  in  essence  communal. 

4.  Public  relief  is  a  work  of  national  solidarity. 

The  aim  of  this  Conseil  is  the  reorganization  of  methods  of  poor- 
relief,  and  the  ability  of  the  men  composing  it  leads  to  the  belief  that 
their  aim  will  be  realized  at  no  very  distant  date. 

This  mere  outline  of  the  rise  and  development  of  public  assistance 
in  France  simply  serves  as  a  background  for  the  detailed  account  of 
existing  methods  that  is  to  follow. 

A.  Public  Poor-Relief. — Since  1806  about  80  laws  have  been 
passed,  arranging  for  and  regulating  the  distribution  of  poor-relief 
in  France,  and  as  a  result  of  this  legislation  we  find  the  state  the  con- 
trolling and  supervising  body  with  power, — 

1.  To  create  relief  establishments. 

2.  To  name  the  officers  of  these. 

3.  To  control  directly. 

4.  To  give  full  authority. 

5.  To  grant  support. 

6.  Immediate  supervision  over  general  relief  institutions. 

The  state,  the  department  and  the  commune  each  has  its  duty  in 
regard  to  public  relief,  but  properly  speaking  the  question  of  assist- 
ance may  be  said  to  rest  with  the  state  or  the  commune.  The  differ- 
ence between  state  and  communal  institutions  is  simply  that  they, 
while  legal  entities,  function  in  and  for  the  state  or  commune  accord- 
ing as  they  are  under  the  authority  of  the  one  or  the  other.     Under 

'  Derouin,  I,  p.  35.  ^  Miss  Balch,  p.  164.  'Derouin,  I,  p.  35. 


S20 


MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 


the  old  legislation,  any  institution  for  public  relief,  whether  a  hos- 
pital, bureau  of  charity,  or  bureau  of  relief,  might  be  created  by 
authority  of  the  government.  As  early  as  1806  this  principle  was 
recognized.  Institutions  established  before  this  time  are  regarded 
as  having  a  regular  legal  existence,  and  therefore  to  be  maintained  at 
public  expense. 

Classes  of  Indigent  IV ho  Have  Claim. — The  people  who  are  tem- 
porarily unable  to  support  themselves  form  a  considerable  proportion 
of  the  population  of  Paris.  Many  of  those  who  come  in  from  the 
country  seeking  employment  are  unable  to  obtain  it  and  thus  swell 
the  ranks  of  those  who  sooner  or  later  must  apply  for  aid.  Relief 
given  to  the  strong  who  are  unable  to  find  work  is  of  necessity  lim- 
ited, as  the  first  care  is  for  those  who  through  various  infirmities  are 
incapable  of  self-support,  and  so  there  has  grown  up  a  large  body  of 
social  malcontents  ready  to  burst  forth  into  bitterness  at  all  times. 

The  following  are  the  classes  of  indigent  who  have  claims.  At 
the  International  Congress  of  Charity  held  in  Paris  in  1887  the  prin- 
ciple that  public  relief  is  due  those  who  are  temporarily  or  perma- 
nently unable  to  provide  themselves  with  the  necessities  of  life,  was 
enunciated  and  such  persons  are  classed  as  follows : 

1.  Children,  whether  orphans  or  not,  who  are  abandoned,  and 
without  parents'  care. 

2.  The  insane. 

3.  The  sick. 

4.  The  old  and  infirm.  The  able-bodied  unemployed  are  not 
considered  legitimate  objects  of  charity  in  a  general  classification,  but 
each  local  bureau  may  investigate  cases,  and  bestow  aid  as  it  deems 
wise  in  accordance  with  the  funds  at  its  disposal.  The  indigent 
known  to  be  incapable  of  supporting  themselves  permanently  receive 
an  amount  varying  from  thirty  francs  a  month  to  three  francs  a 
month  in  summer,  and  five  francs  a  month  in  winter.  Persons  re- 
ceiving such  aid  have  their  names  placed  on  annual  lists  compiled  by 
an  employe  termed  the  visitor.  Great  care  is  taken  with  these  lists 
so  that  there  may  be  no  duplication  of  aid  by  diflferent  organizations. 

Law  of  Outdoor  and  Indoor  Relief} — The  prevailing  principle  in 
France  is  that  aid  shall  be  administered  at  home  whenever  possible, 
and  institutional  aid  given  only  when  rendered  imperative  by  the 

'  Law  of  1893. 


FRANCE  521 

nature  of  the  case.  While  in  the  different  communes  of  France  the 
management  of  all  institutions  for  relief  is  vested  in  an  administrative 
body  distinct  from  that  of  the  bureau  of  charity,  in  Paris,  by  virtue 
of  a  special  law^  a  single  administrative  body  directs  indoor  and  out- 
door relief.  This  body,  under  the  authority  of  the  prefect  of  the 
Seine  and  the  Minister  of  the  Interior,  consists  of  a  responsible  di- 
rector and  an  advisory  board.  The  director  is  named  by  the  Minister 
of  the  Interior  upon  the  suggestion  of  the  prefect  of  the  Seine. 

His  duties  are:  (i)  To  supervise  all  services;  (2)  to  prepare 
the  budgets  ;  (3)  to  order  expenditure  ;  (4)  to  make  a  statement  of  his 
administration;  (5)  to  represent  in  law  all  institutions  or  bureaus  as 
plaintiff  or  defendant ;  (6)  to  care  for  all  needy  and  orphan  children ; 
(7)  to  assist  the  advisory  board  in  its  meetings  f  (8)  he  is,  finally,  by 
virtue  of  his  office,  a  recognized  member  of  all  communities  for  public 
relief  work. 

The  advisory  board  or  council  of  superintendence  is  composed  as 
follows:  (i)  The  Prefect  of  the  Seine;  (2)  the  Prefect  of  Police; 
(3)  ten  representatives  of  the  municipal  council;  (4)  two  mayors  or 
their  deputies;  (5)  two  officers  of  bureaus  of  charity;  (6)  one  coun- 
cillor of  state;  (7)  a  member  of  the  Court  of  Appeal;  (8)  one  prac- 
ticing physician  from  the  hospitals  and  almshouses;  (9)  a  practicing 
accoucheur  from  the  hospitals;  (10)  one  practicing  physician  from 
the  medical  relief  service;  (11)  a  professor  of  the  faculty  of  medi- 
cine; (12)  a  member  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce;  (13)  an  honor- 
ary and  working  member  of  the  "Conseils  de  Prud'hommes ;"  (14) 
nine  other  members.  All  of  these  members  excepting  the  first  are 
appointed  by  the  President  upon  nomination  by  the  Minister  of  the 
Interior. 

Organization. — The  administrative  personnel  consists  of  in  all 
509  persons,  whose  duties  are  clearly  outlined,  ranging  from  those 
of  the  general  secretary  to  the  friendly  visitor,  with  salaries  of  from 
15,000  fr.  to  1,800  fr.  There  is  opportunity  for  advancement  in  the 
service.  This  very  complete  organization  controls  public  poor-relief 
in  France.  The  titles  of  the  officials  are :  i  general  secretary,  2  in- 
spectors, 4  division  chiefs,  17  bureau  chiefs,  17  assistant  bureau 
chiefs,  I  inspector  of  rural  property,  42  directors,  30  managers  of 
institutions,  20  secretary-treasurers  of  bureaus  of  charity,  39  head 

^January  10,  1849.  *  Decree  of  the  President,  April  24,  1847. 


g22  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

bookkeepers,  80  bookkeepers'  clerks,  90  copying  clerks,  100  perma- 
nent assistants,  58  visitors.     Their  duties  are  indicated  in  the  titles. 

Relief  of  Persons  at  Home. — As  indicated  elsewhere,  needy  per- 
sons are  rendered  aid  in  their  homes  in  the  form  of  monthly  pensions, 
medical  attention  and  nursing.  All  this  is  extended  only  after  care- 
ful and  searching  investigation. 

Outdoor  relief  is  confined  chiefly  to  the  twenty  bureaux  de  bien- 
faisance  of  Paris,  and  was  reorganized  by  a  public  decree  of  1886, 
which  was  not  entirely  satisfactory,  as  it  modified  the  organization 
without  furnishing  additional  funds.  A  later  law  of  1895  specified 
the  mode  of  procedure,  and  took  away  from  the  bureau  the  power  of 
preparing  their  own  lists  of  beneficiaries,  which  was  their  work  under 
the  law  of  1886.  The  Director  of  Public  Relief  prepares  the  lists 
now  for  each  year,  and  important  revisions  are  made  from  time  to 
time.  Each  bureau  has  the  right  to  propose  names  for  the  lists  and 
the  cases  are  then  carefully  investigated  by  the  central  office.  The 
budget  of  1900  gave  to  the  bureaux  de  bienfaisance  6,968,674  francs 
to  carry  on  the  work  of  outdoor  relief. 

Sources  of  funds. — Public  poor-relief  as  organized  in  France  re- 
ceives funds  from  the  following  sources : 

( I )  Funds  accruing  from  the  real  estate  and  personal  property  of 
institutions,  given  in  the  first  place  by  the  state  or  private  individuals. 
(2)  Moneys  given  by  virtue  of  special  laws.  (3)  Gifts  and  legacies 
to  special  institutions.  Charitable  persons  frequently  contribute 
largely  to  public  institutions.  (4)  Moneys  left  to  the  various  terri- 
torial communities  and  by  these  used  for  charitable  purposes.  In 
1896,  1,216  bequests  were  made  to  public  institutions  and  106  to  those 
of  a  private  character.  The  money  value  of  the  former  was  18,069,- 
696  francs,  and  of  the  latter  2,513,566  francs.  (5)  The  general 
funds  of  the  state.  (6)  Special  funds  set  apart  for  charity,  as,  for 
example,  a  ten  per  cent,  tax  on  all  theatre  tickets  and  on  the  gross 
revenues  of  all  places  of  amusement.  This  tax  amounts  to  about  four 
million  francs  a  year.  (7)  Annual  appropriations  by  the  municipal 
councils. 

C.  Private  Charity. — Private  charity  in  France  covers  a  wide 
range,  as  wide  in  fact  as  public  charity,  for  in  all  fields  of  benevolence 
private  initiative  is  at  work.  Institutions  for  the  sick  and  the  old  and 
the  needy  are  springing  up  on  every  side,  and  are  doing  in  a  smaller 
way  just  what  the  larger  public  ones  have  undertaken.     The  results 


FRANCE 


523 


obtained  by  private  charitable  undertakings  and  the  rapidity  with 
which  these  have  developed  in  a  short  space  of  time  furnish  the  best 
proof  of  the  social  utility  of  the  methods  of  relief  they  have  adopted. 
They  have  had  to  surmount  difficulties,  it  is  true.  The  indifference 
of  the  public  at  times  has  been  disheartening,  but  they  have  been  able 
to  meet  expenses  and  in  many  cases  to  extend  their  work.  Private 
charity  always  suffers  more  or  less  from  a  too  fickle  public  opinion. 
The  attention  of  the  people  is  easily  diverted  and  so  the  support  be- 
comes uncertain.  The  French  charities  have  to  meet  this  difficulty 
continually,  and  it  is  only  by  the  utmost  perseverance  on  the  part  of 
those  interested  that  many  institutions  dependent  upon  general  con- 
tributions survive.  The  term  private  charity  as  used  in  France  in- 
cludes:  (i)  Alms  given  freely  to  the  poor  by  charitably  disposed 
people  with  or  without  inquiry  concerning  the  cause  of  their  need. 
(2)  Aid  given  by  private  institutions  of  charity.  These  establish- 
ments have  their  own  organization,  and  their  special  purpose.  In 
France  private  institutions  of  this  kind  may  or  may  not  be  recognized 
by  the  government  as  public  utilities,  that  is,  they  may  or  may  not 
enjoy  a  legal  existence.  Even  when  recognized,  they  still  remain 
private  institutions.  Recognition  usually  results  from  some  signifi- 
cant merit.  Public  relief,  on  the  other  hand,  includes  all  public  aid 
given,  whether  by  the  state,  department  or  commune,  and  public 
institutions  created  by  law  of  the  state,  department  or  commune,  but 
which  are,  however,  dismembered  parts  of  these  territorial  commu- 
nities. These  institutions  are  national,  departmental  or  communal  ac- 
cording to  the  function  they  perform.  The  administration  of  each  of 
these  is  in  the  hands  of  an  officer  chosen  by  the  state  and  assisted  by 
a  council  or  a  directing  commission.  In  the  directing  commission  the 
state  is  generally  represented  by  a  certain  number  of  members.  Other 
members  are  designated  by  the  authorities  of  the  territorial  commu- 
nity in  which  the  public  institution  is  located. 

Thus  it  will  be  seen  by  comparison  that  private  charity,  repre- 
senting, as  it  does,  the  activity  of  individuals  or  groups  acting  only 
upon  their  own  initiative  and  with  their  own  resources,  is  much  more 
pliable  than  that  created  and  controlled  by  the  community.  While 
public  charity,  by  reason  of  its  impersonal  character,  is  particularly 
apt  to  create  and  maintain  large  institutions,  private  charity  by  virtue 
of  its  very  personal  element  tends  to  smaller  efforts  for  more  diverse 
needs. 


524 


MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 


Benevolent  Associations. — Associations  of  men  and  women  work- 
ing- together  or  separately  play  a  very  important  role  in  the  dispensa- 
tion of  charity.  They  carry  on  muhiform  activities  in  behalf  of  chil- 
dren, the  aged  and  the  destitute  in  general.  Founded  in  a  spirit  of 
kindness  and  unselfishness,  the  members  of  such  associations  are  able 
to  get  a  very  vital  hold  upon  those  whom  they  would  help. 

The  Societe  philanthropique  was  formed  in  1780,  before  the  time 
of  the  first  revolution.  This  very  powerful  organization  commenced 
its  work  by  giving  an  annual  stipend  to  twelve  octogenarian  laborers, 
and  as  the  years  passed  it  added  new  beneficiaries.  As  early  as  1786, 
the  society  gave  to  316  persons  and  had  a  membership  list  of  186  of 
the  most  prominent  people  in  France.  Political  events  compelled  the 
society  to  disband  in  1793,  but  in  a  few  years  it  was  reorganized  with 
renewed  life  and  was  recognized  as  a  public  utility  in  1839.  From 
its  creation  it  has  been  supported  by  annual  subscriptions  and  gifts 
sufficiently  liberal  to  enable  it  to  extend  its  work  continually,  and  no 
record  of  private  charity  is  complete  without  a  recognition  of  the 
invaluable  services  of  this  far  famed  society.  In  1900  the  Societe 
philanthropique  owned  and  operated  the  following  charities : 

(i)  Thirty  soup  kitchens.  The  first  was  opened  in  1800.  In 
these  one  may  get  a  portion  of  soup  or  a  cup  of  cofifee  for  five  cen- 
times (one  cent),  and  other  food  at  a  similar  rate.  They  distribute 
annually  three  million  portions  of  food.  (2)  Thirty  dispensaries  for 
adults.  Free  medical  treatments,  and  consultations  are  given  to  the 
annual  number  of  3,000  of  the  former  and  25,000  of  the  latter.  (3) 
Four  special  dispensaries  for  children.  Over  12,000  are  cared  for 
each  year.  (4)  A  surgical  hospital.  This  was  opened  in  1896,  and 
patients  pay  a  small  fee.  (5)  Rewards  given  to  honest  and  indus- 
trious workers.  About  five  thousand  francs  a  year  are  distributed. 
(6)  Three  night  refuges  for  women  and  children.  Twelve  thousand 
women  and  2,500  children  are  admitted  each  year.  Work  is  obtained 
for  about  twenty-five  per  cent,  of  the  women.  (7)  Home  for  women 
enciente.  About  250  women  are  received  annually.  (8)  Home 
for  mothers  with  young  children.  The  annual  average  admission  is 
700  women  with  their  children.  (9)  Homes  for  aged  and  infirm 
women.  The  first  one  was  opened  in  1882.  (10)  Improved  dwell- 
ings. The  first  building,  with  accommodations  for  35  families,  was 
erected  in  1888.  The  society  had  housing  accommodations  for  over 
300  families  in  1900.     The  Societe  philanthropique  is  directed  by  a 


FRANCE  525 

council  of  administration  under  the  presidency  of  the  prince  of  Aren- 
berg.^ 

The  "Oeuvre  de  Bienfaisance,"  founded  by  Miss  de  Broen  in 
1871,  is  notable  in  many  ways.  Its  many  activities  aim  at  lessening 
the  hardships  of  the  poor  dwelling  in  the  most  populous  districts  of 
Paris.  Miss  de  Broen  has  herself  directed  this  work  for  over  thirty 
years  at  a  cost  of  about  two  million  francs.  She  procures  all  the 
funds,  which  come  mainly  from  her  own  fortune  and  from  friends  in 
England.  A  list  of  the  institutions  included  in  her  work  is  given 
below :  ( i )  Home  for  old,  unemployed  women.  They  are  given  a 
certain  quantity  of  bread  or  meat  for  three  hours'  work.  (2)  Free 
dispensary.  (3)  Oeuvre  for  conferences  on  morality,  temperance 
and  other  important  social  questions.  (4)  Evening  courses,  held 
twice  a  week  for  young  men  and  women.  (5)  A  day  school  from 
1873  to  1899.  (6)  School  open  twice  a  week  to  instruct  children  in 
general  morals.  (7)  Organized  friendly  visiting  among  the  sick  and 
destitute.  (8)  Free  distribution  of  food.  About  300  people  are  fed 
each  day.  (9)  A  trade  school  for  young  girls.  Closed  in  1878. 
(10)  Orphanage  for  little  girls.  (11)  A  maritime  sanatorium  for 
delicate  children.  (12)  Free  library  of  2,000  volumes.  (13)  Dis- 
tribution of  moral  tracts  and  pamphlets. 

In  addition  to  those  cited,  the  Oeuvre  de  la  Chaussee  du  Maine, 
the  Societe  frangaise  de  Bienfaisance  de  Tunis,  and  the  Hospitalite 
Universelle  a  Nantes  et  a  Paris  are  maintaining  multiform  activities 
differing  but  slightly  in  character  and  extent.     These  are  all  illustra- 

^  In  its  report  for  1901-2  it  showed  that  it  had  30  popular  kitchens  which 
distributed  in  the  year  2,230,494  portions  of  food  for  orders  or  cash.  They  sup- 
ported 30  dispensaries  in  various  parts  of  Paris,  and  these  treated  3,091  sick  in 
40,041  consultations.  Hospital  accommodations  for  surgical  cases  were  provided 
for  men  and  women,  and  for  children.  The  four  dispensaries  for  children 
treated  18,237  children  in  34,476  consultations,  and  30,584  articles  of  clothing 
were  given  to  children.  In  three  lodging  houses  10,150  women  and  1,126  chil- 
dren were  temporarily  sheltered,  and  of  these  women  3,010  were  given  employ- 
ment, and  many  articles  of  clothing  were  distributed.  In  a  special  house  for 
women  about  to  become  mothers  578  women  were  lodged  and  fed  for  5,144  nights. 
Other  forms  of  help  were:  Aid  given  for  the  settlement  of  31  skillful  young 
workmen,  5,475  fr. ;  education  of  children,  4,476  fr. ;  pensions  and  rent  payments ; 
the  Hotel  Marjolin  for  self-supporting  working  women,  with  60  beds.^ 


^Zeitschrift  fiir  das  Armenwesen,  April,  1903,  p.  117. 


526 


MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 


tive  of  the  fact  that  private  benevolence  is  a  very  important  factor  in 
relief  work  in  France. 

Red  Cross. — "La  Societe  de  secours  pour  les  blesses  et  les  malades 
des  armees  de  terre  et  de  mer,"  organized  about  the  middle  of  the  last 
century,  was  recognized  as  a  public  utility  in  1866.  This  society  gives 
to  wounded  and  sick  soldiers,  and  to  their  families,  financial  aid  when 
it  is  needed.  Hospitals  and  ambulances  are  provided  for  the  wounded 
and  in  recent  years  France  has  organized  and  incorporated  hospital 
volunteer  aid  until  the  service  is  now  most  efficient. 

Settlements. — The  social  settlement  idea  is  gaining  ground  in 
Paris,  but  existing  institutions  are  not  "settlements"  in  the  English 
and  American  acceptation  of  the  term.  Three  have  adopted  the  name 
"Universite  Populaire,"  but,  strictly  speaking,  they  have  little  in 
common  with  university  extension,  which  has  existed  in  France  for 
more  than  a  generation.  These  institutions  have,  with  one  exception, 
no  residents,  but  their  aim  is  primarily  social,  and  the  relationship 
existing  between  the  classes  of  people  meeting  at  these  centers  is 
mutually  advantageous.  The  Universite  Populaire  at  19  Rue  de 
Belleville  is  a  very  close  approach  to  the  English  settlement.  Here  a 
number  of  university  students  dwell  in  a  workingman's  tenement 
house,  and  seek  to  elevate  community  standards.  The  following  is  a 
list  of  the  Paris  settlements :  Universite  Populaire,  de  la  Rue 
IMouffelaret;  Universite  Populaire,  127  Fauborg  St.  Antoine;  Uni- 
versite Populaire,  19  Rue  de  Belleville, — students  in  residence ;  Ora- 
toire  St.  Phillipe  de  Neri,  14  Boulevard  Tuckerman, — a  sisters' 
house ;  Oeuvre  de  Popincourt,  72  Rue  de  la  Foli  Regnault, — four 
residents. 

D.  Ecclesiastical  Charity. — Religious  societies  generally  are 
interested  in  the  care  of  children,  and  so  it  is  not  surprising  that  an 
enumeration  of  their  charities  would  be  almost  entirely  confined  to 
relief  for  children.  The  aged,  too,  are  a  care  of  the  church,  but  they 
are  insignificant  in  number  compared  with  the  children  and  so  have 
never  aroused  sympathy  to  the  same  extent. 

Catholic. — The  Catholic  church  plays  a  most  important  part  in 
private  charity  in  France.  From  its  large  funds  emanates  relief  to 
thousands.  There  is  practically  no  field  of  effort  left  untouched  by 
this  church.  We  find  homes  for  the  young  and  the  aged,  the  morally 
diseased  and  the  physically  defective.  The  magnificent  organization 
of  the  Catholic  church  makes  simple  the  support  and  management  of 


FRANCE 


527 


institutions  of  mercy.  One  of  the  tenets  of  the  CathoHc  faith  is  that 
each  church  should  care  for  its  poor,  and  so  the  church  becomes  a 
distributor  of  alms  not  much  inferior  to  the  state.  Some  of  the  most 
illustrious  relief  societies  in  the  world  owe  their  inception  to  the 
French  Catholic  church.  Notable  among  these  is  the  St.  Vincent  de 
Paul  Society  with  its  ramifying  branches.  The  early  history  of 
French  charity  is  only  a  record  of  Catholic  charity.  The  church  was 
the  early  almoner  of  the  poor,  and  now,  even  though  the  state  has 
assumed  a  duty  toward  the  destitute,  the  church  continues  its  multi- 
form works  of  mercy.  The  numerical  and  financial  strength  of  the 
Catholic  church  in  France  makes  possible  the  distribution  of  charity 
on  a  large  scale. 

An  old  and  notable  church  society  is  the  Little  Sisters  of  the  Poor. 
The  work  of  this  sisterhood  is  too  well  known  throughout  the  world 
to  need  special  discussion  here. 

The  Catholic  charities  are  naturally  the  most  important  of  all 
church  activities  since  the  Catholic  people  are  by  far  most  numerous. 
The  number  of  persons  assisted  (assistes  hospitalises)  by  their  socie- 
ties, in  1901,  in  the  Department  of  the  Seine  alone,  was  23,396;  in  all 
France,  107,400;  children,  83,000;  girls  and  women  in  refuges,  700; 
aged  people,  17,000;  insane,  6,700.  Abbe  Gayraud  declared  that 
there  were  over  4,000  religious  charitable  societies.  The  law  of  July 
I,  1901,  introduced  some  changes  in  methods.  Before  that  time  the 
right  to  organize  a  private  charitable  society  and  give  it  corporate 
rights  had  been  restricted.  The  religious  orders  are  still  subject  to 
administrative  regulations,  and  they  may  be  dissolved  by  decree. 
Here  we  discover  the  signs  of  the  general  conflict  of  clericals  and 
anti-clericals.  The  tendency,  M.  Riviere  thinks,  will  be  to  diminish 
the  sums  given  to  church  societies  and  throw  this  burden  on  the  public 
tax-supported  agencies.     The  secular  institutions  are  growing. 

Protestant. — In  France  Protestant  charities  are  naturally  few  in 
number  compared  with  those  under  the  control  of  the  Catholics. 
Conspicuous  among  the  former  are  those  conducted  by  the  Order  of 
Deaconesses.  LTnstitution  des  Diaconesses  des  figlises  evangeliques 
de  France  maintains  a  hospital,  charitable  institution  and  a  school  of 
correction  in  Paris,  rue  de  Reuilly  95.  The  society  was  founded  in 
1841  and  has  continued  to  do  excellent  work.  The  cost  for  attending 
the  School  of  Correction  is  25  francs  a  month,  with  an  entrance  fee  of 
25  francs,  payable  but  once.     Then  there  are  always  many  children 


528  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

taken  without  charge  through  the  kindness  of  charitable  people.  The 
number  cared  for  during  the  year  is  at  least  seventy. 

Another  Protestant  charity,  founded  at  Nimes  in  1857,  consists  of 
an  asylum  of  two  parts,  the  family  and  the  refuge ;  in  the  former  are 
received  young  orphaned  or  deserted  girls,  regardless  of  belief ;  in 
the  latter  fallen  or  vicious  girls  are  taken.  The  latter  are  admitted 
on  request  of  parents  or  guardians  for  a  fixed  period,  and  the  cost, 
except  in  cases  of  great  need,  is  twenty-five  francs  a  month. 

La  Reunion  protestante  de  Charite  was  founded  in  1871  for  the 
care  of  children  rendered  orphans  by  national  or  civil  wars.  It  owns 
three  homes  and  takes  girls  between  the  ages  of  seven  and  twelve 
years  of  age  and  boys  between  five  and  ten  whose  mothers  at  least  are 
Protestants.  Now  any  destitute  orphans  are  taken  and  cared  for. 
In  1897  the  number  in  the  three  homes  varied  from  58  to  65. 

The  "Reunion  protestante  de  Qiarite  a  Paris"  was  founded  in 
1872  and  recognized  as  a  public  utility  in  1891  and  designed  to  aid 
persons  belonging  to  the  reformed  church.  It  maintains  :  ( i )  A 
charity  clothing  club.  (2)  A  boarding  school  for  girls.  (3)  An 
orphanage  for  boys.  (4)  A  home  for  young  children.  A  small  fee 
is  charged  by  some  of  these  institutions,  and  this,  together  with  the 
proceeds  of  an  annual  charity  sale,  more  than  pays  expenses. 

The  foregoing  serve  as  types  of  Protestant  undertakings.  These 
are  rather  limited  in  their  field,  and  do  not  justly  represent  charitable 
acts  of  adherents  of  the  Protestant  religion,  for  many  contributions  go 
to  charities  not  distinctively  Protestant. 

Salvation  Army. — Paris  was  the  scene  of  the  first  missionary  ven- 
ture of  the  Salvation  Army  and  the  methods  were  well  adapted  to 
capture  an  emotional  people  fond  of  military  display.  Yet  the 
struggle  for  regeneration  has  been  difficult.  The  Army  maintains 
the  usual  activities,  and  now  has  about  three  hundred  officers  at  work. 

E.  Co-operation  and  Co-ordination  of  Public  and  Private 
Reief. — If  we  except  the  city  of  Paris,  where  a  powerful  administra- 
tion groups  under  its  direction  all  the  relief  institutions  and  unites 
them  in  a  body  of  great  strength,  there  does  not  exist  among  the  dif- 
ferent societies  which  in  different  ways  are  working  toward  the  same 
end  any  coordination,  any  bond,  any  understanding  or  any  solidarity.^ 

Charity   Organisation  Society. — Properly  speaking,  there   is   in 

^Derouin,  Traite  Theorique  et  Pratique  d'Assistance  Publique,  Tome  I,  p.  xi. 


FRANCE 


529 


France  no  charity  organization  society.  There  is  a  method  which 
combines  voluntary  effort  and  official  management.  "The  right  to 
relief  is  recognized  only  in  the  cases  of  lunatics  and  deserted  children ; 
all  other  relief  may  be  described  as  organized  charity  distributed  by 
public  bodies.  Institutions  such  as  hopitaux  for  the  sick,  hospices  for 
the  aged  and  infirm  are  supported  by  endowments  and  voluntary 
contributions  and  managed  by  unpaid  bodies  constituted  and  con- 
trolled by  the  state. ^  The  Bureaux  de  Bienfaisance  consist  of  elected 
and  nominated  members  and  give  outdoor  relief  in  the  commune.  In 
1898  there  were  in  France  15,827  such  bureaux,  and  they  extended 
aid  to  1,531,780  persons.  The  funds  distributed  are  derived  almost 
wholly  from  endowments  and  voluntary  contributions,  and  a  small 
proportion  from  taxation.  Very  searching  inquiry  is  carried  on  and 
faithful  records  are  kept.  This  work  is  mainly  in  charge  of  the 
Sisters  of  Charity  and  is  very  accurate.  No  aid  is  given  without  in- 
vestigation. Each  bureau  consists  of :  ( i )  The  mayor  of  the  arron- 
dissement;  (2)  deputies;  (3)  municipal  councillors  of  the  arron- 
dissement;  (4)  at  least  four  governors  per  quarter;  (5)  a  secretary- 
treasurer.  Besides  these,  there  are  friendly  visitors  who  serve  gra- 
tuitously and  in  addition  some  salaried  officers.  By  means  of  this 
thorough  organization,  it  becomes  increasingly  difficult  for  the  un- 
worthy to  obtain  aid. 

Conferences  and  Congresses. — An  international  Congress  of 
Charity  met  in  Paris  in  1855.  This  was  the  first  of  the  kind,  and  all 
countries  in  Europe  were  represented.  The  discussions  proved  to  be 
of  inestimable  value,  and  the  congress  established  then  has  met  in 
Paris  three  times  since,  during  the  exposition  years  of  1878,  1889, 
and  1900.     Its  next  meeting  will  be  held  in  Milan,  September,  1905. 

The  Societe  Internationale  pour  I'etude  des  questions  d'assis- 
tance  is  a  learned  society  doing  a  practical  work ;  and  the  Societe 
Generale  des  Prisons  is  doing  much  to  improve  conditions  in  the 
prisons  throughout  the  land. 

In  1878  the  Congres  Universel  pour  I'amelioration  du  sort  des 
aveugles  et  des  sourds-muets  met  in  Paris,  and  has  held  meetings  at 
intervals  since. 

In  addition  to  the  foregoing,  the  various  national  societies  inter- 

*  Palgrave,  Dictionary  of  Political  Economy,  article  on  Charity  Organization 
in  France. 

34 


530  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

ested  in  some  phase  of  philanthropy  and  maintaining  charities  meet 
to  discuss  needed  changes  in  method.  The  Societe  des  Creches  may 
be  mentioned  as  one  conspicuous  among  these. 

Expositions. — Each  international  exposition  held  in  Paris  has 
resulted  in  the  organization  of  congresses  to  deal  with  the  subject  of 
charity  in  some  of  its  many  phases,  and  this  in  turn  has  led  to  exhibits 
from  various  countries  illustrative  of  development,  character,  and 
methods  of  relief.  In  1900,  the  exhibits  were  more  numerous  than 
ever  before,  and  at  the  same  time  better  organized. 

Charity  Directories. — A  directory  of  French  charities  may  be 
found  in  various  year  books^  published  by  individuals  and  societies, 
and  the  annual  reports  of  separate  charities  contain  complete  lists  of 
a  particular  class.  In  this  way,  it  would  be  possible  to  obtain  a 
knowledge  of  all  the  charitable  institutions  or  societies  in  the  country. 

F.  Indoor  Poor  Relief.^ — Institutional  relief  is  afforded  all 
classes  of  destitute  persons  from  those  needing  permanent  care  to 
those  who  require  only  temporary  relief,  subject  to  the  general  rule 
that  none  shall  be  admitted  to  institutions  who  can  be  cared  for  out- 
side.    This  has  long  been  the  policy  of  public  relief  in  France. 

The  splendidly  organized  hospitals  and  institutions  of  various 
kinds  receive  within  their  doors  persons  who  have  no  homes  or  who 
for  good  reasons  must  be  given  institutional  care.  Hospital  treat- 
ment comes  almost  entirely  within  the  domain  of  public  relief.  The 
hospitals  of  Paris  alone  afford  accommodation  for  about  thirty 
thousand  people.  Domiciliary  regulations  are  carefully  observed 
in  the  admission  of  each  person  applying  for  aid.  Indoor  relief 
is  given  in  public  institutions  only  after  the  most  searching  investi- 
gations. In  private  institutions  no  such  stringent  regulations  exist. 
In  general,  private  indoor  relief  is  given  on  a  smaller  scale,  and 
in  institutions  designed  to  meet  special  needs.  Public  funds  must 
be  distributed  in  a  way  to  satisfy  the  public,  while  the  distribution 
of  private  funds  concerns  only  the  donors. 

G.  Vagrants.  The  giving  of  relief  to  able-bodied  adults  raises 
some  of  the  most  complex  and  delicate  problems  of  modern  charity. 
The  difficulty  of  distinguishing  between  the  professional  beggar  and 
the  deserving  poor  is  great  and  much  cumbersome  machinery  is  nec- 

^  Hachette,  Annuaire. 

'  Derouin,  Traite  Theorique  et  Pratique  d'Assistance  Publiqiie.  Larrive,  lAs- 
sistance  Publique  en  France.     Fleury,  De  I'Assistance  Publique  a  Paris. 


FRANCE 


531 


essary  to  carry  out  satisfactory  investigations.  Philanthropists  and 
sociologists  are  agreed  that  the  best  method  of  checking  vagrancy  is 
to  furnish  no  aid  except  where  a  return  of  work  is  given.  Excep- 
tional cases,  however,  need  special  treatment.  Among  its  various 
charitable  undertakings,  the  city  of  Paris  includes  three  institutions 
where  aid  is  given  in  return  for  work.  These  are  :  ( i )  Le  Refuge- 
ouvroir  Pauline-Roland  for  women,  (2)  Le  Refuge,  Nicolas-Flamel, 
for  men.  (3)  La  colonic  agricole  de  la  Chalmelle,  also  for  men. 
These  have  all  been  organized  since  1889,  and  at  considerable  cost. 
The  establishment  for  women  has  157  beds  and  accommodations  for 
40  little  children.  This  is  designed  for  strong  women  who  are  tem- 
porarily out  of  employment.  They  pay  expenses  by  sewing,  washing, 
ironing  or  doing  other  work  given  them  in  the  home.  Provision  is 
made  for  small  children  in  the  creche  and  the  kindergarten.  The 
director  is  very  successful  in  finding  permanent  employment  for  a 
large  proportion  of  the  women  who  seek  shelter  with  her.  The  home 
for  men  has  accommodations  for  207.  This  is  not  only  a  night 
refuge,  but  has  workrooms  where  those  desiring  work  may  obtain  it 
for  a  time.  The  duration  of  a  sojourn  is  supposed  to  be  three  days, 
or  four  if  a  Sunday  intervenes.  Financial  aid  is  sometimes  given  to 
the  most  needy.  It  is  only  since  1893  that  the  municipal  work  rooms 
have  been  open.  The  regulation  sojourn  in  the  work  rooms  is  20 
days,  but  may  be  prolonged  in  exceptional  cases. 

In  the  institutions  for  both  men  and  women  applicants  upon  en- 
tering must  be  bathed  and  examined  for  general  cleanliness.  In 
addition  to  the  institutions  mentioned,  Paris  maintains  three  munic- 
ipal lodging  houses,  two  for  men  and  one  for  women.  These,  unlike 
the  English  houses,  are  entirely  free,  providing  not  only  a  bed  but 
soup  at  night  and  bread  in  the  morning.  Men  are  allowed  to  stay 
for  three  successive  nights,  while  women  may  remain  for  a  month  if 
it  seems  advisable.  Every  effort  is  made  to  prevent  the  admission  of 
unworthy  characters.  The  system  of  disinfecting  is  very  complete 
and  guests  are  required  to  wear  municipal  clothes  while  in  the 
houses.  Thus  the  health  of  all  is  safeguarded.  Institutions  giving 
temporary  asylum  to  needy  men  and  women  are  very  numerous  in 
France.  Some,  like  the  municipal  lodging  houses,  are  entirely  free ; 
others  require  payment  in  work,  while  still  others  furnish  a  home  for 
a  time  and  in  addition  money  or  clothes,  or  both.  Thousands  of  per- 
sons are  aided  every  month  in  this  way,  and  the  great  majority  of 


532  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

them  find  their  way  into  some  permanent  occupation,  thus  justifying 
the  efforts  made  in  their  behalf.  The  institutions  under  discussion 
entertain  from  three  to  five  thousand  a  year  each  and  at  a  great  ex- 
penditure of  money.  Private  individuals  and  societies  as  well  as  the 
municipalities  have  interested  themselves  in  the  unemployed  and  tem- 
porarily homeless  poor,  with  the  result  that  new  institutions  are  con- 
stantly being  added.  Thus  the  movement,  which  dates  back  less 
than  a  score  of  years,  bears  no  insignificant  part  in  the  general  char- 
itable work  of  France. 

Closely  allied  with  the  foregoing,  yet  differing  from  it  in  essential 
details  and  method,  is  the  movement  toward  colonization  of  the  poor 
in  agricultural  districts.  The  first  municipal  colony  was  started  at 
Chalmette  in  1891  to  provide  home  and  work  for  many  men  originally 
from  the  country  who  found  themselves  unable  to  cope  with  industrial 
conditions  in  the  city.  At  first  only  men  between  the  ages  of  twenty- 
five  and  fifty-five  years  and  who  had  been  resident  in  Paris  at  least 
three  years  were  eligible  for  admission.  There  are  accommodations 
for  sixty  men  at  the  present  time,  but  the  intention  of  the  council  is  to 
make  provision  for  men  with  families  in  the  future,  so  that  they  as 
well  as  single  men  may  have  the  advantages  of  life  on  the  model  farm. 
During  the  first  ten  years  of  its  existence  the  colony  received  850  per- 
sons; of  this  number  491  were  placed  in  good  positions,  271  left  vol- 
untarily, 15  were  sent  to  a  hospital,  4  joined  the  military  service,  2 
died,  while  37  were  expelled  for  cause. 

As  types  of  colonies  established  by  private  parties  the  Colonic 
Agricole  de  Mettray  and  the  Colonic  Agricole  protestante  de  Sainte- 
Foy  may  be  mentioned.  The  former  was  founded  in  1839  and  the 
latter  in  1843,  3-nd  they  receive  an  average  of  540  and  140  persons  re- 
spectively per  year.  They  are  both  designed  for  young  boys  who  need 
correction,  but  who  scarcely  merit  prison  life,  and  so  these  colonies 
differ  from  the  more  recent  one  founded  by  the  city  of  Paris.  They 
perform  a  very  valuable  function  in  checking  criminal  tendencies  in 
the  young.^ 

H.     Medical  Relief.     Public. — The  law  of  free  medical  aid^ 

'  See   Witt,   La   Charite  a  travers  les   Siecles.     Witt,   La   Charite   tn   France. 
Rapports  du  Jury  International  Exposition  Universelle  Internationalle  de  igoo; 
Quatrieme  partie,  classe  112.    Shaw,  Municipal  Government  in  Continental  Europe, 
"Law  of  July  15,  1903. 


FRANCE 


533 


recognizes  absolutely  the  right  of  the  needy  to  aid,  and  the  rendering 
of  it  is  now  obligatory  throughout  France.  The  law  provides^  that 
every  ailing  Frenchman  who  has  no  resources  of  his  own  shall  receive 
gratuitously  from  the  commune,  the  department,  or  the  state,  as  the 
case  may  be,  medical  aid  at  home,  or  if  that  is  not  practicable,  in  a 
hospital.  This  law  applies  equally  to  women.  Ill  and  needy  for- 
eigners will  be  treated  as  the  native-born  in  every  case  where  the 
French  government  has  a  treaty  of  reciprocity  in  respect  to  relief 
with  the  country  of  the  needy  strangers. 

Free  medical  aid  may  be  organized  in  the  commune  in  two  differ- 
ent ways  :  ( i )  For  needy  residents  of  the  communes,  and  in  rare 
cases  strangers;  (2)  according  to  the  needs  of  the  different  com- 
munes. All  of  this  is  carefully  regulated  by  the  law  of  July  15,  1893. 
It  is  noteworthy  that  the  word  "indigent"-  does  not  appear  in  the  law. 
The  wage  worker  who  falls  ill  may  need  aid,  but  he  is  in  no  sense 
indigent. 

The  insistence  upon  the  regulation  that  no  one  shall  be  treated  in 
a  hospital  when  it  is  possible  to  administer  relief  to  him  at  home  is 
upon  economic  and  moral  grounds.  Lists  of  persons  eligible  for  this 
aid  are  made  by  a  commission  whose  duty  it  is  to  arrange  such  lists. 
When  it  becomes  impossible  to  treat  the  sick  one  properly  at  home, 
the  attending  physician  must  certify  to  this  and  state  clearly  the  rea- 
sons which  necessitate  hospitalisation.^  This  certificate  must  be  coun- 
tersigned by  the  president  of  the  bureau  of  relief,  or  the  "maire"  (un- 
less he  be  the  physician)  or  some  one  delegated  by  him.  The  recruit- 
ing of  physicians  for  this  public  service  is  fraught  with  difficulties. 
The  funds  are  limited.  At  present  two  systems  are  in  vogue  :  ( i ) 
The  prefect  designates  a  physician  who  shall  have  charge  of  the  sick 
poor  in  his  locality,  and  he  is  responsible  for  all  whose  names  are  on 
his  lists.  (2)  Any  physicians  who  accept  the  conditions  of  the  public 
service  are  considered  relief  physicians,  and  those  in  need  of  care  may 
select  from  these  the  one  they  prefer.  Local  conditions  determine  the 
method  in  use. 

To  be  entitled  to  medical  treatment,  the  petitioner  must  have  a 
"domicile  of  relief."  This  domicile  is  acquired  by:  (i)  Residence; 
(2)  birth;  (3)  marriage.     The  length  of  residence  must  be  at  least 

^Article  i.  'Larrive,  I'Assistance  Publique  en  France,  p.  13. 

°  Circular  of  the  Minister  of  Interior  containing  instructions  for  the  enforc- 
ing of  the  law  of  free  medical  aid. 


534 


MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 


one  year  in  the  commune.  Children  are  considered  as  having  the 
domicile  of  the  father,  or,  the  father  being  dead,  that  of  the  mother. 
In  cases  of  separation  or  divorce,  the  child  takes  the  domicile  of  the 
parent  to  whose  care  he  has  been  committed.  The  wife  takes  the 
domicile  of  her  husband  from  the  day  of  her  marriage.  The  domicile 
of  relief  is  forfeited  by  an  uninterrupted  and  voluntary  absence  of  a 
year(  military  service  or  absence  in  a  hospital  or  asylum  is  not  in- 
cluded). 

Dispensaries. — Free  clinics  are  maintained  in  many  of  the  hos- 
pitals and  houses  for  aid,  and  dispensaries  are  maintained  throughout 
the  country.  These  are  directed  by  the  Department  of  Public  Relief 
with  the  aid  of  the  local  bureaus  of  relief.^ 

Hospitals. — These  are  of  two  classes:  (i)  General, — designed 
for  the  treatment  of  all  maladies  ;  (2)  special, — for  the  care  of  certain 
specified  diseases. 

In  Paris  there  are  15  general  hospitals  for  adults  and  two  for  chil- 
dren, and  seven  special  hospitals  for  adults  and  four  for  children. 

For  administrative  purposes  Paris  is  divided  into  "circonscrip- 
tions  hospitalieres,"  and  according  to  his  domicile,  one  is  assigned  to 
a  hospital.  Since  1880  provision  has  been  made  for  incurable  adults. 
A  commission  examines  all  requests  for  admission  at  its  monthly 
meetings.  Incurable  children  are  cared  for  also  if  their  parents  can 
justify  their  state  of  need.  Contagious  cases  are  treated  in  isolated 
rooms  or  wards.  The  isolation  of  consumptives  is  only  beginning  to 
be  practiced  in  France.  Ordinarily  the  hospitals  receive  into  their 
maternity  wards  women  on  the  eve  of  accouchement  and  keep  them 
only  about  ten  days.  Public  opinion  is  now  agitating  for  an  exten- 
sion of  time  in  the  interests  of  humanity  and  the  increase  of  popu- 
lation. Outside  of  the  hospitals  medical  attendance  in  maternity 
cases  is  furnished  at  home.  Licensed  midwives  are  sent  out  by  the 
bureaus  of  relief. 

"L'Ecole  des  sages-femmes"  is  maintained  in  order  that  mater- 
nity cases  may  be  properly  cared  for.  Tuition  was  originally  free, 
but  now  is  paid  by  those  who  can  afford  it. 

In  1898  there  were  in  France  1,708  hospitals  of  all  kinds  main- 
tained at  a  cost  of  133,914,343  francs.  Many  of  these  more  than 
make  their  own  expenses  from  private  patients. 

^  Derouin,  Traite  Thcorique  et  Pratique  d'Assistance  Publique,  Vol.  I,  p.  365. 


FRANCE 


535 


It  is  important  to  note  the  very  great  improvements  that  have  been 
made  in  the  hospital  service  since  1872.  After  this  date  came  their 
rather  startHng  change  from  a  rehgious  to  a  purely  sectarian  basis. 
The  great  hospitals  in  Paris  are  now  a  part  of  L'Assistance  Publique. 
It  was  not  until  1881  that  the  municipality  substituted  trained  nurses 
for  religious  sisters  and  opened  regular  professional  training  schools 
for  nurses.  Members  of  sisterhoods  are  now  found  as  nurses  only 
in  a  few  hospitals  where  their  presence  is  demanded  by  the  terms  of 
the  gifts  and  bequests. 

Care  of  Convalescents. — Some  years  ago,  it  was  seen  that  the 
poor,  upon  leaving  the  hospitals  after  certain  serious  illnesses,  and 
.sick  persons  cared  for  at  home,  nearly  always  require  at  least  a  few 
days'  complete  rest  before  they  are  able  to  resume  work.  To  meet 
this  need  convalescent  homes  have  been  established.  They  are  few  in 
number  compared  with  the  hospitals,  because  the  necessity  is  less 
urgent.  Yet  they  are  significant  in  that  they  represent  a  recognition 
of  a  social  need.  There  are,  besides  the  two  great  national  asylums 
at  Vincennes  and  Vesinet,  some  smaller  institutions  of  this  kind  which 
owe  their  existence  to  private  initiative.  The  two  public  institutions 
were  created  at  the  same  time,  by  a  decree  of  March  8,  1855,  and  were 
opened  about  two  years  later.  The  grounds  are  spacious  and  beauti- 
ful and  the  buildings  of  the  best  construction  and  ample  in  size.  As 
they  are  doing  practically  the  same  work,  a  discussion  of  the  former 
will  be  sufficient  to  indicate  the  general  method.  At  Vincennes  the 
following  classes  of  persons  are  admitted  for  convalescent  treatment : 
(i)  Those  injured  or  stricken  with  sickness  while  engaged  on  public 
works.  (2)  Those  connected  with  certain  mutual  aid  societies.  (3) 
Those  working  in  the  homes  of  specified  persons.  (4)  Patients  leav- 
ing the  hospitals  or  sent  by  the  bureaux  of  charity.  This  class  in- 
cludes by  far  the  largest  number.  (5)  Persons  sent  by  special  au- 
thority of  the  Minister  of  the  Interior,  either  upon  payment  of  a  fee 
or  to  be  cared  for  gratuitously.  The  institution  is  under  direct  au- 
thority of  the  Minister  of  the  Interior,  and  is  administered  by  a  board 
consisting  of  executive  officers  and  a  medical  staff.  From  1857  to 
1899  there  has  been  an  average  annual  attendance  of  over  8,000. 
The  number  received  in  1899  was  8,873. 

The  French  government  maintains  a  hospital  in  London,  and  in 
1894  accorded  a  subvention  of  100,000  francs  to  establish  a  convales- 
cent home  at  Brighton. 


536  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

Since  1891  the  Societe  des  Grands  Magazins  du  Louvre  has  had  a 
country  home  for  convalescing  or  worn-out  employes  of  the  big  shop. 
In  the  year  1899  fifty-seven  men  and  women  were  cared  for. 

Tiiherciilosis. — The  first  French  sanatorium  for  adults  was  erected 
by  a  society  in  Lyons  in  -1900.  In  1901  the  public  relief  authorities  of 
Paris  opened  a  sanatorium,  and  the  Conseil  de  surveillance  ordered 
separate  hospital  wards  to  be  set  apart  for  consumptives.  In  many 
departments  societies  have  been  founded  to  establish  sanatoria. 

Cities,  as  Lille,  Bordeaux  and  Paris,  have  begun  to  give  dispen- 
sary help  in  homes  and  other  relief  as  needed.  L'ocuzre  dcs  dispen- 
saircs  antitnhcrcxdciix  in  Paris  had  two  dispensaries.  The  Oeuvre  de 
la  tuhcrcuJosc  hnmaine  and  the  Oeuvre  antitiihcrculcuse  care  for  pa- 
tients at  home  and  send  the  curable  to  the  country.  In  ]\Iarch,  1902, 
a  federation  of  anti-tuberculosis  societies,  66  in  number,  was  formed, 
M.  Brouardel  presiding. 

Training  of  Nurses. — A  circular  of  the  Minister  of  the  Interior, 
Oct.  28,  1902,  directs  the  commission  of  administration  to  further  the 
work  of  preparing  nurses  for  their  duties,  as  a  necessary  factor  in 
carrying  out  the  law  of  gratuitous  medical  relief.^ 

Hospitals. — The  new  director  (1901),  M.  Monnier,  in  charge  of 
public  relief  in  Paris,  began  his  duties  by  calling  attention  to  needed 
reforms  in  hospitals,  the  increase  of  room  and  the  building  of  isola- 
tion pavilions  for  treatment  of  contagious  diseases.  Three  new 
children's  hospitals  were  completed  in  1901.  He  recommended  the 
employment  of  women  instead  of  men  for  nurses,  and  the  provision 
of  domestic  servants  for  all  common  labor.  M.  Monnier  died  Aug. 
19,  1902,  and  was  succeeded  by  M.  Mesureur. 

School  for  Mothers. — In  1892  was  established  in  Paris  the  first  of 
the  Considtations  de  Nonrrissons,  of  which  there  are  now  28  in  Paris 
and  many  in  the  cities  of  the  provinces.  They  are  connected  with 
hospitals  and  dispensaries  or  supported  by  private  charity.  The 
mothers  bring  their  infants  to  the  class,  when  the  little  ones  are  exam- 
ined and  weighed,  the  mothers  are  taught  how  to  feed  and  care  for 
them,  and,  when  necessary,  sterilized  milk  is  provided.^ 

J.  Care  of  Defectives,  Public  and  Private. — The  Republic  of 
France  recognizes  a  special  duty  to  the  defective,  more  particularly 

^  Zeit.  f.  d.  Armenwesen,  January,  1903,  p.  17;  M.  Riviere. 

'La  Revue  Philanthropique,  February,  1904,  article  by  Dr.  Budin. 


FRANCE  537 

to  the  mentally  defective  members  of  society,  and  in  this  as  in  other 
forms  of  charitable  work  we  find  a  combination  of  public  and  private 
control,  individuals  or  societies  furnishing  the  funds  and  the  state 
directing.  The  principal  institutions  are  now  under  the  direct  con- 
trol of  the  state. 

Blind. — The  first  definite  effort  to  relieve  the  hardships  of  those 
deprived  of  sight  dates  back  to  1227,  when  the  Hospice  National 
des  Quinze-Vingts  was  founded  by  Saint  Louis.  About  this  time  a 
number  of  blind  people  had  formed  themselves  into  a  kind  of  mutual 
aid  society  near  the  Palais-Royal.  The  king  became  aware  of  this 
and  was  so  moved  by  their  misery  that  he  built  them  a  house  and 
ordered  that  it  should  always  be  used  as  a  permanent  home  for  needy 
blind  people  up  to  the  number  of  three  hundred,  and  so  originated  the 
above  named  institution.  It  is  now  classed  among  national  charitable 
institutions,  and  as  such  comes  under  the  direct  control  of  the  Min- 
ister of  the  Interior.  Through  changes  and  reconstruction,  it  has 
remained  true  to  its  original  principles,  and  still  has  three  hundred 
resident  pensioners.  But  in  addition  to  this,  it  extends  aid  to  many 
non-residents  by  means  of  clinics,  consultations  and  other  advice,  and 
in  numerous  ways  renders  aid  to  these  unfortunates. 

The  school  for  the  blind  was  a  much  later  development,  and  we 
find  the  first  one  in  the  world  established  in  France  in  1784  by  Valen- 
tin Haiiy.  This  institution  gives  intellectual  and  technical  instruction 
ranging  all  the  way  from  arithmetic  to  history,  and  from  agriculture 
to  sewing.  Children  are  received  between  the  ages  of  ten  and  thir- 
teen years  and  are  kept  as  long  as  may  be  necessary  to  complete  the 
course  of  study.  Louis  Braille,  the  inventor  of  the  Braille  system  of 
instruction  for  the  blind,  was  for  years  a  pupil  and  later  a  professor  in 
this  national  institution.  There  is  a  Braille  School  in  Paris  doing  a 
notable  work  for  the  education  of  the  blind.  One  rather  unique  insti- 
tution gives  only  technical  or  professional  instruction,  and  candidates 
for  admission  must  be:  (i)  Totally  blind;  (2)  between  the  ages  of 
eighteen  and  forty  years;  (3)  of  good  health,  and  have  special  apti- 
tude for  the  work. 

In  all  the  many  institutions  the  most  scientific  methods  are  in  use, 
and  the  pupils  go  out  ready  to  support  themselves  if  need  be.  And 
societies  exist  to  aid  the  student  in  finding  work.  Instruction  of  this 
kind  has  made  remarkable  progress  during  the  past  century,  and  the 
indications  are  that  a  greater  advance  will  yet  be  made. 


538  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

Deaf  Mutes. — Education  of  the  deaf  mutes  naturally  goes  hand 
in  hand  with  that  of  the  blind,  for  the  need  is  equally  apparent.  The 
earliest  institution  for  the  training  of  deaf  mutes  mentioned  in  his- 
tory was  founded  in  Paris  in  1760  by  Abbe  I'fipee.  It  seems  fitting 
that  France  should  take  the  lead  in  this  as  in  the  training  of  the  blind. 
In  this  school,  from  its  inception,  very  young  children  have  been  re- 
ceived. They  are  taken  as  early  as  six  years  of  age,  and  taught  lip 
reading  of  short,  easy  words.  In  addition  to  this  they  are  given  other 
simple  tasks.  At  the  age  of  nine,  the  education  proper  begins,  and 
this  includes  the  usual  school  branches  and  the  useful  arts.  The  cost 
is  nine  hundred  francs  a  year,  but  there  are  always  available  scholar- 
ships for  the  needy. 

Another  school,  the  national  institution  for  deaf  mutes  in  Cham- 
bery,  was  founded  in  1841.  Its  purpose  is  the  same  as  the  one  just 
described.  The  intellectual  training  includes  articulation  and  lip 
reading  as  well  as  the  instruction  usually  given  in  primary  schools. 
The  technical  training,  which  is  obligatory,  includes,  for  boys :  Agri- 
culture, gardening,  shoemaking,  carpentry  and  tailoring;  and  for 
girls,  dressmaking,  mending,  knitting,  embroidery,  crochet  work,  lace 
work,  laundry  work  and  all  kinds  of  domestic  work. 

Besides  these  two,  there  are  numerous  institutions  attempting 
practically  the  same  work  and  accomplishing  equally  good  results. 
Deaf  mutes  are  thus  enabled  to  take  their  place  in  society  as  useful 
citizens.  To  aid  such  as  must  earn  their  living,  a  society  was  formed 
in  1897  to  help  them  find  employment. 

Insane. — Under  the  insane  may  be  classed  all  types  of  mental 
weakness,  as  institutions  are  organized  on  a  sufficiently  broad  basis 
to  make  possible  the  care  of  all.  The  insane  poor  are  objects  of  spe- 
cial care  by  the  state  when  relatives  are  unable  to  support  them  in 
suitable  institutions.  There  is  at  Charenton  a  lunatic  asylum  founded 
in  1641  and  reconstructed  between  1838  and  1845.  This  is  under  the 
immediate  direction  of  the  national  government  and  is  open  to  pa- 
tients from  all  parts  of  the  Republic.  It  is  regarded  as  a  model  insti- 
tution for  the  care  of  mental  diseases.  Its  ample  funds  make  pos- 
sible the  organization  of  numerous  divisions,  each  of  which  has 
charge  of  a  particular  mental  malady.  Every  effort  is  put  forth  to 
make  the  inmates  as  comfortable  as  possible  and  suitable  work  and 
entertainment  are  found  for  them.  All  other  institutions  for  the 
insane  are  local   foundations.     The  law  decrees  that  each  of  the 


FR-\N'CE 


539 


eighty-seven  departments  must  either  provide  a  suitable  place  for 
those  of  unsound  mind,  or  make  an  arrangement,  subject  to  the  ap- 
proval of  the  Minister  of  the  Interior,  with  some  other  department  to 
assume  this  care.  These  institutions  are  supported  by  the  depart- 
ment and  contributions  from  the  various  communes  in  which  patients 
lived,  and  these  funds  defray  the  expenses  of  inmates  when  relatives 
are  too  poor. 

Anyone  desiring  to  establish  a  private  asylum  must  obtain  the 
sanction  of  the  government.  A  person  applying  for  such  a  license 
must  be  :  (i)  Of  good  moral  character,  and  (2)  a  doctor  of  medicine 
or  have  a  medical  man  in  charge.  A  thorough  system  of  inspection 
exists,  and  both  public  and  private  asylums  are  periodically  inspected 
by  a  committee  composed  of  the  following  persons:  (i)  Prefect  of 
the  department:  (2)  president  of  local  tribunal;  (3)  local  procurer  of 
the  Repubhc;  (4)  judge  of  the  peace;  (5)  mayor  of  the  commune. 
The  public  asylums  are  under  the  supervision  of  a  committee  of  five 
appointed  by  the  prefects,  and  this  committee  holds  meetings  monthly 
or  oftener  if  necessary. 

Patients  are  consigned  to  asylums  in  two  ways :  ( i )  Compul- 
sory. Dangerous  lunatics  are  placed  in  asylums  for  the  protection  of 
the  public,  whether  their  friends  are  willing  or  not.  (2)  ''Placement 
volontaire."  In  this  case  relatives  or  friends  apply  for  admission. 
Such  application  must  be  accompanied  by  a  medical  certificate  given 
by  a  physician  who  is  not  a  relative.  Patients  are  always  accessible 
to  their  friends,  and  a  peculiarity  of  the  French  lunacy  laws  is  that  a 
patient  or  his  friends  may  claim  discharge  at  any  time  before  a  civil 
court.^ 

In  1892  a  colony  for  family  care  of  insane  women  was  opened  at 
Dun-sur  Auron  and  in  1900  at  Ainay.  a  neighboring  village,  a  colony 
for  men.  The  authorities  had  studied  the  systems  of  Berlin,  Gheel 
and  of  Scotland.  The  patients  are  carefully  selected  by  medical  men, 
surpervised,  and  are  comfortable  and  contented.  They  have  been 
transferred  from  closed  asylums. - 

Insane  Convicts. — By  an  order  of  the  ^Minister  of  the  Interior, 
after  Jan.  i,  1903,  one  wing  of  the  old  central  prison  of  Gaillon  was 

^  In  1896  there  were  64.522  insane  persons  in  asylums,  1,862  of  these  were  in 
private  establishments. 

"Miss  Julia  C.  Lathrop,  National  Conference  of  Charities  and  Correction,  1902, 
p.  188  ff. 


540 


MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 


to  be  used  as  a  public  establishment  of  poor-relief,  and  so  pass  from 
the  administration  of  the  prison  to  that  of  the  public  poor  and  sanitary 
authority.  Here  are  to  be  treated :  ( i )  Convicted  persons  who 
have  become  insane  during  incarceration ;  (2)  those  who  during  trial 
are  found  insane  and  are  therefore  not  convicted;  (3)  inmates  of 
ordinary  asylums  for  the  insane  who  are  declared  by  physicians  to  be 
dangerous.^ 

K.  Treatment  of  Children.  History. — The  custom  of  aban- 
doning children  was  always  common  in  France  as  in  other  countries 
and  during  the  Middle  Ages  it  became  a  veritable  curse  which  neither 
rules  nor  edicts  could  check.  In  the  14th  century  the  favorite  place 
for  abandoning  infants  was  at  the  church  doors,  where  they  were  sure 
to  be  found  later  and  cared  for  in  some  way.  For  although  parents, 
for  various  reasons,  cast  away  their  children,  it  appears  that  they 
hoped  that  they  might  live,  only  with  the  burden  of  care  and  support 
transferred  to  other  persons.  Thus  at  this  early  period  we  find  insti- 
tutions of  various  kinds  opened  for  the  care  of  the  helpless  little  crea- 
tures whom  Christian  people  could  not  leave  to  die  from  exposure. 
In  the  larger  cities  it  was  customary  to  place  cradles  at  the  church 
doors  for  the  reception  of  such  children,  and  the  mere  sight  of  these 
led  charitable  people  to  give  generously  to  the  institutions  which 
cared  for  them.  This,  then,  was  the  first  stage  in  the  development 
of  the  highly  organized  system  of  the  present.  During  the  i6th 
century  we  find  infants  deposited  in  hospital  entrances,  and  this 
raised  a  new  problem,  for  it  was  manifestly  impossible  for  such  insti- 
tions  to  assume  what  proved  to  be  a  great  additional  expense.  From 
this  need  developed  regular  foundling  asylums,  and  the  17th  century 
saw  the  establishment  of  a  large  number  of  such  institutions.  In  the 
i8th  century  infants  were  exposed  on  the  streets  and  open  places  in 
the  effort  to  conceal  the  identity  of  those  abandoning  them.  The 
risk  of  being  seen  at  asylum  doors  was  great,  and  so  parents  resorted 
to  this  infinitely  more  inhuman  method  of  abandonment.  As  a  rem- 
edy for  this  growing  evil,  turning  boxes  were  placed  in  the  walls  of 
hospitals  in  obscure  places,  and  there  children  were  deposited.  At- 
tendants within  had  only  to  turn  the  box  to  take  out  the  child,  and 
they  could  have  no  possible  knowledge  of  the  person  without,  pro- 
tected as  he  was  by  windowless  walls.     This  method,  which  was 

'  Zeit.  f.  d.  Armenwesen,  1903,  p.  15  (M.  L.  Riviere). 


FRANCE  541 

adopted  by  all  the  hospitals,  and  even  extolled  by  a  decree  of  181 1, 
fell  into  disuse  by  the  middle  of  the  19th  century,  and  the  last  turn- 
ing box  in  France  disappeared  about  thirty  years  ago.  One  of  the 
evil  consequences  of  such  a  system  was  the  creation  and  development 
of  a  gruesome  industry  conducted  by  persons  (meneuses  de  tour) 
whose  business  it  was  to  go  about  through  the  villages  and  country  to 
gather  children  whose  parents  wished  to  dispose  of  them,  and  carry 
them  to  the  turning  box  of  the  nearest  hospital.  The  promoters  of 
this  business  reaped  rich  financial  rewards,  as  their  services  were  in 
great  demand.  A  system  making  so  simple  the  desertion  of  children 
naturally  increased  this  particular  crime,  and  it  was  abandoned  none 
too  soon  for  the  good  of  the  coimtry  and  its  morals.  But  the  experi- 
ments of  generations  paved  the  way  for  modern  methods  of  dealing 
with  the  great  problem  of  child  desertion. 

Public  protection  of  infants  in  the  modern  sense  was  instituted  in 
France  by  the  law  of  December  23,  1874.  Outside  of  the  official 
state  protection  thus  guaranteed,  many  private  institutions  are  doing 
notable  work.  According  to  the  law  of  1874,  every  child  under  the 
age  of  two  years  which  is  cared  for,  for  hire,  outside  of  the  home  of 
its  parents  becomes  an  object  of  public  guardianship  in  order  to  pro- 
tect its  life  and  health.  Legislators  believe  that  an  antidote  for  the 
decrease  in  births  is  to  be  found  in  lessening  the  number  of  deaths, 
and  so  justify  themselves  for  the  far-reaching  rigidity  of  the  law.  It 
can  readily  be  seen  that  such  a  law  properly  enforced  would  have 
great  social  value,  and  to  this  end  the  administration  is  invested  with 
power  to  attach  penalties  for  evasion  or  non-enforcement. 

As  a  further  protection  to  infants,  the  Society  of  Maternal  Lac- 
tation, organized  in  1876,  provides  necessities  for  a  nursing  mother 
when  her  need  has  been  established.  This  aid  is  of  two  kinds  :  (i) 
Each  month  a  certain  quantity  of  food  and  clothing  is  given  to  the 
mother;  (2)  milk  is  furnished  to  the  child  when  a  physician  declares 
the  mother's  supply  to  be  insufficient.  Between  the  years  1877  ^"^ 
1898  the  society  aided  in  one  or  both  of  the  above  ways  36,427  infants. 

In  addition  to  this  there  are  many  other  societies  doing  practically 
the  same  work  as  the  ones  indicated,  and  from  the  aims  of  all  of 
these  one  learns  that  France  is  making  vigorous  efforts  to  save  her 
children.  All  such  societies  are  supported  by  public  funds,  supple- 
mented by  private  donations,  and  are  administered  by  the  state 
through  boards. 


542  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

Institutional  Care. — We  find  in  France  a  great  number  of  insti- 
tutions, both  public  and  private,  for  the  temporary  care  of  chil- 
dren, and  their  purposes  and  methods  are  adapted  to  the  particular 
class  the  institution  aims  to  help.  One  such  institution  in  Paris  re- 
ceives:  (i)  Indigent  children ;  (2)  morally  abandoned  children ;  (3) 
children  whose  parents  are  ill  in  a  hospital,  or  under  quarantine,  or 
sentenced  to  imprisonment  for  not  more  than  six  months;  (4)  a  cer- 
tain number  of  children  of  both  sexes  arrested  for  vagabondage  or 
petty  offences  and  sent  there  by  the  magistrates;  (5)  sick  and  needy 
children  from  the  country  who  cannot  be  given  proper  care  at  home ; 
(6)  sick  children  brought  for  the  purpose  of  consultation  with  physi- 
cians and  surgeons,  and  whose  condition  is  so  serious  as  to  demand 
immediate  attention.  Large  numbers  of  these  various  classes  are 
cared  for  each  year  and  the  character  of  the  care  given  is  a  tribute  to 
the  worth  of  the  institution. 

The  "Oeuvre  de  la  Chaussee  du  Maine"  is  designed  for  children 
whose  mothers  are  ill  at  home  or  in  a  hospital,  and  thus  unable  to  give 
needed  maternal  care  to  their  offspring.  Boys  are  admitted  from  the 
age  of  six  months  to  six  years,  and  girls  from  six  months  to  fourteen 
years  of  age.  The  time  limit  of  attendance  is  from  fifteen  days  to 
four  months.  It  is  only  a  temporary  asylum.  A  charge  of  one  franc 
per  day  is  exacted,  except  in  the  case  of  chilldren  admitted  by  a  sub- 
scriber, who  can  always  recommend  that  no  charge  be  made. 

Another  institution,  unique  as  well  as  useful,  is  "La  Maison  Ma- 
ternelle"  in  Paris,  founded  in  1891  by  private  beneficence  for  the  pur- 
pose of  caring  for  the  children  of  wage  earners  incapacitated  by  ill- 
ness or  lack  of  employment.  Boys  from  three  to  six  years  of  age  and 
girls  from  three  to  twelve  are  admitted  ordinarily  for  a  period  not 
exceeding  three  months,  although  in  special  cases  an  extension  of 
time  is  allowed.  There  is  no  provision  made  here  for  sick  children, — 
they  are  sent  to  the  children's  hospital, — but  the  well  are  taken  care  of, 
and  sent  each  day  to  the  primary  or  parish  schools,  according  to  their 
age.  In  this  way  the  institution  strives  to  fill  temporarily  the  par- 
ents' place,  but  in  no  sense  does  it  try  to  usurp  that  place,  as  every 
effort  is  made  to  keep  parents  in  touch  with  their  children  in  residence. 
The  institutions  cited  are  merely  types  of  those  effectually  aiding 
needy  children  in  France.  Many  thousands  are  helped  each  year  by 
such  organizations,  and  they  amply  justify  their  existence. 

Day  Nurseries. — Creches  or  day  nurseries  are  established  to  aid 


FRANCE  543 

working  mothers  in  the  feeding  and  care  of  their  children,  for  it 
is  not  always  possible  for  a  woman  to  take  her  child  with  her  to  her 
place  of  labor.  This  is  possible  only  in  household  work  by  the  day, 
and  even  then  it  is  not  always  possible,  so  philanthropic  people  saw  a 
vast  field  of  opportunity  opening  to  them  in  providing  places  where 
working  mothers  going  for  the  day  to  shops  and  factories  and  offices 
could  leave  their  little  ones.  The  day  nurseries  receive  children  of 
from  fifteen  days  to  three  years  of  age  during  working  hours,  regard- 
less of  the  religious  bias  of  parents.  The  ultimate  aim  of  the  institu- 
tion is  to  make  maternal  lactation  easier  and  to  preserve  the  family 
tie  among  the  needy ;  to  lighten  the  work  of  women  wage  earners 
and  to  start  under  favorable  auspices  the  physical  and  ethical  educa- 
tion of  children  ;  and  to  improve  at  the  same  time  the  spirit  and  morals 
of  a  class  sadly  in  need  of  improvement. 

The  first  creche  was  opened  in  Paris,  November  14,  1844,  by 
Firmin  Marbeau,  who  conceived  the  idea  while  engaged  in  preparing 
a  general  report  on  infant  schools  in  his  arrondissement.  He  was 
impressed  with  the  fact  that  provision  was  made  in  various  kinds  of 
institutions  for  children  over  two  years  of  age  while  those  younger 
were  not  considered.  The  development  of  creches  was  very  rapid, 
being  promoted  by  the  "Societe  des  Creches,"  organized  in  1846. 
This  society  procures  funds  needed  to  carry  on  the  work,  and,  while 
its  efforts  have  been  mainly  in  behalf  of  Paris,  the  provinces  have  not 
been  entirely  neglected.  The  daily  attendance  at  all  creches  has 
nearly  doubled  since  1889.  There  were,  in  1898,  653,838  children 
cared  for  per  day.  Some  of  the  day  nurseries  more  recently  opened 
by  private  beneficence  have  beautiful  playgrounds  in  addition  to  the 
house  accommodations. 

Taking  the  "Creche  Furtado-Heine,"  7  Rue  Jacquin,  Paris,  as  a 
type,  one  is  able  to  see  the  methodical  manner  in  which  such  an  insti- 
tution is  conducted  and  also  its  far-reaching  effects.  This  creche, 
which  is  absolutely  free,  was  opened  in  1896,  and  receives  children  up 
to  the  age  of  three  years,  regardless  of  sex  or  religion.  The  methods 
pursued  in  the  treatment  of  children  taken  there  are  as  follows  :  ( i ) 
There  is  a  thorough  medical  examination  of  all  children  brought  for 
the  first  time,  and  this  is  repeated  if  the  child  is  absent  at  any  time  for 
forty-eight  consecutive  hours.  (2)  The  child  is  at  once  supplied 
with  creche  clothing,  and  its  own  garments,  properly  labeled,  are  put 
in  a  basket  and  subjected  to  a  disinfecting  process.     (3)  Each  child, 


5^4  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

after  its  acceptance,  is  bathed  carefully.  (4)  Sterilized  milk  is  pro- 
vided. (5)  Children  are  fed  at  times  prescribed  by  the  physician  in 
charge.      (6)  The  day  is  divided  into  sleep  and  play  periods. 

This  very  important  work  is  carried  on  in  France  through  the 
"Societe  des  Creches,"  by  means  of  private  benefactions  and  munic- 
ipal subventions. 

School  Children. — In  1890  there  was  formed  in  Lille  a  society 
whose  aim  was  the  distribution  of  clothing,  playthings,  fruit  and 
sweetmeats  to  poor  school  children  at  Christmas  time.  There  has 
never  been  any  complicated  machinery  in  use  to  determine  what  chil- 
dren are  entitled  to  the  gifts.  It  is  sufficient  to  know  that  the  child 
is  poor.  The  success  of  the  society  in  Lille  led  to  the  formation  of 
similar  societies  throughout  the  north  of  France,  and  now  in  nearly 
all  of  the  towns  school  children  who  are  needy  are  provided  with  the 
necessities  of  life. 

Sick  and  Weak  Children. — There  are  many  sanatoriums,  the 
growth  of  recent  years,  for  the  care  of  children  afflicted  with  rickets, 
scrofula  and  tuberculosis.  And  the  term  sanatorium  is  used  to  mean 
an  institution  where  suitable  climate  and  proper  care,  rather  than 
medication  and  surgery,  predominate  in  effecting  a  cure.  As  early 
as  1854  the  department  of  public  relief  in  Paris  opened  an  institution 
for  anaemic  children  at  Forges-les-Bains,  and  a  few  years  later  sana- 
toriums for  the  treatment  of  rickets  and  scrofulous  diseases  were 
established.  But  it  was  not  until  1888  that  the  necessity  of  caring 
for  tuberculous  children  became  apparent.  This  very  valuable  work 
is  now  done  in  a  most  scientific  way.  There  are  seven  establishments 
representing  a  cost  of  four  million  francs,  and  under  the  supervision 
of  a  medical  committee  composed  of  twenty  members.  By  the  care- 
ful selection  and  treatment  of  patients,  and  an  insistence  upon  pre- 
ventive measures,  the  ravages  of  this  dread  disease  have  been  checked 
to  a  considerable  degree.  Since  the  beginning  of  the  work  over  thir- 
teen thousand  children  have  been  treated,  and  the  number  seeking 
relief  increases  from  year  to  year.  In  1900  the  Chamber  of  Deputies, 
recognizing  the  great  value  of  the  work  done,  unanimously  author- 
ized the  establishing  of  a  lottery  for  its  support. 

In  addition  to  the  above  mentioned  institutions  for  the  care  of 
specific  diseases,  there  are  many  children's  hospitals  of  a  more  general 
nature.  "L'Hopital  des  Enfants-Malades"  was  founded  in  1732. 
Designed  at  first  for  girls  and  women,  it  opened  its  doors  in  1802  to 


FRANCE  545 

sick  children  of  both  sexes.  There  are  isolation  wards  for  contagious 
diseases.  In  all  the  hospital  contains  632  beds.  Other  children's 
hospitals  in  Paris  are  "L'Hopital  Trousseau,"  originally  opened  in 
1670,  and  "L'Hopital  de  la  Roche-Guyon,"  founded  in  1861.  In 
addition  to  this,  many  of  the  hospitals  have  free  clinics  for  children. 

Seaside  and  Country  Outings. — The  first  efforts  to  send  school 
children  to  the  country  for  an  outing  in  vacation  resulted  from  private 
initiative.  This  was  in  1881,  when  a  well-known  and  philanthropic 
woman  sent  three  children  to  Manteuil-les-jNIeaux.  From  this  small 
beginning  has  grown  up  the  great  work  of  vacation  colonies.  There 
are  two  methods  commonly  pursued  :  ( i )  The  sending  of  children 
to  the  homes  of  people  in  the  country,  where  they  live  for  a  time  the 
family  life ;  and  (2)  the  sending  of  groups  of  children  under  the  pro- 
tection of  a  properly  qualified  person  to  spend  their  vacation  in  the 
country.     This  is  the  more  general  method. 

The  work  of  sending  children  to  the  country  for  a  time  during  the 
summer  is  undertaken  by  different  societies  having  special  funds  for 
this  purpose.  "La  Chaussee  du  Maine"  undertook  this  branch  of 
charity  in  1882  in  a  very  modest  way  by  sending  twenty  children  out 
of  the  city ;  in  1890  the  number  was  160 ;  and  in  1899  it  had  increased 
to  1,106.  The  children  were  at  first  placed  in  little  groups  among 
the  farming  people,  but  since  1899  the  society  has  owned  a  home  near 
the  sea  where  the  climate  is  especially  adapted  to  the  needs  of  the 
weak  children.  The  age  of  admission  varies  from  five  to  fifteen  years 
and  children  are  entertained  from  one  to  three  months,  according  to 
their  needs.  The  charge  is  thirty-five  francs  a  month,  including 
traveling  expenses,  but  this  is  only  in  rare  instances  paid  by  parents. 
Supporters  of  the  society  have  a  special  fund  for  this  purpose.  "La 
Caisse  des  Ecoles"  of  the  seventh  arrondissement  in  Paris  instituted 
summer  outings  in  1887.  This  organization  is  administered  by  a 
committee  composed  of  the  mayor,  the  deputies,  the  members  of  the 
cantonal  delegation,  and  the  inspector  of  primary  instruction.  A 
very  notable  work  has  been  done  by  this  organiaztion  for  sick  and 
well  children.  The  "Ouvre  des  Trois-Semaines,"  organized  in  1881, 
was  the  first  society  in  France  founded  for  the  express  purpose  of 
sending  poor  children  to  the  country.  The  society  owns  two  classes 
of  homes,  one  by  the  sea  designed  for  those  who  need  the  salt  air,  and 
one  inland.  The  average  charge  in  the  latter  is  thirty-five  francs, 
and  in  the  former  seventy  francs  a  month.     There  is  in  addition  a 

35 


546 


MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 


branch  where  mothers  with  children  are  accommodated.  This  is  a 
Protestant  charity,  supported  by  contribvitions  from  the  various  Prot- 
estant societies  in  France.  The  majority  of  the  children  received 
belong-  to  Protestant  families,  but  others  are  not  excluded. 

Playgrounds  for  children  are  provided  in  some  of  the  city  gardens 
and  parks  of  Paris,  where  space  is  reserved  for  them,  as  in  the 
Jardin  de  Luxembourg. 

Morally  Imperilled  Children. — Since  1887  there  has  been  in 
France  a  union  for  the  protection  of  childhood.  Its  field  of  operation 
is  clearly  delimited.  It  deals  exclusively  with  maltreated  or  morally 
endangered  children,  including  in  the  first  class  all  those  who  are 
brutally  treated  at  home,  or  doomed  to  beggary  or  employed  in 
dangerous  trades ;  while  in  the  second  class  are  included  all  those 
whose  parents  are  notoriously  bad,  or  given  up  to  a  life  of  mendicancy 
or  have  been  sentenced  for  crime ;  in  short,  all  those  children  whose 
home  life  would  inevitably  conduce  to  fatal  depravity.  Children 
gathered  together  by  the  society  are  placed  temporarily  in  the  home 
at  Neuilly.  While  there,  their  moral  and  physical  natures  are  care- 
fully studied  by  experts,  and  later  they  are  placed,  according-  to  their 
needs,  in  institutions  or  private  families.  Between  the  years  1888 
and  1899  the  Union  received  1,196  children.  Since  1892  the  Union 
has  had  a  dotal  fund  for  the  children  it  has  adopted.  For  this  pur- 
pose it  puts  aside  from  the  day  of  adoption  to  the  time  when  the  child 
begins  to  earn  its  living  fifty  francs  a  year  for  the  girls  and  thirty  for 
the  boys.  The  sum  thus  accumulated  is  given  to  the  ward  if,  after 
investigation,  his  conduct  is  found  to  warrant  it.  The  society  is  ad- 
ministered by  a  council  of  thirty-six  members  elected  by  the  general 
assembly  of  subscribers.  Similar  societies  exist  in  Lyons,  Bordeaux, 
Toulon,  Marseilles,  Montpellier,  Bourgoin,  Macon  and  Chalon-sur- 
Seine.  These  cooperate  with  the  mother  society,  but  act  independ- 
ently in  local  matters.  The  original  Union  is  supported  by  member- 
ship assessments,  subventions  from  the  state,  departments  and  com- 
munes, and  an  annual  charity  bazaar,  and  a  lottery.  With  this  thor- 
ough organization,  supplemented  as  it  is  by  the  work  of  private  indi- 
viduals, one  feels  that  morally  imperilled  children  have  an  avenue  of 
escape  open  to  them,  and  that  a  most  commendable  work  is  being 
done.  The  number  of  children  given  public  assistance  in  1897  was 
110,575. 

In  order  to  prepare  children  for  productive  industry,  attention  has 


FRANCE  547 

been  given  to  technical  training.  The  :6coles  manuelles  d'apprentis- 
sage  (loi  du  ii  decembre,  1880)  and  the  ficoles  pratique  du  com- 
merce et  de  I'industrie  (decret  du  22  fevrier,  1893)  had  this  purpose. 
These  schools  are  free.  The  pupils  enter  at  13  years,  and  receive 
instruction  in  ordinary  branches  while  they  have  commercial  or  in- 
dustrial training.  But  the  advantages  of  such  schools  have  been 
restricted  to  the  cities  and  the  class  of  skilled  workmen.  Many  socie- 
ties of  patronage,  religious  and  secular,  have  been  formed  to  guide 
and  counsel  youth  and  keep  them  from  evil  ways.  Homes  have  been 
opened  for  young  girls  working  in  shops  and  factories,  where  they 
can  secure  decent  surroundings  at  a  reasonable  cost.^ 

The  law  of  1874  (Dec.  7)  pronounced  severe  penalties  of  impris- 
onment on  parents  who  permitted  their  children  to  give  performances 
as  acrobats,  etc.,  or  to  send  them  begging. 

The  law  of  1889  (July  24)  provided  for  the  dissolution  of  parental 
power  by  a  court  when  a  child  is  in  moral  peril.  It  followed  that  the 
judge  could  do  nothing  until  the  case  was  serious  enough  to  deprive 
a  parent  of  his  control  over  the  child ;  and  in  case  of  illegitimate  chil- 
dren nothing  could  be  done. 

The  law  of  1898  (April  19)  gave  juvenile  offenders  and  those 
cruelly  treated  protection.^ 

L.  Care  of  Youth^  12  to  18  Years  of  Age. — In  seeking  what 
is  being  done  for  youth  from  twelve  to  eighteen  years  of  age  in 
France,  one  is  confronted  with  the  fact  that  many  of  the  varied  insti- 
tutions whose  primary  aim  is  the  caring  for  young  children  open  their 
doors  to  boys  and  girls  of  twelve  or  fourteen  years  or  even  older. 
This  is  especially  true  in  the  case  of  hospitals  and  institutions  for  the 
care  of  the  sick,  as,  for  example,  the  hospitals  at  Ivry  and  Salpetriere, 
which  receive  incurable  children  between  the  ages  of  four  and  twenty 
years.  Again,  the  "Societe  Lyonnaise  pour  le  Sauvetage  de  I'Enf- 
ance"  extends  all  its  privileges  to  children  as  old  as  fourteen  years. 
But  eliminating  these,  we  find  a  good  deal  of  attention  being  paid  to 
children  over  twelve  years  of  age.  So  without  attempting  a  reenu- 
meration  of  societies  and  institutions  mainly  concerned  with  young 
children,  but  accepting,  at  the  same  time,  unfortunates  of  a  few  years 

^L.  Riviere,' Mendiants  et  Vagabonds,  1902. 

^  Ibid.,  gives  an  account  of  societies  and  institutions  for  helping  children. 


548 


MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 


older,  we  shall  pass  to  a  consideration  of  works  of  charity  undertaken 
primarily  to  aid  young  persons. 

As  early  as  1828  there  was  formed  in  Paris  a  society^  whose  aim 
is  to  prepare  young  boys  of  the  poorer  classes  to  make  an  honest  live- 
lihood. Various  trades  are  taught  and  efforts  are  made  to  get  places 
for  the  boys  when  they  are  ready  to  go  to  work.  The  temptation  and 
seeming  necessity  for  many  boys  to  drift  into  dishonest  occupations 
is  thus  removed.  Great  care  is  taken  to  learn  the  particular  bent  of 
each  boy,  and  he  is  trained  with  that  in  view.  Large  numbers  avail 
themselves  of  the  opportunity  thus  presented  each  year.  The  society 
has  a  threefold  interest  in  its  proteges, — as  students,  as  apprentices 
and  as  workers.  In  order  to  be  admitted  to  the  society  a  boy  must  be 
French,  a  resident  of  Paris,  and  not  less  than  eight  nor  more  than  ten 
years  of  age.  This  age  is  fixed  in  order  that  the  training  may  be 
thorough.  At  the  age  of  thirteen  the  boy  commences  work  as  an 
apprentice,  returning  to  the  maison  de  faniiUe  to  spend  his  evenings 
and  Sundays.  In  1899  the  Society  had  three  hundred  and  twenty 
proteges.  It  is  supported  by  about  350  titular  members  who  pay 
twenty  francs  a  year,  by  subscriptions,  and  charity  bazaars.  The 
Society  is  controlled  by  a  council  of  twenty-six  members  and  a  com- 
mittee of  ladies. 

It  was  not  until  a  much  later  date  that  the  necessity  of  training 
poor  girls  was  recognized.  "L'Ecole  Menagere  et  Professionelle 
Vila"  was  founded  in  1884^  to  fit  young  girls  of  the  working  classes 
for  the  multiplicity  of  duties  falling  upon  the  mother  in  a  poor  man's 
family,  and  in  addition  to  this  to  teach  them  some  useful  trade.  The 
spirit  of  the  school  is  good  and  the  instruction  excellent.  Such  an 
institution  was  much  needed,  not  only  to  fit  poor  girls  to  earn  a  living, 
but  to  enable  them  with  their  domestic  training  to  improve  home  con- 
ditions too  often  lamentably  bad.  In  1899  there  were  in  the  school 
fifty-five  young  girls  from  ten  to  eighteen  years  of  age,  and  the  ac- 
commodations are  being  enlarged  from  time  to  time.  The  institution 
is  regulated  by  an  administrative  council  of  twelve  members  elected 
for  a  period  of  three  years  by  the  general  assembly  of  subscribers. 

A  society  of  recent  origin^  gives  a  provisional  refuge,  with  food 

'^  Societe  des  Amis  de  I'Enfance  pour  I'education  et  I'apprentissage  de  jeunes 
garQons  pouvres  de  la  ville  de  Paris. 
^At  Chaumont. 
'Patronage  de  I'Enfance  et  de  lAdolescence,  founded  in  1890. 


FRANCE 


549 


and  clothes,  to  young  vagrants  while  efforts  are  being  made  to  pro- 
cure work  for  them.  These  young  boys,  between  twelve  and  eighteen 
years  of  age,  are  required  to  give  work  in  exchange  for  what  they 
have  received.     In  1899,  731  boys  were  received  in  the  home. 

The  "Ligue  Fraternelle  des  Enfants  de  France,"  founded  in  1885, 
extends  its  care  to  unfortunates  up  to  the  age  of  twenty-one  years  and 
is  doing  a  notable  work,  inasmuch  as  it  has  branches  and  committees 
operating  all  over  the  country.  At  the  present  time  it  is  aiding  about 
15,000  proteges. 

In  the  early  years  of  the  nineteenth  century  thinking  people  were 
aroused  to  the  fact  that  the  system  of  punishment  then  in  vogue,  to- 
gether with  society's  treatment  of  discharged  prisoners,  was  demor- 
alizing to  young  offenders,  and  some  notable  efforts  were  made  to 
correct  this  tendency. 

In  1819  "L'Oeuvre  laique  du  bon  Pasteur"  was  founded  as  a 
temporary  home  for  young  girls  from  fifteen  to  twenty-three  years  of 
age,  who  were  in  a  hopeless  condition  after  leaving  Saint-Lazare.  If 
necessity  arose,  in  special  cases,  the  asylum  became  a  permanent 
home.  In  1833  a  society  for  aiding  young  men  was  formed,  and 
this  was  the  first  for  helping  youthful  male  delinquents.  The  deplor- 
able conditions  existing  in  the  prisons  and  the  appalling  number  of 
young  men  becoming  habitual  criminals  led  to  the  organization  of 
this  protective  society.  It  was  observed  that  prison  life  tended  to 
make  criminals  of  those  who  were  sentenced  for  the  first  time,  and 
thus  defeated  the  very  object  for  which  such  punishment  stood.  The 
conviction  grew  upon  those  interested  that  avenues  to  legitimate 
employment  were  practically  closed  to  the  unfortunates  who  had 
served  a  sentence  for  any  offence,  and  so  a  desire  to  reform  was  taken 
away  from  them.  For  the  purpose  of  overcoming  in  a  measure  this 
hardship,  an  asylum  was  opened  to  receive  those  discharged  from 
prison  until  suitable  employment  could  be  obtained  for  them,  and  thus 
lessen  the  danger  of  a  second  commitment.  Before  the  society  com- 
menced its  work  the  number  of  recidivistes  was  about  seventy-five  per 
cent. ;  now  it  is  not  more  than  ten  per  cent. 

Another  organization^  was  founded  in  1878  for  the  purpose  of 
trying  to  regenerate  by  means  of  military  discipline  young  delin- 

*  "La  Societe  de  Protection  des  engages  volontaires  eleves  sous  la  tutelle 
administrative." 


550  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

quents  or  morally  abandoned  youth  to  the  age  of  eighteen  years.  In 
the  beginning,  the  society  concerned  itself  only  with  those  who  had 
been  in  correctional  institutions,  but  for  several  years  it  has  been 
equally  interested  in  the  welfare  of  youth  morally  endangered  in  any 
way.  The  society  aims  to  find  positions  in  the  army  and  elsewhere 
for  young  men  who  show  signs  of  wishing  to  lead  a  better  life.  The 
depositing  of  a  certain  sum  of  money  is  considered  by  the  society  a 
moral  obligation  which  it  has  a  right  to  exact  from  proteges.  This 
sum  is  invested  for  their  future  benefit  and  every  effort  is  made  to 
induce  them  to  economize  when  once  work  has  been  obtained.  Nu- 
merous other  societies  are  working  earnestly  to  check  the  tendency 
among  young  delinquents  to  become  habitual  criminals,  and  they  are 
meeting  with  excellent  results.  The  young  boys  feel  that  friends  are 
awaiting  them  at  the  expiration  of  the  first  sentence,  and  they  show 
an  inclination  to  embrace  the  opportunities  offered  them  to  lead  a 
better  life. 

From  all  of  this  it  would  appear  that  philanthropists  in  France 
are  recognizing  the  fact  that  the  age  between  childhood  and  manhood 
or  womanhood  is  fraught  with  many  dangers  among  the  poor  and 
viciously  inclined,  and  that  aid  must  be  extended  if  misfortune  and 
crime  are  to  be  lessened.  The  results  in  all  cases  bear  witness  to  the 
value  of  the  efforts.^ 

Protection  of  Girls. — Senator  Berenger  has  founded  a  committee 
to  cooperate  with  similar  committees  of  other  countries  to  suppress 
the  traffic  in  "white  slaves."  An  international  conference  was  held 
in  Paris,  July  15,  1902,  which  made  plans  to  secure  the  aid  of  various 
governments. 

Religious  and  secular  societies  are  seeking  to  provide  proper 
dwellings  for  working  girls  in  Paris,  as  the  Cercle  Amicitia  and  the 
Syndicat  de  I' Aiguille.  The  Societe  Philanthropique  has  opened  sev- 
eral houses.  The  Salvation  Army  has  a  popular  hotel,  and  the  Israel- 
ites have  established  a  home  for  girls.^ 

M.     Preventive  Work.'     Workingman's  Insurance. — The  ques- 

*See  Rapports  du  Jury  International  (1900),  Groupe  XVI,  Quatrienie  partie, 
classe  112. 

*Zeit.  f.  d.  Armenwesen,  1903,  p.  35. 

'  Annuaire-Almanach  de  LAction  Populaire  (1904). 

Rapports  du  Jury  International  Exposition  Universelle  Internationale  de 
1900    a    Paris;    Quatrieme    partie,    classe    112;     Rapports    de    la    Societe    Philan- 


FRANCE 


551 


tion  of  insurance  against  illness  was  first  taken  up  by  the  Societe  de 
Secours  Mutuels,  and  later  by  La  caisse  de  retraite  pour  la  vieillesse 
and  Les  caisses  de  secours  et  de  retraite  des  ouvriers  mineurs.  The 
various  principles  relating  to  insurance  against  sickness  and  old  age 
advocated  by  these  societies  were  embodied  in  the  law  of  June  29, 
1894.  In  general  a  certain  per  cent,  of  the  wages  received  is  given 
and  in  the  case  of  the  miners,  insurance  is  open  to  people  over  fifty- 
five  years  of  age.     Accident  insurance  is  still  new  in  France. 

The  social  value  of  conciliation  and  arbitration  in  trade  disputes 
was  recognized  by  law  in  1892,  but  the  success  of  this  method  of  set- 
tling difficulties  has  not  been  phenomenal.  In  the  year  1899,  190  dis- 
putes were  considered  by  boards  constituted  for  this  purpose,  but  only 
59  of  them  were  settled  in  accordance  with  the  law  of  1892. 

Factory  Lazvs. — The  first  French  factory  act  dates  back  to  184T, 
but  this  was  ineffectual  because  unenforced.  After  a  struggle  lasting 
half  a  century  the  enforcement  of  the  law  was  made  a  duty  of  the 
factory  inspectors  (1892).  The  act  as  it  now  stands  applies  to  "all 
labor  of  children,  female  minors  and  women  in  workshops,  factories, 
mines,  quarries,  yards  or  premises  belonging  to  same  of  whatever 
nature,  whether  public  or  private,  lay  or  ecclesiastical,  or  whether  the 
establishment  is  industrial  or  philanthropic  in  character."  The  vital 
principles  of  the  act  are  :  ( i )  That  no  child  under  twelve  years  of 
age  may  be  employed.  (2)  Inspectors  may  examine  any  child  under 
sixteen  where  his  physical  fitness  for  work  is  in  question.  (3)  In 
orphan  asylums  and  similar  institutions  no  child  under  twelve  may  be 
given  training  in  manual  labor  more  than  three  hours  per  day.  (4) 
No  child  under  sixteen  may  work  more  than  ten  hours  per  day.  (5) 
No  child  under  thirteen  years  shall  be  permitted  to  work  in  theatres 
and  music  halls.  (6)  No  woman  over  eighteen  may  labor  more  than 
eleven  hours  without  at  least  one  hour's  rest.  Women  and  others 
under  eighteen  shall  not  be  permitted  to  work  between  9  P.  M.  and 
5  A.  M.,  with  a  few  exceptions  in  special  cases.  (7)  Parties  specified 
in  the  law  as  stated  in  the  foregoing  clauses  shall  not  be  permitted  to 
work  more  than  six  days  per  week.  In  addition  to  this  the  sanitary 
regulations  are  good. 

Employment  Offices. — Many  of  the  philanthropic  institutions  of 

thropique,  1896-1900;  United  States  Bulletins  of  Labor,  1900;  Bodiker,  Arbeiter 
Versicherung  in  den  Europaischen  Staaten  ;  Zacher,  Die  Arbeiter- Versicherung. 


552  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

France  see  the  necessity  of  furnishing-  work  to  persons  whom  they 
have  helped,  and  have  opened  employment  offices  in  response  to  this 
need.  Such  offices,  of  course,  are  conducted  on  a  small  scale,  and 
secure  work  for  a  limited  number  of  persons.  But  besides  the  bu- 
reaux we  find  many  institutions  devoted  entirely  to  securing  work  for 
those  seeking  it.  This  valuable  service  tends  to  lessen  the  numbers 
of  the  unemployed.  The  municipality  of  Paris  has  established  free 
employment  bureaux  in  the  different  arrondissements.  These  are 
supported  by  municipal  subventions,  donations  and  membership  fees. 
The  administration  is  divided  between  members  of  the  municipality, 
administrative  officers  of  bureaux  of  charity  and  delegates  from  the 
body  of  subscribers.  The  bureau  of  the  sixth  arrondissement  was 
founded  in  1889,  and  since  that  time  has  placed  2'2,'j'j'j  applicants. 
The  results  of  these  municipal  offices  are  most  satisfactory.  Promi- 
nent among  the  private  employment  offices  is  one  established  in  1871 
by  a  manufacturer.  This  is  practically  the  same  in  aims  and  methods 
as  the  offices  under  public  control.  Since  its  inception  work  has  been 
secured  for  about  thirty  thousand  people.  During  the  year  1899, 
1,034  persons  were  placed  satisfactorily. 

Aid  for  Discharged  Prisoners  and  Their  Families. — Societies 
to  aid  discharged  prisoners  are  a  rather  recent  development  in  France, 
Although  early  in  the  last  century  efforts  were  made  to  improve  the 
conditions  of  prison  life,  it  was  not  till  within  the  last  generation  that 
public  attention  was  called  to  the  hardships  of  those  who  had  com- 
pleted a  previous  sentence.  Such  unfortunate  persons  encountered 
difficulties  on  every  side ;  they  were  met  with  aversion  and  suspicion, 
and  this  rendered  their  return  to  a  life  of  honesty  extremely  hard. 

The  "Societe  Generale  pour  le  patronage  des  liberes,"  founded  in 
1870,  attempted  in  a  small  way,  at  first,  to  extend  sympathy  and  ma- 
terial aid  to  this  class  of  people.  It  now  maintains  homes  for  dis- 
charged prisoners,  both  men  and  women,  until  work  can  be  secured 
for  them.  A  rule  of  1889  requires  each  person  received  in  the  homes 
to  contribute  to  the  society  four  full  days'  work  without  pay  in  return 
for  efforts  made  in  his  behalf.  Any  discharged  prisoner  is  received 
without  question,  and  may  remain  four  days.  The  more  worthy  ones 
are  allowed  to  continue  in  the  employ  of  the  society,  and  are  enabled 
to  learn  a  useful  trade.  The  moral  aid  given  to  the  persons  in  whom 
the  society  is  interested  is  incalculable.  Many  return  to  their  fam- 
ilies honest  men  and  women  because  of  the  helping  hand  extended  in 


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553 


the  moment  of  need.  The  society  is  administered  by  a  council  under 
the  presidency  of  M.  Berenger,  and  is  supported  by  subscriptions 
accorded  by  the  Minister  of  the  Interior  and  the  general  councils  of 
the  departments ;  the  sale  of  work  done  under  the  direction  of  the 
society;  subscriptions  and  gifts.  During  the  year  1899,  3,775  per- 
sons were  assisted;  134  of  these  were  women  and  3,641  were  men. 
Of  the  total  number  3,100  were  admitted  to  the  homes,  while  675 
were  aided  without  seeking  admission  to  the  asylums.  The  "Oeuvre 
des  liberes  de  Saint-Lazare,"  organized  at  the  same  time  and  for  a 
similar  purpose,  is  doing  much  good.  Such  work  is  of  inestimable 
value  to  society,  and  is  meeting  with  generous  recognition  in  France. 

Dwellings  of  the  Poor,  and  Building  Societies. — La  Societe  phi- 
lanthropique  has  been  interested  in  model  tenements  for  some  time 
on  account  of  the  deplorable  housing  of  the  poor  in  Paris.  The  great 
needs  are  more  space,  more  air  and  more  light.  In  1888  the  society 
erected  its  first  model  house  with  accommodations  for  thirty-five  fam- 
ilies at  rue  Jeanne  d'Arc,  45.  This  was  so  signally  successful  that  the 
society  was  encouraged  to  still  further  efforts  and  now  owns  three 
houses  with  forty-five  flats  at  boulevard  de  Crenelle,  65 ;  and  63 
flats,  avenue  de  Saint-Maude,  3,  and  58  flats,  rue  Hautpoul,  19.  In 
addition  to  these,  there  are  three  new  houses  in  course  of  construc- 
tion at  rue  d'Alsace,  23  and  25,  to  furnish  accommodations  for  67 
families,  and  at  rue  de  Clignancourt,  yy,  for  38  families.  The  dwell- 
ings consist  of  two  and  three-room  flats  with  kitchen,  closets,  water 
and  gas.  The  rent  varies  from  169  to  377  francs  annually,  and  is 
paid  quarterly  in  advance.  The  net  revenue  is  capitalized  and  will 
be  used  to  build  other  houses. 

Sanitary  Preventive  Measures. — The  factory  act  of  1892  has 
excellent  sanitary  regulations  referring  to  all  places  designated  in  the 
act.  The  city  health  departments,  too,  insist  upon  the  observance  of 
sanitary  rules.  The  Commission  des  Logements  Insalubres  is  a  per- 
manent body  of  experts  whose  business  it  is  to  wage  war  against  un- 
sanitary homes.  The  commission  receives  complaints  and  then  inves- 
tigates. Its  reports  go  to  the  municipal  council  for  confirmation. 
The  members  are  unpaid,  with  the  exception  of  a  small  attendance  fee 
for  each  meeting  and  a  fee  for  written  reports.  The  lives  of  thou- 
sands are  protected  every  year  through  the  efforts  of  this  commission. 
The  Conseil  d'Hygiene  et  de  Salubrite  is  a  board  of  health  which 
dates  back  to  1802.     It  is  presided  over  by  the  prefect  of  police,  and 


554  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

has  as  members  some  of  the  ablest  men  in  France.  Its  function  is 
largely  advisory,  and  it  has  the  cooperation  of  twenty  local  boards  of 
health.  The  members  do  notable  work  in  the  prevention  of  the 
spread  of  contagious  diseases,  and  they  report  cases  of  unsanitary 
tenements.  There  is  also  a  central  sanitary  bureau  in  the  prefecture 
of  police.  Numerous  agents  see  that  the  health  laws  are  enforced. 
Within  the  last  twenty-five  years  the  municipal  disinfecting  service 
has  become  highly  organized.  There  is  ample  machinery  in  France 
to  prevent  unsanitary  conditions,  but  dangers  can  be  eliminated  only 
by  the  most  untiring  vigilance. 

Vegetable  Gardens.^ — In  France,  as  in  many  other  countries,  it 
has  been  found  wise  and  helpful  to  provide  poor  families  with  a  plot 
of  ground,  and,  if  necessary,  furnish  seeds  and  tools,  for  the  produc- 
tion of  vegetables.  This  movement  is  in  reality  a  kind  of  return  to 
the  mediaeval  custom  of  keeping  tracts  of  land  in  common  for  the 
cultivation  of  poor  families.  In  France  charitable  persons  and  socie- 
ties have  organized  the  efforts  of  the  poor  to  add  to  their  scanty  in- 
come the  products  of  their  little  gardens.  The  Society  of  Vincent  de 
Paul  has  made  good  progress  in  this  direction.  Municipal  councils, 
charity  bureaus,  societies  of  mutual  aid  have  cooperated  with  benevo- 
lent individuals  in  furnishing  vacant  lots  and  providing  necessary 
superintendence.  A  society  has  been  formed  in  France  and  in  Bel- 
gium to  foster  this  movement, — La  Ligue  du  Coin  de  terre  et  du 
Foyer,  At  the  Exposition  of  1900  the  subject  was  discussed  in  sev- 
eral sessions.  In  October,  1903,  there  were  reported  134  "works," 
with  control  of  6,592  gardens  having  a  total  area  of  269  hectares,  26 
ares,  72  centiares,  and  it  is  estimated  that  about  40,000  persons  have 
received  benefit.  These  figures  do  not  take  account  of  numerous 
local  works  which  are  never  reported  to  a  central  office. 

The  successful  administration  of  these  gardens  depends  upon  the 
wise  and  energetic  leadership  of  a  central  committee  of  influential 
persons,  whose  agent  is  a  competent  superintendent  who  knows  how 
to  manage  people  and  teach  them  the  art  of  horticulture.  The  plots 
are  assigned  in  order  of  application  or  by  lot  to  persons  who  sign  the 
articles  of  agreement. 

The  material  result  of  the  garden  is  thought  by  M.  Riviere  to  be 

*  Louis  Riviere,  T-a  Terre  et  I'Atelier  Jardins  ouvriers,  Paris,  1904,  an  inter- 
esting account  of  the  movement  in  Europe  and  America. 


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555 


a  return  of  20  to  40  francs  for  a  gift  of  5  francs  ;  while  in  direct  relief 
the  poor  family  would  simply  have  the  5  francs.  But  there  are  other 
advantages :  the  family  learns  the  art  of  horticulture  under  a  skillful 
teacher,  and  enjoys  a  variety  of  food  which  improves  the  health. 

To  these  material  advantages  may  be  added  the  moral :  energy  is 
evoked,  self-respect  is  restored,  the  family  is  held  together,  old  people 
rejected  by  industrial  employers  can  make  themselves  useful,  a  spirit 
of  sociable  cooperation  is  awakened,  gratitude  is  called  out  for  bene- 
factors, communistic  sentiments  are  counteracted  by  the  possession  of 
a  little  property,  the  saloon  is  not  so  much  visited,  young  children 
have  a  place  to  play  in  the  open  air,  tuberculosis  is  less  prevalent,  the 
habit  of  saving  is  formed,  support  is  gained  in  times  of  industrial 
depression,  a  taste  for  rural  life  is  stimulated,  a  genial  and  hopeful 
view  of  the  future  is  gained.  With  careful  planning,  wise  legislation 
and  improved  means  of  transportation  this  movement  will  probably  be 
greatly  promoted  and  become  an  important  factor  in  the  prevention  of 
pauperism. 

Religions  Missions. — The  Catholic  churches  are  found  in  every 
locality  where  a  need  exists,  and  so  the  mission  does  not  appear. 
The  work  done,  however,  is  of  the  same  character  as  that  undertaken 
by  Protestant  churches  in  their  branches  or  missions.  The  Anglican 
church  has  a  number  of  missionary  stations  in  forlorn  parts  of  Paris, 
but  a  people  dominantly  Catholic  do  not  readily  respond  to  Protestant 
effort.  The  Salvation  Army  carries  on  its  work  in  France  as  it  does 
in  other  countries,  and  its  evangelistic  efforts  meet  with  response  from 
a  class  but  little  affected  by  evangelization  which  emanates  directly 
from  a  church. 


CHAPTER  X. 

ITALY 

BY   CHARLES    RICHMOND  HENDERSON 

Historical  Origins  of  the  Modern  System. — Italy  presents 
the  longest  record  of  charitable  endeavor  of  any  of  the  countries  stud- 
ied in  this  volume.  In  the  first  century  the  Jews  had  their  societies 
of  mutual  succor,  and  the  early  Christians  imitated  them  and  copied 
many  features  also  from  the  Italian  associations.  But  it  was  the 
Christian  congregations  which  developed  the  institutions  of  charity  in 
their  highest  and  widest  forms.  Thus  in  Italy,  as  in  no  other  land, 
may  we  study  all  the  historical  phases  of  charity, — congregational, 
diocesan,  monastic,  orders,  hospitals,  union  with  the  civil  govern- 
ment, separation  of  functions,  conflict  with  the  government  and  mod- 
ern attempts  to  secure  a  division  of  labor  and  a  common  understand- 
ing. The  former  ages  have  ha^nded  down  vast  endowments  for 
benevolence,  many  buildings,  rich  traditions  of  heroic  and  self-sacri- 
ficing devotion,  but  also  many  errors  and  defects  which  must  be  cor- 
rected by  wise  statesmanship  and  patient  patriotism. 

In  Italy,  as  elsewhere,  the  charity  of  the  church  began  with  the 
free  offerings  of  the  congregation,  and  the  bishop,  within  an  ever- 
widening  territory  of  authority,  was  the  responsible  officer  of  relief. 
To  assist  him  the  church  developed  a  series  of  offices  and  function- 
aries. With  the  union  of  the  Christian  Church  and  the  Roman  Em- 
pire the  bishops  were  charged  with  the  general  oversight  of  the  poor 
and  large  resources  were  placed  in  their  hands.  In  the  course  of 
time,  by  the  side  of  the  parish  or  congregational  charity,  grew  up  the 
monasteries  as  centers  of  relief  and  refuges  of  the  weak  and  dis- 
tressed, and  various  orders  came  into  existence  whose  purpose  it  was 
to  manifest  the  benevolent  spirit  of  religious  people. 

While  the  parish  method  of  helping  destitute  families  never  en- 
tirely ceased,  the  hospital  came  to  be  the  most  characteristic  and  gen- 
eral form  of  beneficence.     The  mediaeval  hospital  was  an  asylum  for 

556 


ITALY 


557 


all  kinds  of  misery,  and  only  gradually  was  it  specialized  in  response 
to  needs  and  intelligence  born  of  experience. 

The  Council  of  Trent  gave  an  authoritative  form  to  the  principles 
of  ecclesiastical  charity  of  the  Middle  Ages.  Its  central  effort  was 
naturally  directed  to  the  regulation  of  the  hospitals,  where  were 
found  the  aged,  the  feeble,  orphans,  forsaken  children,  cripples,  and 
the  sick.  Relief  was  also  sent  to  the  habitations  of  the  destitute  from 
the  same  center.  Wanderers  in  search  of  employment  were  tempo- 
rarily sheltered  and  sent  on  their  way.  The  decisions  of  former 
councils  were  confirmed,  as  those  of  Vienne.  The  administrators  of 
hospitals,  unless  they  belonged  to  some  order  of  knights  or  others 
under  the  papal  approval,  were  subjected  to  episcopal  direction.  The 
bishop  might  censure  such  administrators  for  faults,  and,  if  they  re- 
fused obedience,  suspend  them  from  theii  functions.  If  they  wasted 
the  income  of  the  institutions,  they  were  required  to  make  restoration. 
Unless  the  hospital  was  limited  by  its  charter  to  a  certain  territory  it 
must  shelter  and  aid  all  the  needy  who  applied,  the  destitute  and  the 
sick.  If  the  income  of  a  hospital  was  not  required  for  its  own  terri- 
tory, it  might,  under  episcopal  order,  go  to  help  other  useful  ends. 
The  administrator  must  render  an  annual  account  to  the  bishop,  and 
the  bishop  had  the  right  of  inspection  at  any  time.  The  loan  associa- 
tions were  under  the  same  direction  and  control.  Any  person  who 
should  squander  the  funds  devoted  to  charity  fell  under  anathemas 
and  must  make  restitution.  The  bishop  must  not  only  regulate  ex- 
isting charities,  but  also  positively  take  upon  himself  all  the  concerns 
of  the  poor,  must  be  their  advocate  and  representative. 

Ratzinger  remarks  that  the  council  did  not  make  regulations  in 
respect  to  the  restoration  of  the  ancient  parish  system  because  the 
means  were  lacking.  The  parish  had  lost  its  tithe,  and  the  church 
relief  was  dependent  on  the  funds  of  hospitals  or  endowments.  Pro- 
vincial and  synodal  bodies  were  directly  responsible  for  carrying  out 
the  law. 

Among  the  bishops  who  best  illustrated  the  working  of  these  laws 
was  Charles  Borromeo,  bishop  of  Alilan.  He  not  only  sought  to 
bring  order  into  the  ancient  institutions,  but  also  to  enlargte  their 
resources,  to  establish  parish  relief  on  a  good  basis,  and  to  inspire  all 
administration  with  the  devotion  which  marked  his  own  character 
and  conduct.^ 

^  G.  Ratzinger,  Geschichte  der  kirchlichen  Armenpflege,  pp.  46j.ff. — John  How- 


558  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

Coming  nearer  to  our  own  times,  we  find  that  the  Itahan  church 
developed  its  rehef  agencies  in  the  lines  marked  out  by  the  Council 
of  Trent.  The  popes,  in  many  instances,  built  up  hospitals  and  en- 
couraged their  endowment.  Sixtus  V.  sought  to  put  an  end  to  beg- 
ging and  provided  for  the  helpless  the  hospice  of  Ponte  Sisto.  When 
it  had  been  enlarged.  Innocent  XII  named  it  the  hospice  of  the  Apos- 
tles. The  poor  and  the  orphans  found  refuge  in  its  walls.  The 
manufacture  of  woolen  goods  was  carried  on  to  give  employment  to 
the  inmates,  and  at  one  time  800  persons  were  employed  and  they 
made  30,000  yards  of  cloth  annually.  Pius  VI  founded  in  181 5  the 
hospice  of  Santa  Maria  degli  Angeli,  and  other  popes  enlarged  and 
enriched  it.  Here  also  adults  and  children  of  both  sexes  were  re- 
ceived and  work  was  furnished  those  able  to  labor.  It  employed  not 
few^er  than  450  men  and  500  women.  Two  orphanages  existed  at 
Rome,  one  founded  in  1541,  the  other  in  1784.  A  school  for  instruc- 
tion of  poor  children  in  agriculture  was  established  in  1841,  and  also 
an  asylum  for  the  insane  and  a  home  for  the  deaf.  A  foundling  asy- 
lum, founded  in  1198  by  Innocent  III,  was  enlarged  by  Benedict  XIV 
in  1750,  and  at  the  close  of  the  administration  by  papal  authority  had 
3,150  children  in  its  care.  At  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century 
the  church  had  established  institutions  for  every  form  of  distress '} 
for  orphans  and  neglected  children ;  for  youth  in  moral  peril ;  for 
pilgrims  and  wanderers  visiting  the  sacred  city ;  for  relief  of  the  poor 
who  were  ashamed  to  beg;  for  widows  and  for  those  who  needed 
legal  advice  and  defense ;  for  discharged  prisoners  and  their  families, 
and  for  burial  of  the  dead.  There  were  brotherhoods  and  sisterhoods 
devoted  to  the  pious  task  of  securing  funds  and  ministering  to  per- 
sonal needs.     Monasteries  afforded  shelter  to  strangers. 

At  the  same  time  all  ecclesiastical  leaders  who  were  acquainted 
with  the  facts  saw  that  there  were  many  and  serious  defects :  there 
was  persistent  and  incurable  mendicancy ;  there  was  excess  of  income 
at  certain  points  and  no  provision  whatever  for  the  destitute  at  others. 

ard,  The  State  of  Prisons,  etc.,  p.  107  ff.,  describes  hospitals  in  Italy  at  end  of 
eighteenth  century. 

^A  statistical  survey  of  these  institutions,  with  descriptions  of  their  objects,  is 
given  in  the  monumental  works :  Atti  della  commissione  reale  per  I'inchiesta  sulle 
opere  pie,  and  in  the  Statistica  della  opere  pie.  In  Vol.  I,  pp.  i-vii,  of  the  latter 
work  is  given  an  account  of  the  appointment,  organization  and  method  of  the  Com- 
mission, and  Vol.  VI  of  the  "Atti"  the  list  of  185  questions  sent  to  institutions. 


ITALY 


559 


Many  persons  gave  themselves  up  to  indolence  and  lived  upon  chance 
alms.  Part  of  the  fault  was  due  to  the  economic  conditions  of  the 
time,  part  to  the  oppression  of  land-owners  and  capitalists,  but  part 
to  the  absence  of  central  supervision  and  control  of  the  charitable 
institutions.  Into  the  general  political  and  economic  causes  of  suf- 
fering we  cannot  here  enter,  but  it  is  our  task  to  consider  the  steps 
taken  to  reform  the  abuses  of  the  system  of  relief  and  then  bring  it 
into  line  with  modern  needs  and  modern  science. 

In  all  modern  countries,  including  not  only  the  Protestant  nations 
like  Germany  and  England,  but  also  France,  it  has  been  found  neces- 
sary for  the  government  to  intervene  in  an  increasing  measure  in  the 
administration  of  relief.  In  Italy  this  movement  is  also  observed, 
although,  as  was  natural,  it  was  modified  by  the  peculiarities  of  the 
social  situation.  Italy  was  the  country  where  the  church  of  Rome 
had  its  center,  and,  up  to  recent  times,  this  church  was  also  itself  a 
political  power.  Church  and  government  were  in  one  state  united. 
The  clergy  had  been,  from  time  immemorial,  the  almoners  of  relief. 
They  had  been  instrumental  in  securing  the  foundation  of  numerous 
wealthy  charitable  trusts  whose  income  was  enormous,  and  whose 
institutions  (opcre  pie)  were  found  in  all  parts  of  the  peninsula. 
Governmental  supervision  and  interference,  at  the  best,  would  neces- 
sarily be  regarded  by  a  large  part  of  the  people,  especially  by  those 
devoted  to  the  church,  with  suspicion  and  opposition.  Yet  statesmen 
were  sustained  by  the  nation  in  the  determination  to  bring  these 
numerous  trusts  into  harmony  with  the  requirements  of  modern 
society. 

Governmental  action  has  taken  three  forms :  repressive,  as  in  the 
suppression  of  vagabondage ;  regulative,  as  in  the  supervision  of 
voluntary  and  church  charities ;  and  supplementary,  as  where  local 
and  general  governments  have  furnished  subsidies. 

Very  much  of  the  merely  repressive  action  of  governments  came 
under  the  criminal  code  and  police  regulations  of  health  and  safety, 
and  do  not  form  a  part  of  our  study  of  the  poor  law. 

Governmental  Intervention  before  i8po. — Previous  to  the  unifica- 
tion of  the  kingdom  the  tendency  to  bring  charitable  enterprises 
under  political  control  manifested  itself  in  various  states,  as  in  Sar- 
dinia, Lombardy,  and  quite  radically  in  Romagna  in  the  laws  of 
1859 ;  while  Tuscany  in  the  same  period  did  not  attempt  any  general 
regulation,  but  left  the  charitable  societies  to  be  governed  by  their 


56o 


MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 


own  statutes.  In  the  Neapolitan  provinces  in  1812  there  were  con- 
stituted Consign  aegli  ospidi  for  the  management  of  most  of  the  en- 
dowed charities,  and  these  arrangements  were  for  the  most  part  re- 
tained in  the  legislation  of  1845-58.  The  drift  toward  state  care  of 
all  indigent  citizens  was  distinctly  recognized  years  before  the  con- 
solidation of  united  Italy  (March  17,  1861).  Thus  Count  Cavour, 
in  his  speech  of  February  17,  185 1,  said  :  "I  believe  that  there  exists 
a  great  prejudice  against  legal  charity,  yet  it  may  be  predicted  that 
every  community,  when  it  arrives  at  a  certain  stage  of  development, 
must  of  necessity  recur  to  legal  charity.  Experience  will  show  in  a 
not  distant  future  how  legal  charity,  well  administered,  governed  by 
wise  rules,  may  produce  immense  benefits,  without  the  evil  effects 
which  some  fear."  Cavour,  while  quite  young,  had  studied  care- 
fully the  famous  report  of  the  English  Poor  Commission  of  1834.^ 

The  Law  of  1862. — The  first  national  legislation  affecting  charity 
was  distinctly  regulative,  and  not  supplementary  and  direct  and  this 
feature  appears  plainly  in  the  very  title :  Icgge  suW  amministrazione 
delle  opere  pie.  There  had  already  been,  in  some  states,  an  organ  for 
centralizing  the  different  relief  agencies  (congregacione  di  carita), 
and  this  idea  was  assimilated  into  the  new  law.  To  the  legal  organ 
were  subjected  various  charities,  and  also  the  care  of  the  insane  and 
of  foundlings,  since  these  were  matters  which  most  frequently  re- 
quired prompt  use  of  civil  authority.  In  1888  the  communes  were 
required  to  furnish  medical  relief  to  the  destitute  sick.  When  a  com- 
mune had  too  small  an  income  for  the  purpose,  or  too  few  patients,  it 
might  unite  with  adjoining  communes  to  provide  a  corps  of  physi- 
cians, surgeons  and  midwives.  The  law  of  June  30,  1889,  on  public 
safety,  went  further  and  obliged  the  communes  to  aid  all  poor  persons 
who  were  unable  to  labor.  Not  only  was  mendicancy  forbidden,  but 
positive  measures  of  relief  were  provided  for  those  who,  without  per- 
sonal fault,  were  compelled  to  beg.  Existing  funds  were  to  be  drawn 
upon  to  meet  the  cost.  If  the  commune  could  not  bear  the  expense 
without  raising  its  tax  rate,  the  state  agreed  to  help  it.  These  regu- 
lations of  provincial  and  communal  law,  of  public  safety  and  health, 
remained  in  force  even  after  the  poor  law  of  1862  was  displaced  by 
the  new  law  of  1890. 

Inadequacy  of  the  Reforms  Before  i8po. — There  were  very  great 

^  Odoardo  Luchini,  Le  instituzioni  pubbliche  di  beneficenza,  p.  xxviii,  Introduc- 
tion. 


ITALY  561 

funds  with  large  income  from  existing  charities  previous  to  1890,  and 
these  were  steadily  growing.  And  yet  complaints  of  defect  came 
from  many  sources.  Minister  Depretis  said  in  1879,  in  the  Chamber 
of  Deputies,  that  there  was  no  proper  and  complete  record  of  prop- 
erty, and  that  neither  accounts  nor  reports  were  reliable. 

By  royal  decree  of  June  3,  1880,  a  commission  of  notable  special- 
ists was  appointed  to  make  a  scientific  study  of  the  whole  situation,  to 
report  the  statistical  facts  and  descriptions  and  to  make  recommend- 
ations to  the  national  legislature.  This  commission  held  118  sessions 
and  was  dissolved  in  February,  1889.  Its  report^  belongs  to  the 
classics  of  the  subject,  and  is  a  mine  of  valuable  information  and  wise 
suggestions. 

In  all  Italy  there  were  counted  21,764  foundations,  whose  value 
at  the  date  of  the  report  was  estimated  at  1,724,000,000  lire. 

To  understand  the  development  one  must  take  into  account  the 
facts  which  shaped  it  :^  the  former  absence  of  national  unity  in  the 
Italian  peninsula ;  the  warm  climate,  especially  in  the  southern  states, 
which  renders  it  less  imperative  to  have  a  thoroughly  organized  public 
administration  with  abundant  and  regular  income ;  and  the  unhappy 
conflicts  between  ecclesiastical  authorities  and  men  of  state,  which 
make  cooperation  of  public  administration  with  private  charity  more 
difficult  to  secure  and  maintain.  The  political  ambition  of  the  nation 
was  to  secure  national  unity,  and  their  hope  was  fulfilled,  but  at  the 
same  time  there  was  the  desire  of  ecclesiastics  to  retain  and  of  other 
parties  to  secure  the  ascendency  in  administration. 

The  poverty  of  many  of  the  people  of  Italy  is  indicated  by  these 
facts  :  the  annual  income  is  ij  i6s.  8d.  per  head  of  population ;  while 
in  Great  Britain  it  is  £  31,  in  France  £26,  in  Saxony  £20  7s.,  in  Prussia 
£17  2s.,  in  Austria  £8.  The  wages  of  artisans  and  laborers  are  low, 
the  usual  rates  for  unskilled  labor  being  16-29  cents  per  day.^  Signor 
Ferrero  is  quoted  as  saying :  "Italians  have  been  used  for  two  cent- 
uries to  live  on  half-rations."  Taxes  are  heavy  and  fall  heavily  on 
the  poor.     The  income  tax  was  17  per  cent,  in  Italy,  as  compared 

^Atti  della  Commissione  Reale  per  I'inchiesta  sulla  opere  pie,  Roma,  1884-92, 
9  vols,  already  published. 

*Art.  by  F.  S.  Nitti  in  Economic  Review,  Vol.  II,  1892. — The  Nation,  Feb.  20, 
1890,  "The  Patrimony  of  the  Poor  in  Italy." — Special  consular  report  on  Vagrancy 
and  Public  Charities  in  Foreign  Countries,  Washington,  1893. 

"Bolton  King,  Italy  To-Day  (1901),  p.  126. 

36 


562  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

with  12  in  France,  8  in  Germany  and  6  in  England.  There  is  much 
advance  since  i860;  wealth  has  increased  17  per  cent.,  although  taxes 
have  risen  30  per  cent. 

A.     The  Present  System  of  Relief,  under  the  Law  of  1890. 

Funds.  The  Customary  Almsgiving. — Italy  is  not  singular  in 
the  matter  of  indiscriminate  almsgiving  and  its  manifestations  in 
mendicancy,  although  there  are  reasons  for  its  being  more  general  and 
persistent  than  in  some  other  lands.  The  gifts  of  individuals  consti- 
tute a  constant  but  irregular  and  unmeasured  source  of  aid.  It  would 
be  impossible  to  secure  reliable  statistics,  as  to  the  amount  thus 
spent,  with  good  intentions  but  with  unhappy  results,  in  the  entire 
country.^ 

Associations  and  Boards  of  Trust  receive  gifts  and  care  for  en- 
dowments, and  it  is  these  funds,  some  of  them  established  centuries 
ago,  which  require  our  special  attention.  From  piety  and  fear,  from 
pity  and  pride,  from  patriotism  and  ostentation,  as  everywhere,  these 
funds  have  flowed  a  mighty  and  deepening  stream ;  our  reverence 
for  humanity  compels  us  to  hope,  where  we  are  incompetent  to  judge, 
that  moral  motives  have  been  the  chief  inspiration  of  these  contribu- 
tions in  the  past  and  present  ages.  The  purposes  of  benefactors  and 
founders  are  usually  more  easily  discovered  than  their  motives,  for 
the  former  are  stated  in  the  deeds  of  gift,  the  wills,  and  other  docu- 
ments which  have  been  preserved. 

The  third  source  of  funds  for  relief  are  the  subsidies  furnished  by 
communes,  provinces  and  the  central  government  to  supplement  the 
other  sources  of  charity. 

The  total  resources  of  Italian  charity  were  estimated  in  1901  at 
about  150,000,000  lire,  of  which  subsidies  from  provinces  and  com- 
munes constituted,  in  1880,  52.2  million  lire  and  64.7  million  in  1895. 
The  larger  part  of  the  income  goes  to  medical  relief  (13.5  million), 
foundling  asylums  (9.9  million),  care  of  insane  (7.8  million),  hos- 
pitals (6.15  million),  and  Boards  of  Charity  (1.9  million).  The 
provinces  bore  the  entire  cost  of  caring  for  the  insane  and  a  great 
part  (5.97  million)  for  foundling  asylums;  while  the  communes  bore 
almost  all  the  cost  for  outdoor  and  indoor  medical  relief. 

The  state  expends  a  large  sum  for  the  relief  of  the  unemployed, 
but  seeks  to  reduce  this  expenditure  as  far  as  possible.     The  state 

^  Letter  of  W.  D.  Foulke,  Outlook,  Feb.  20,  1904. 


ITALY 


563 


derives  15  to  16  million  lire  annually  from  charitable  corporations, 
for  their  buildings  are  not  exempt  from  taxation. 

Geographical  Distribution  of  the  Funds} — In  the  investigation 
made  for  the  basis  of  the  law  of  1890  it  was  found  that  the  charitable 
resources  were  very  unequally  distributed  in  the  Italian  peninsula. 
Generally  speaking,  the  urban  centers  were  better  provided  for  than 
the  rural  communities,  and  the  dense  population  of  the  northern 
states  and  provinces  had  larger  endowments  than  the  scattered  peas- 
ants of  the  southern  districts.  This  was  an  inevitable  return  of  a 
purely  voluntary  charity.  Only  under  a  complete  state  system  can 
there  be  anything  like  an  equal  distribution  of  the  benevolent  contri- 
butions of  a  people,  and  a  uniform  state  system  is  possible  only  by 
national  unification.  That  this  inequality  still  exists  and  is  likely  to 
continue  for  some  time  in  the  future  will  be  apparent  from  the  recent 
statistics,  which  will  be  given  at  a  later  point  in  this  discussion. 

Defects. — The  possible  dangers  to  which  such  funds  are  always 
liable  are  diversion,  waste,  perversion,  neglect,  duplication  at  certain 
points,  absence  of  supplies  at  other  places. 

Administration  of  the  Funds  by  Boards  of  Trust  and  Asso- 
ciations.— The  modern  legislation  very  properly  took  account  of  the 
traditional  methods  because  they  were  hallowed  by  tradition  and 
based  on  legal  decisions.  The  "pious  works"  had  come  into  exist- 
ence apart  from  governmental  initiative  and  had  grown  out  of  the 
customary  ways  of  founding  and  conducting  benevolent  enterprises. 
Corporations  of  many  kinds  existed  when  the  recent  laws  were 
passed,  and,  while  the  government  of  united  Italy  sought  to  control 
them,  it  respected  their  forms  and  purposes.  In  the  study  of  the 
present  conditions  we  shall  at  the  same  time  gain  insight  into  the 
ancient  forms  of  organization  which  have  been  assimilated  into  the 
new. 

Legal  Regulation  of  "Public  Works  of  Charity." — The  law  of 
1890  was  carried  into  effect  by  means  of  administrative  regula- 
tions (Regolamento  amministrativo) ,  of  records  and  accounts  (Re- 
golamento  di  contabilitd  1891),  and  Ministerial  orders  (Sept.  26, 
1896)  relating  to  accounts  of  funds,  and  by  royal  decrees  of  1893 
and  1896. 

(a)     Legal  Definition  of  "Public  Works  of  Charity." — They  are 

^  Statistica  deila  opere  pie,  Vol.  X,  1897,  p.  xxxiii. 


564  MODERN  ^lETHODS  OF  CHARITY 

those  agencies  which  offer  aid  to  the  poor,  whether  sick  or  well,  or 
they  provide  facilities  for  education,  training  for  some  craft  or  pro- 
fession, or  in  some  other  way  work  for  the  moral  and  economic  wel- 
fare of  the  poor.  Where  a  trust  or  board  is  charged  with  the  ad- 
ministration of  funds  for  the  benefit  of  a  particular  family,  or  where 
the  association  has  merely  commercial  ends,  it  comes  under  the  civil 
and  commercial  codes,  and  not  under  the  poor  law.  There  are 
"mixed"  institutions  which  do  come  under  this  law,  those  works 
{"opere  pie")  which  have  at  least  in  part  for  their  end  a  benevolent 
purpose. 

Examples  of  benevolent  activities  which  are  subject  to  the  poor 
law  are :  aid  to  the  poor  or  the  insane ;  general  hospitals  or  hospitals 
for  special  diseases  or  for  the  injured ;  hospices  for  exposed  or  aban- 
doned children,  orphanages ;  hospices  for  young  pupils ;  aid  to  dis- 
charged prisoners;  furnishing  nourishment  for  infants  (allatamenti 
dcgli  infanti)  ;  institutions  for  the  deaf,  the  blind ;  infant  asylums ; 
gratuitous  schools  for  the  poor ;  pawning  societies ;  benevolent  asso- 
ciations for  aiding  the  poor  in  their  homes ;  medical  relief ;  providing 
food  for  the  destitute  ;  schools  of  trades,  etc. 

The  legal  evidence  of  the  nature  and  purpose  of  an  institution  is 
furnished  by  the  acts  of  foundation,  testaments,  charters,  etc.  But 
the  actual  method  of  administration  shows  the  character  of  the  work, 
and  common  notoriety  is  regarded  as  part  of  the  evidence, 

(b)  The  Motives  of  Governmental  Intervention. — In  the  discus- 
sions of  experts  and  in  the  debates  in  the  national  legislature  the 
designs  of  statesmen  have  been  fully  expressed.  They  may  be  suc- 
cinctly summarized  as  follows :  to  safeguard  the  purposes  of  the 
original  donors  of  the  funds ;  to  encourage  benevolence  by  securing 
the  effective  carrying  out  of  the  benefactors'  desire ;  to  prevent 
abuses  and  perversions  of  income  and  property,  as  by  excessive  ex- 
penditures on  administration  ;  to  see  that  all  poor  citizens  are  assisted ; 
and  through  all  to  promote  the  public  welfare  by  preventing  mendi- 
cancy, idleness,  and  other  vices. 

(<r)  The  Stages  of  Intervention  of  Government. — In  former  ages 
the  government  acted  in  the  matter  of  pauperism  chiefly  through  its 
criminal  law  and  police  regulations,  and  that  repressively ;  the  posi- 
tive work  of  charitable  relief  being  left  to  the  church  and  voluntary 
associations.  These  associations  were,  except  in  cases  of  violation  of 
civil  or  criminal  law,  left  to  themselves,  unless  ecclesiastical  authority, 


ITALY  565 

armed  with  legal  powers,  supervised  and  controlled.  The  steps  taken 
during  the  last  century  were  the  actions  of  the  separate  states  pre- 
vious to  the  formation  of  the  united  kingdom,  the  law  of  1862,  and 
the  present  system  adopted  by  the  legislation  of  1890. 

(d)  The  present  law  as  a  measure  of  governmental  intervention 
includes  several  elements  which  may  be  designated  as  consolidation, 
re-grouping,  supervision,  control,  and  subsidizing,  with  provision  for 
popular  action  in  lodging  complaints. 

Respect  for  the  Autonomy  of  the  Works  of  Charity. — The  spirit 
of  the  legislation  is  one  of  respect  not  only  to  the  original  purposes  of 
the  benefactors,  but  to  the  self-government  of  the  several  boards  and 
associations  to  whom  the  administration  has  been  confided.  There- 
fore the  corporation  is  free  to  choose  its  own  administrators,  in  ac- 
cordance with  its  own  statutes  and  regulations  (Art.  4,  law  of  1890). 
When  other  provisions  are  wanting  the  trust  must  still  not  fail  of  its 
object,  and  the  Board  of  Charity  (congregasione  di  carita)  is  charged 
with  the  duty  of  administration. 

The  Board  of  Charities  (Congregasione  di  Carita). — In  the  con- 
ception of  the  law  this  is  the  body  for  administering  public  charity, 
except  in  so  far  as  the  benevolent  works  are  already  regulated  by 
their  own  statutes  and  charters.  The  law  requires  that  there  shall 
be  a  Board  of  Charities  in  each  commune,  which  represents  all  the 
interests  of  the  poor  in  the  commune.  It  looks  after  the  legal  rights 
of  destitute  orphans,  minors,  abandoned  children,  according  to  Arts. 
241,  262  and  34  of  the  civil  code,  and  it  assumes  provisional  care  of 
them  in  cases  of  vagrancy.  The  Board  of  Charities  is  composed  of 
a  president  and  of  four  members  in  communes  which  have  a  popula- 
tion of  less  than  5,000  inhabitants ;  of  eight  members  in  communes 
with  5-50  thousand  ;  and  of  twelve  members  in  others  (Art.  5).  The 
president  and  members  are  chosen  by  the  communal  council  at  the 
autumn  session.  In  order  to  prevent  the  communal  council  from 
furnishing  too  large  a  part  of  the  Board  of  Charities,  the  law  pre- 
scribes that  not  more  than  one-half  of  the  board  can  at  the  same  time 
be  members  of  the  communal  representation.  The  reason  given  for 
this  clause  is  that  a  too  large  intrusion  of  the  communal  council  into 
this  institution  of  public  charity  might  disturb  the  procedure  and 
render  nugatory  the  surveillance  which  the  communal  council  exer- 
cises through  the  laws  relating  to  institutions  of  charity  in  general 
and  the  Board  of  Charities  in  particular.     The  president  of  the  Board 


566  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

of  Charities  continues  in  office  four  years.  The  other  members  are 
changed  one-fourth  each  year.  The  members  cannot  be  re-elected 
without  an  intermission,  more  than  one  time. 

The  donor  of  a  fund,  or  a  person  named  by  him,  or  the  founder 
of  a  work  of  pubHc  charity,  which  is  administered  by  the  Board  of 
Charities,  or  his  representative  chosen  in  a  manner  indicated  in  the 
articles  of  foundation,  may  be  admitted  to  the  Board  of  Charities  for 
the  discussion  of  matters  which  concern  his  trust,  regard  being  had 
for  the  nature  and  amount  of  the  gift.  When  the  condition  of  the 
gift  or  legacy  is  that  the  benefactor  or  his  representative  shall  have  a 
part  in  the  Board  of  Charities,  it  must  be  respected.  The  delibera- 
tions of  the  Board  of  Charities  which  admit  for  the  purpose  the  bene- 
factor or  founder  require  the  approval  of  the  communal  council  or  of 
the  provincial  administration  (Arts.  5,  10). 

Administration  of  Institutions  of  Benevolence  Other  than  the 
Board  of  Charities. — In  general  the  statutes  and  articles  of  each  fund 
or  association  determine  who  may  be  administrators  of  these  funds, 
the  autonomy  of  each  trust  being  a  guiding  principle  which  is  re- 
garded by  the  law.  All  citizens  who  are  competent  have  a  right  to 
be  selected  for  membership  in  the  Board  of  Charities  and  in  any  other 
institution  of  benevolence. 

Incompatibility. — But  the  law  must  recognize  the  fact  that  not  all 
citizens  are  actually  competent  to  administer  a  charity,  and  hence  the 
restrictions  must  be  legally  defined.  The  exclusions  come  under 
one  of  the  following  descriptions  : 

Persons  who  have  been  condemned  for  idleness,  vagabondage, 
mendicancy,  until  they  have  formally  been  restored  to  civil  rights, 
are  excluded.  Those  who  are  under  admonition  and  surveillance  of 
the  police,  and  for  one  year  after  release  from  such  control,  are  in- 
eligible. Those  convicted  of  criminal  associations,  of  theft,  receipt 
of  stolen  goods,  fraud,  abuse  of  confidence,  or  other  act  condemned 
by  the  criminal  code,  until  their  civil  rights  are  restored,  must  be  ex- 
cluded. Next  the  persons  legally  incapable  are :  the  illiterate,  those 
under  interdict,  and  bankrupts  while  their  affairs  are  in  litigation. 
Other  citizens  are  declared  to  be  entirely  incapable  because  of  eco- 
nomic or  personal  condition :  the  inmates  of  charitable  hospitals,  and 
those  habitually  dependent ;  officials,  sub-prefects,  provincial  adminis- 
trators, employes  in  offices,  the  syndic  of  a  commune  and  the  em- 
ployes of  communal  administration ;  persons  declared  by  the  pro- 


ITALY  567 

vincial  administration  to  have  shown  irregularities  in  their  accounts 
of  funds  entrusted  to  them ;  those  who  are  in  htigation  with  a  charity 
or  are  in  debt;  near  relatives  of  the  treasurer  of  the  institution  of 
benevolence. 

One  of  the  most  difficult  points  is  the  partia,l  exclusion  of  eccle- 
siastics and  ministers  of  worship  from  a  share  in  administration  of 
public  charities.  The  motives  for  this  part  of  the  law  must  be  sought 
outside  of  the  law,  in  the  parliamentary  discussions^  and  in  the  his- 
torical facts  of  the  relation  of  the  state  to  the  church  in  Italy.  A 
foreigner  may  well  be  careful  about  making  any  generalization  as  to 
these  motives.  It  is  safer  to  state  the  facts  of  the  law  itself.  Inca- 
pacity for  membership  of  clerical  persons  in  charity  boards  extends 
only  to  the  administration  of  the  congregazione  di  caritd,  although 
clergymen  may  be  appointed  on  committees  appointed  for  service  by 
this  Board  of  Qiarities  (Art.  2).  Ecclesiastics  may  also  form  part 
of  the  Board  of  Charities  when  they  are  benefactors  or  founders  of 
an  institution  which  is  subject  to  the  administration  of  such  board. 

The  law  fixes  a  penalty  of  50-1,000  lire  for  one  who  assumes  an 
office  for  which  he  is  not  eligible,  or  illegally  continues  in  the  duties 
of  such  office. 

Women  are  admitted  to  membership  in  the  congregazione  di 
caritd  and  other  institutions  of  charity,  but  they  must,  if  married, 
have  the  consent  of  their  husbands.  The  reason  given  by  Persico 
(p.  36)  is  that  the  Italian  law  has  established  the  principle  of  the 
personal  responsibility  of  the  administrators  of  institutions  of  public 
charity,  and  has  prescribed  that  a  married  woman  shall  not  assume  a 
task  which  may  have  grave  consequences  in  relation  to  family  prop- 
erty without  the  permission  of  the  husband,  who  is  the  legal  head  of 
the  family  (Art.  131  of  civil  code). 

Even  members  of  the  Board  of  Charities  or  of  any  administrative 
board  are  excluded  from  acting  in  matters  in  which  they  have  per- 
sonal interest  which  may  warp  judgment  or  tempt  to  injustice ;  as 
when  one's  relations  or  partners  have  an  interest  in  contracts  made 
wuth  the  board.  The  penalty  for  violation  of  this  law  may  be  loss  of 
the  office,  a  fine  of  50-1,000  lire  and  dissolution  of  contract. 

Neglect  of  Administrators. — The  law  goes  upon  the  principle  that 
charity  funds  are  for  the  relief  of  the  poor,  and  if  trustees  neglect  to 

^  C.  Lessona,  La  Nuova  Legge  sulle  instituzioni  pubbliche  di  beneficenza  (1890), 
p.  69  ff. 


558  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

attend  to  their  duties  they  may  be  displaced  and  the  funds  may  be 
otherwise  administered  according  to  the  intent  of  the  benefactor. 

The  rehgious  and  pohtical  creed  of  the  dependent  person  must 
not  be  made  a  test  of  a  right  to  receive  help  from  public  charity. 
Humanity  is  above  confession  or  partisan  differences  of  opinion. 
Only  when  the  articles  of  foundation  absolutely  limit  the  advantages 
of  the  gift  to  persons  of  a  certain  creed  or  party  can  the  administrators 
propose  a  test  of  this  nature. 

Enforcement  of  Responsibility  of  Administrator. — Art.  29  of  the 
law  of  1890  provides  that  the  provincial  administration,  on  its  own 
motion  or  at  the  request  of  a  prefect,  may  enforce  the  responsibility 
of  a  member  of  a  board  of  charity :  (o)  when  he  has  not  observed  the 
forms  established  by  the  law  or  by  the  statute  and  regulations  of  the 
institution;  {b)  when  the  fund  has  suffered  an  economic  loss;  (c) 
when  there  is  an  evil  design  or  grave  fault  on  the  part  of  the  adminis- 
trator involved.  The  aid  of  the  courts  is  invoked  to  secure  action 
concerning  the  interests  of  the  trust. 

Employes  of  Boards. — The  duties  of  treasurer,  auditor,  secretary, 
etc.,  are  arranged  by  law.     Security  for  fvmds  is  required.     (Art.  22.) 

Records  and  Accounts. — One  condition  of  the  existence  of  a  char- 
ity trust  is  that  it  have  resources.  Inventories,  balance  sheets, 
budgets,  accounts,  and  reports  are  required  by  law  and  the  exact 
forms  are  stated.  Exact  inventories  of  all  property,  real  and  mov- 
able, must  be  kept,  and  records  must  show  all  changes  and  transfers, 
losses  and  gains. 

Organs  of  Governmental  Intervention  and  Methods  of  Adminis- 
tration are  communal,  provincial,  central,  and  by  popular  action 
(complaint). 

Supervision  and  Control  of  Public  Charities. — Experience  has 
shown  the  necessity  of  intervention.  The  chief  matter  requiring 
supervision  is  the  administration  of  a  trust  in  accordance  with  the 
purpose  and  regulations  of  its  foundation. 

The  provincial  administrative  commission  (giunfa)  is  the  agent 
for  this  function  of  oversight  (tutela).  It  is  composed  of  eight 
members  elected  by  the  provincial  council,  in  addition  to  the  presi- 
dent. Thus,  while  responding  quite  promptly  to  the  popular  will, 
the  commission  is  one  remove  from  its  caprice  and  so  in  a  degree 
independent  and  adapted  to  inspire  confidence. 

The  actions  which  are  subject  to  the  supervision  of  the  commis- 


ITALY  569 

sion  are :  the  budgets  and  estimates  of  the  institutions,  the  accounts 
of  expenses  of  administration,  contracts  for  the  acquisition  or  aHena- 
tion  of  real  estate,  acceptance  or  refusal  of  gifts  and  legacies  ;  in  brief, 
all  acts  which  may  affect  property,  as  borrowing  on  mortgage,  pen- 
sioning of  employes  and  serious  cases  of  litigation. 

Powers  of  Supervision  Exercised  by  the  Minister  of  the  Interior 
or  by  a  Prefect. — When  an  institution  of  public  charity  is  partially 
maintained  by  the  state,  the  right  of  supervision  over  such  institution 
is  exercised  by  the  Minister  of  the  Interior.  In  case  of  mixed  institu- 
tions, that  is,  those  which  connect  charitable  functions  with  others, 
the  Minister  exercises  supervision.  The  aid  given  by  the  state  to 
entitle  it  to  this  right  must  be  continuous,  guaranteed  by  law  or 
decree,  and  serious  in  amount.  The  Minister  may  delegate  his  powers 
to  prefects.  The  institution  in  any  case  is  required  to  furnish  all 
necessary  information.  No  association  can  secure  corporate  powers 
without  approval  of  the  government.  But  the  Ministry  must  respect 
the  statutes  of  existing  corporations.  The  ordinary  representative  of 
the  Ministry  is  the  prefect,  and  this  officer  may  appoint  a  counsellor 
for  the  purpose.  The  counsellor  investigates  and  reports  all  irregu- 
larities, abuses,  accounts,  so  far  as  is  necessary  for  administrative 
decisions. 

The  law  gives  to  the  political  authority  the  right  to  demand  a 
copy  of  the  proceedings  of  administration  in  any  institution ;  to  order 
visits  of  inspection ;  to  order  changes  necessary  to  fulfill  the  purposes 
of  the  institution  ;  to  reduce  the  expenses  of  administration  ;  to  require 
the  voiding  of  contracts  improperly  and  illegally  made ;  to  see  that 
urgent  cases  of  misery  are  not  turned  away  without  help. 

The  public  authority  may  suspend  or  dissolve  an  administration 
when  it  is  violating  the  regulations  of  its  foundation  or  acting  in  a 
way  contrary  to  law  and  injurious  to  general  welfare.  The  dissolu- 
tion of  a  board  is  effected  by  royal  decree  upon  the  recommendation 
of  the  provincial  administration  and  the  Council  of  State.  Legal 
arrangements  are  made  for  the  proper  care  of  a  fund  when  the  board 
is  dissolved,  and  this  by  the  communal  authorities  or  by  a  commis- 
sion. The  Ministry  presents  each  year  to  the  Senate  and  Chamber  of 
Deputies  a  list  of  all  the  boards  dissolved  and  a  statement  of  reasons 
for  dissolution.^ 

'In  the  summer  of  1904  an  important  legal  and  administrative  advance  step 
has  been  taken.     A  bill  introduced  in  1903  was  discussed  and  enacted  into  law 


570 


MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 


Popular  Action. — In  order  to  facilitate  the  presentation  and  hear- 
ing of  complaints  of  private  parties  who  may  learn  of  abuse  or  neglect 
of  administrators,  the  law  provides  that  any  citizen  who  belongs  to 
a  commune  or  province  to  which  a  charity  belongs  may  enter  a  com- 

providing  for  a  central  state  board  {Consiglio  superiore  di  assistenza  e  heneiicenza 
pubblica).  This  board  is  to  consist  of  24  members,  of  whom  some  are  members 
by  virtue  of  their  office, — the  directors  in  the  Ministry  of  the  Interior,  of  Public 
Instruction  and  Justice,  and  the  General  Director  of  Statistics, — while  the  other 
18  members  are  chosen  by  royal  decree.  This  Consiglo  superiore  is  required  to 
make  recommendations  in  respect  to  matters  submitted  to  them  by  the  Ministry 
of  the  Interior  relating  to  the  organization  and  working  of  public  poor  relief. 
The  Council  is  also  to  be  heard  in  relation  to  bills  affecting  poor  relief,  interna- 
tional agreements,  model  statutes ;  and  the  reports  of  provincial  boards  are 
submitted  to  it.  The  Council  is  to  be  aided  by  four  general  inspectors.  Under  the 
general  council  stand  provincial  commissions  (cominissione  di  assistenza  e  di  betie- 
ficenza  pubblica)  with  S  members,  the  prefect  being  president.  The  provincial  com- 
mission is  to  examine  the  balance  sheets  of  the  public  institutions  of  charity, 
confirm  the  administrative  orders  of  benevolent  establishments,  decide  in  respect 
to  the  appointment  and  retirement  of  employes,  make  recommendations  about 
dissolution  of  administrations  of  endowments,  incorporation,  statutes  of  societies, 
etc.  The  provincial  commission  is  also  required  to  promote  cooperation  between 
the  agencies  of  charity  and  to  supervise  the  transactions  of  the  congregazione 
di  carita  and  the  trustees  of  funds.  Neglected  children  are  entrusted  to  their 
oversight.  Annually  they  must  report  their  affairs  to  the  Ministry  of  the  Interior. 
It  is  too  early  to  speak  of  the  results  of  this  state  central  supervision.  Opposition, 
as  already  explained,  continues,  and  it  will  be  a  long  time  before  the  numerous 
societies,  brotherhoods  and  trustees  adjust  themselves  to  modern  methods  and 
strict   regulations. 

This  note  is  based  on  an  article  in  the  Zeitschrift  f.  d.  Armenwesen,  July, 
August,  1904.  On  p.  240  are  given  references  to  recent  documents:  Camera  dei 
Deputati,  Disegno  di  legge  presentato  dal  Ministro  dell'  Interno  (Giolitti) 
Instituzione  di  Commissioni  provinciali,  di  un  Consiglio  superiore  e  di  un  servizio 
d'  ispezione  della  pubblica  assistenza  e  beneficenza.  Seduta  del  30  maggio  1903, 
18  p. — Ibid.  Relazione  della  Commissione  sul  disegno  di  legge  presentato  dal 
Ministro  dell'  Interno  (Giolitti)  nella  seduta  del  30  maggio  1903.  Seduta  del  31 
maggio  1904,  19  p. — Senato  del  Regno.  Disegno  di  legge  presentato  dal  Presi- 
denti  del  Consiglio  Ministro  dell*  Interno  (Giolitti)  nella  tornata  del  23  Giagno 
1904.  Approvato  dalla  Camera  dei  Deputati  il  21  dello  stesso  mese,  9  p. — Minis- 
tero  deir  Interno.  Direzione  Generale  dell'  Amministrazione  Civili.  Relazione 
sui  Provvidimenti  di  Concentramento,  Raggruppamento,  Transformazione  di 
Statuti  della  Istituzione  Pubbliche  di  Beneficenza  dal  I  luglio  1902  al  31  dicembre 
1903,  ed  Elenco  delle  Amministrazione  Disciolte  75  p.  Roma,  Tipografia  della 
Camera  die  Deputati,  1904. — Circolari  normali,  lettere  di  massima,  ecc.  tuttora  in 
vigore  sulle  istituzione  pubbliche  di  beneficenza  dal  1862  a  tutto  il  1903,  99  p. 
Roma,  Tipografia  della  Mantellate,  1903. 


ITALY 


571 


plaint  in  the  interest  of  the  fund  or  of  the  poor  for  which  the  charity 
is  designed.     Security  must  be  given  by  the  complainant.^ 

B.  Administration  of  Outdoor  Relief,  (a)  Law  of  Settle- 
ment and  Its  Interpretation.  {Domicilio  di  Soccorso). — The  law  of 
1890  treats  this  subject  in  Chap.  VII.  Not  all  the  poor  of  a  district 
can  claim  help  from  a  charitable  institution,  except  where  urgency 
overrides  all  other  considerations  and  rules  must  yield  to  humane 
requirements  (Art.  76).  Sometimes  the  regulations  and  statutes  of 
a  charity  require  that  the  funds  be  expended  only  on  persons  who 
have  residence  within  a  certain  area.  Thus  arises  a  necessity  for  a 
legal  definition  of  the  persons  who  may  claim  aid  on  these  grounds. 
The  Board  of  Charities  in  each  commune,  having  the  duty  of  caring 
for  all  the  poor,  must  know  what  it  can  legally  require  of  each  insti- 
tution. The  law  now  in  force  has  carefully  defined  the  rights  of 
settlement,  not  only  in  relation  to  the  statutes  of  institutions,  but  also, 
in  respect  to  judicial  rulings  affecting  such  action,  obligatory  relief, 
reimbursements  of  expenditures,  relief,  etc.  Such  definition  was  all 
the  more  necessary  inasmuch  as  the  theory  of  domicile  in  the  civil  law 
(Art.  16  of  Cod.  Civ.)  is  entirely  inapplicable  to  this  situation.  In 
the  law  of  1890  domicilio  di  soccorso  was  defined  so  as.to  fix  the  obli- 
gation to  help  when  an  institution  of  charity  requires  as  a  condition 
of  aid  the  possession  of  a  residence  (Art.  72  and  Art.  109  of  adminis- 
trative regulation).  The  domicilio  di  soccorso  is  acquired  by  the 
poor  person  when  he  has  lived  without  serious  interruption  five  years 
in  the  place.  This  domicile,  once  acquired,  is  not  lost  except  by  the 
acquisition  of  a  new  domicile  in  another  commune.  In  case  the  pau- 
per has  not  been  able  to  acquire  a  domicile  by  a  residence  of  five  years, 
he  will  have  a  legal  settlement  in  the  commune  where  he  was  born, 
without  regard  to  the  legitimacy  of  his  birth.  In  case  he  has  not  ac- 
quired a  settlement  by  a  residence  of  five  years  in  a  commune,  and  was 
not  born  in  the  kingdom,  his  settlement  is  to  be  the  place  of  his  ha- 
bitual abode,  and  the  proof  of  such  abode  is  in  the  fact  that  his  resi- 
dence is  not  casual  and  transient,  but  permanent  (as  defined  in  Art. 
16  of  the  civil  code).  The  married  woman  and  the  legitimate  or 
recognized  minor  children  under  fifteen  years  have  the  settlement  of 
the  husband  or  of  him  who  exercises  the  paternal  power  (Art.  73). 
If  the  woman  is  married  only  with  a  religious  ceremony,  the  Council 

^  G.  Persico,  II  Diritto  Italiano  sulle  instituzioni  pubbliche  di  beneficenza,  p.  139. 


572  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

of  State  has  ruled  that  she  has  the  settlement  of  the  husband,  since 
living  with  him  shows  her  purpose  to  fix  her  domicile  in  the  place 
where  he  resides.  If  the  married  woman  has  lived  habitually,  for 
any  cause,  more  than  five  years  in  a  commune  other  than  that  of  her 
husband,  her  settlement  is  determined  independently.  The  settle- 
ment of  persons  over  fifteen  years  of  age  is  determined  independently 
of  that  of  the  father  or  of  him  who  holds  the  paternal  power.  Time 
passed  in  the  army,  in  a  hospital,  in  a  charitable  institution,  in  a 
prison  or  house  of  correction  is  not  counted  as  an  interruption  of  resi- 
dence. The  rule  of  settlement  is  applicable  in  all  cases  in  which  the 
communes,  the  provinces  or  local  institutions  are  under  obligation  to 
bear  the  costs  of  relief,  as  for  expenses  of  material  help,  care  of  the 
poor  insane,  exposed  children,  etc. 

Begging. — The  law  regulates  relief  of  those  unable  to  work  (Arts. 
80-84,  law  of  July  30,  1881,  relating  to  public  safety).  Begging  in 
public  streets  and  places  is  forbidden  where  relief  stations  are  pro- 
vided ;  where  these  are  lacking  or  inadequate  the  local  board  shall 
give  the  poor  persons  certificates  that  they  are  unable  to  work  and 
shall  provide  for  them  in  a  suitable  way.  The  state,  in  case  the  com- 
mune of  settlement  is  unable  to  carry  the  burden  without  increasing 
its  tax  levy  unduly,  agrees  to  supply  the  means.  Hospitals  which 
receive  the  sick,  and  other  benevolent  institutions  without  special  ob- 
jects, are  treated  as  relief  stations. 

Relief  of  Aliens. — The  cost  of  relief  of  foreigners  is  at  the  charge 
of  the  state.  Generally  this  matter  is  the  subject  of  treaties  calling 
for  reciprocity  in  this  matter.  Treaties  existed  in  1901  between  Italy 
and  Austria-Hungary,  Germany  (1873),  Belgium  (1880),  Spain 
(1897).  Without  such  express  treaty  stipulations  an  understanding 
to  the  same  effect  exists  between  Italy  and  France,  Switzerland  and 
Russia. 

Results  of  the  Legislation  of  i8po  and  of  Recent  Administration. 
— It  is  not  possible  to  form  a  very  exact  judgment,  even  if  one  studies 
the  situation  in  Italy,  because  the  data  are  imperfectly  reported.  This 
defect  of  reports  is  itself  a  proof  that  the  purpose  of  the  law  has  not 
been  satisfactorily  attained.  Whether  it  can  be  attained  without 
serious  changes  in  the  law  itself  remains  to  be  seen.  Certain  very 
well  informed  experts  express  this  judgment :  that  the  poor  law  of 
Italy  was  drawn  up  after  the  most  scientific  and  comprehensive  inves- 
tigation ;  that  its  provisions  were  admirably  adapted  to  Italian  condi- 


ITALY  573 

tions ;  that  ample  means  were  provided,  although  they  were  not 
equally  distributed  nor  economically  administered ;  and  that  the  cause 
of  complaints,  so  far  as  justified,  lies  in  the  lack  of  a  sufficient  number 
of  competent  administrators.^ 

Italian  Criticisms  of  the  Law  of  i8po. — On  the  liberal  side  there 
are  conservative  men  who  think  the  law  went  too  far  in  subjecting 
all  the  forms  of  charity  to  state  control.  They  fear  that  private  char- 
ity will  be  discouraged  if  it  is  left  little  freedom  of  choice  as  to  object 
and  method. 

The  admission  of  women  to  the  councils  of  charity  is  opposed  by 
some  writers  on  the  ground  that  women  have  not  the  experience  and 
training  which  are  necessary  to  fit  one  for  dealing  with  affairs  of 
business,  politics  and  legal  opinions. 

While  the  clerical  party  sometimes  affirm  that  clergymen  were 
excluded  from  the  councils  on  account  of  secularist  prejudice,  there 
are  conservative  men  who  explain  the  exclusion  by  declaring  that  the 
duties  of  ministers  of  religion  are  inconsistent  with  the  administration 
of  affairs  which  frequently  involve  debate  and  litigation.^ 

The  exclusion  of  clergymen  from  the  charity  councils  is  given  as 
a  cause,  in  many  instances,  of  their  failure  to  perform  the  task  of  such 
bodies  with  efficiency,  since  in  many  of  the  small  and  rural  communes 
the  priest  is  the  most  competent  and  reliable  adviser  of  the  poor  and 
of  their  friends.^ 

In  1 90 1  Miinsterberg  repeated  his  remark  of  1898  (and  Reitzen- 
stein's  remark  of  1895),  that  the  provisions  in  the  law  of  1890  in  rela- 
tion to  combination  (conccntramento)  were  merely  on  paper,  and  that 
little  use  was  made  of  them  in  practice.  Certainly,  by  the  testimony 
of  Italian  experts,  there  has  been  much  delay  and  neglect  in  enforce- 
ment of  these  parts  of  the  law.  The  obstructing  causes  seem  to  be 
such  as  those  mentioned  by  De  Martino  in  the  Chamber  of  Deputies, 
December  17,  1900:  indolence  of  local  boards,  opposition  of  members 
of  small  trusts,  antagonism  of  the  clergy  to  a  law  which  excluded 
them  in  great  part  from  participation  in  administration,  inactivity  of 
higher  boards,  financial  straits  of  the  state  and  political  plots.  The 
local  authorities  decline  to  send  in  reports  as  required  by  the  law. 
The  Ministry  remains  ignorant  of  the  degree  to  which  the  law  is  car- 

*  Article  in  Zeitschrift  fiir  das  Armenwesen,  March,  1903,  p.  70. 

*  See  Q.  Querini,  La  Beneficenza  Romana,  p.  425  fF. 

^  G.  Saredo,  Codice  della  Beneficenza  Pubblica,  pp.  xvi-xvii. 


574  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

ried  out.  Combination  {conccntramcnto) ,  rearrangement  (raggrnp- 
pamento)  and  transformation  {trasformasione)  were  applied  in  6,190 
reported  instances  involving  a  total  income  of  6,600,000  lire,  over 
against  trusts  with  an  income  of  135  million  lire.  The  central  gov- 
ernment itself  sought  to  avoid  carrying  the  law  into  effect  and  endeav- 
ored to  escape  certain  financial  burdens  which  it  imposed.  De  Mar- 
tino  expressed  the  judgment  that  the  optional  feature  of  the  law  was 
an  error ;  that  a  compulsory  law  should  be  put  in  its  place ;  and  that 
transformation  should  be  required  within  a  specified  time.  He  pro- 
posed the  erection  of  a  special  bureau  of  the  Ministry  of  the  Interior 
(dire::io}ie  gencrale  dclla  pubblica  heneficenza')  with  three  divisions: 
for  poor  relief,  instruction  and  medical  relief ;  and  the  erection  of  one 
or  more  istitiiti  di  pitbblico  soccorso  in  each  province,  which  should 
administer  charity  funds,  while  the  Boards  of  Charity  should  remain 
the  organs  of  local  administration.  A  bill  was  drawn  up  embodying 
these  ideas. ^ 

Expenditures  of  Income. — In  1880  it  was  stated  that  the  total  sum 
of  funds  in  the  kingdom^  was  1,716,481,592  lire,  belonging  to  the 
opere  pie ;  in  the  period  up  to  1899  (20  years)  312  million  lire  were 
added,  a  proof  that  benevolence  is  vital  and  energetic  in  Italy.  But 
valuable  as  the  statistics  are,  we  need  still  to  learn  more  of  the  con- 
dition of  inmates  of  institutions,  the  success  of  the  treatment,  the 
relative  numbers  of  persons  assisted  out  of  the  total  population,  and 
a  comparison  with  the  figures  of  former  years. 

The  statistics  do  tell  us  that  between  1880-1897,  18,705  gifts  were 
registered  for  benevolent  purposes,  of  which  1,207  ^^^^  to  new  estab- 
lishments, while  the  remainder  were  given  to  already  existing  funds. 

^  See  Rivista  della  Beneficenza,  1900,  p.  807,  1899,  p.  ZZ7-  Paper  by  E.  Stiatti 
in  Riv.  Ben.  Pubb.,  March,  1903,  pp.  176-184.     Zeit.  f.  d.  Armenwesen,  Aug.,  1904. 

The  most  recent  available  statistics  show  that  combination  has  been  obligatory 
in  the  case  of  6,691  opere  pie  with  a  collective  income  of  4,527,000  lire  ;  although 
only  5,475  of  these,  with  their  income  of  3,329,000  lire,  have  actually  been  sub- 
jected to  the  process;  while  1,216,  with  an  income  of  1,288,000  lire,  remain. 
Rearrangement  {raggrupp anient o)  has  been  applied  to  331  endowments,  with  their 
income  of  6,400,000  lire,  while  151  endowments,  with  1,255,000  lire,  remain  un- 
affected. Transformation  {trasformazione)  was  applied  to  1,208  establishments, 
with  1,238,000  lire.  Up  to  December  31,  1903,  revision  has  been  applied  to 
statutes  in  3,692  cases,  involving  5,577  establishments. 

*  G.  Saredo,  Codice  Beneficenza  Pubblica,  p.  xlix.  Annuario  Statistico  Italiano, 
1900,  pp.  142  seq. 


ITALY 


575 


A  very  large  number  (3,972)  of  small  contributions  were  made  to 
objects  of  worship  and  benevolence,  while  the  large  gifts  went  gen- 
erally to  hospitals  and  orphanages.  The  northern  and  middle  prov- 
inces have  the  largest  funds  :  Lombardy,  70,000,000  lire ;  Piedmont, 
56,000,000 ;  Liguria,  39,000,000 ;  while  Calabria  and  Abruzzi  had 
only  1,200,000  and  Sardinia  1,800,000  lire. 

Hospitals  have  80,000,000  lire ;  orphanages,  56,000,000 ;  local  char- 
ities, 18,000,000;  instruction,  2,500,000;  establishments  for  rachitis 
and  scrofulous  children,  2,300,000 ;  seaside  resorts,  1,600,000  lire.  The 
figures  show  a  growth  in  popular  intelligence  in  relation  to  modern 
methods  of  relief:  in  1880  the  establishments  for  rachitic  children 
had  a  property  of  only  211,236  lire,  and  the  sanatoria  for  children 
were  not  mentioned  in  the  statistics.  Infant  asylums,  having  723,507 
lire  in  1897,  possess  more  property  by  220,000  lire  than  in  1880.  On 
the  whole,  no  form  of  charity  is  entirely  neglected. 

The  statistics  of  hospitals,  which  name  includes  not  only  institu- 
tions lor  the  sick,  but  also  other  forms  of  indoor  relief,  divide  the 
institutions  into  16  classes,  and  the  medical  institutions,  hospitals  for 
the  insane,  orphanages,  work-houses,  lying-in  hospitals,  institutions 
for  the  feeble-minded,  blind  and  deaf  are  distinguished  in  the  usual 
way.  In  all,  3,188  institutions  were  counted,  of  which  464  serve 
more  than  one  purpose,  and  in  which  on  Jan.  i,  1898,  there  were 
272,615  persons,  of  whom  128,309  were  male  and  144,576  were 
female;  in  the  course  of  the  year  there  were  added  538,440,  while 
536,207  persons  went  out, — 70,221  discharged  by  death, — so  that 
on  Jan.  i,  279,848  (129,576  males  and  145,272  females)  remained. 

The  burdens  of  administrative  costs  are  very  significant  in  rela- 
tion to  the  charity  funds.  Thus  payment  must  sometimes  be  made 
out  of  these  funds  for  acts  of  worship  and  various  ceremonies ;  70 
per  cent,  of  the  burdens  of  cost  are  paid  out  for  this  purpose,  while 
the  remainder  goes  to  life  annuities,  etc.  The  rate  for  such  costs 
varies  between  5,  8,  and  10.3  per  cent,  of  the  total  income, — in  Sicily 
being  as  high  as  15  per  cent.  Other  costs  vary  from  15-20  per  cent., 
while  the  administrative  expenses  proper  vary  from  16-21  per  cent. 
Therefore  the  entire  deduction  which  must  be  made  before  the  relief 
fund  is  reached  amounts  to  40-45  per  cent,  of  the  income,  with  excep- 
tions above  and  below.  It  is  worthy  of  note  that  in  Piedmont  these 
deductions  are  only  32.5  per  cent.,  of  which  only  12.03  per  cent,  go  to 
expenses  of  administration.     It  is  evident  that  these  expenses  are  ex- 


576 


MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 


cessive,  and  it  is  said  by  well-informed  persons  that  there  are  many 
sinecure  positions  connected  with  the  charity  trusts,  and  that  those 
who  occupy  them  naturally  oppose  any  form  of  consolidation  which 
might  create  vacancies  and  abolish  their  useless  offices.  The  subor- 
dinate officers  and  clerks  seem  to  be  poorly  paid.  Recently  a  move- 
ment has  been  started  to  place  the  employes  of  the  opere  pie  on  an 
equal  footing  with  the  officers  of  state  and  communes.  In  order  to 
make  an  impression  on  the  government,  a  meeting  of  delegates  of 
these  officers  took  place  in  the  early  part  of  the  year  1901  and  planned 
an  agitation. 

In  connection  with  the  expenditures  upon  ceremonies  one  must 
mention  the  brotherhoods  which  take  some  part  in  the  charitable 
work,  but  for  the  most  part  are  devoted  to  ritual.  So  far  as  they 
engage  in  charity  they  are  subject  to  the  law  of  1890.  In  Italy  they 
number  10,644  and  they  possess  a  property  worth  179,000,000  lire, 
which  yields  an  annual  income  of  9,400,000  lire,  from  which  1,700,000 
lire  go  to  administrative  expenses  (18  per  cent.),  while  5,000,000  (75 
per  cent,  go  to  ceremonies,  and  1,700,000  to  charity.  Generally  these 
are  small  associations  with  about  500  lire  annual  income. 

For  several  decades  there  has  been  a  growing  tendency  to  reduce 
the  amounts  used  for  ceremonies  and  ritual  observances  and  to  devote 
as  much  as  the  law  would  permit  to  relief  of  the  indigent.  Wealthy 
laymen  and  taxpayers  naturally  wish  to  diminish  the  burden  of  relief 
which  falls  upon  them  and  secular  influence  upon  administration  is 
increasing.  Perhaps  there  is  less  faith  in  the  beneficent  efifects  of 
ceremonies  and  more  in  substantial  relief  of  pressing  wants  of  the 
poor.  State  supervision  also  has  the  effect  of  keeping  the  accounts 
separate  and  of  insuring  the  proper  direction  of  charitable  donations.^ 

C.  Private  Charity. — In  a  certain  sense  very  much  of  the  relief 
we  have  already  considered  comes  from  private  sources ;  but  the 
endowments  have  become  so  vast  that  they  are  now  being  combined 
into  a  system  and  are  legally  called  "public  beneficence."  We  must 
therefore  confine  our  study  at  this  point  to  individual  and  associated 
benevolence  and  also  reserve  for  special  consideration  that  charity 
which  is  conducted  by  ecclesiastical  agencies,  parochial  and  others. 

Private  Charity  Associations. — The  report  of  the  Paris  jury  in 
1900  says  of  the  society  named  "La  Croce  Verde,"  founded  at  Lucca 

^  See  Atti  della  commissione  reale  sulle  opere  pie,  Vol.  V,  p.  5,  Rome,  1887. 


ITALY  577 

in  1893  :  "Up  to  recent  years  all  the  charity  of  Lucca  was  administered 
by  certain  powerful  religious  brotherhoods  with  a  degree  of  partiality 
worthy  of  past  ages.  Some  young  people  desired  to  see  the  exercise 
of  the  virtue  of  benevolence  free  from  divisions  and  hatred  in  the 
ancient  Tuscan  city.  At  first  the  society  encountered  hostility,  open 
or  covert,  but  has  succeeded  in  securing  a  firm  place.  It  succors  all 
forms  of  distress  without  distinction  of  creed  or  nationality."  The 
annual  income  is  about  7,000  to  8,000  lire.  Honorable  mention  was 
made  of  the  society  of  public  relief  of  Spezia  (Genes),  founded  in 
1889. 

Italian  Benevolent  Society  at  Paris. — The  colony  of  Italians  in 
France  organized  in  1865  a  society  for  the  relief  of  their  countrymen 
who  meet  misfortune  far  from  home.  It  gives  aid  in  money,  orders 
for  bread,  meat,  milk  and  medicines.  It  supports  a  dispensary  and 
provides  physicians  for  poor  Italians  In  each  of  20  arrondissements  of 
Paris.  In  1899  it  aided  1.739  persons  at  an  expense  of  36,437  lire. 
On  Dec.  31,  1899,  the  society  had  a  productive  endowment  of  667,175 
lire.  Gifts  and  legacies  are  invested,  with  the  exception  of  those 
given  for  immediate  needs. 

An  interesting  method  of  raising  funds  for  a  charity  has  been 
used  at  Rome  and  Milan, — the  collection  of  waste  and  its  sale  for  the 
object  of  benevolence.  Bones,  paper,  rags,  etc.,  are  systematically 
gathered,  sorted  and  put  into  condition  for  marketing.  This  reminds 
one  of  the  "salvage  corps"  of  the  Salvation  Army  and  of  similar 
devices.  The  rejected  articles  are  saved  as  a  means  of  saving  de- 
linquent children.^ 

D.  Ecclesiastical  Charity. — The  essential  features  of  eccle- 
siastical charity  are  treated  under  other  heads. 

E.  Co-operation,  Conferences,  etc. — Many  important  confer- 
ences have  been  held  in  Italy  for  the  discussion  of  charity  topics,  that 
at  Venice  in  October,  1900,  being  specially  worthy  of  mention. 
Others  have  been  held  at  Bologna,  Florence,  Genoa  and  Turin.  The 
Rivista  della  BeneHcenza  treats  all  these  subjects  with  vigor  and  in- 
telligence. 

The  International  Congress  of  Public  and  Private  Assistance  will 
be  held  in  Milan  in  September,  1905,  and  the  subjects  selected  for  dis- 
cussion will  naturally  and  properly  be  closely  related  to  the  problems 

^  Riv.  Ben.  Pubb.,  1903,  p.  88-95, 
37 


5/8 


MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 


most  interesting  in  Italy.  But  since  these  problems  are  in  their  essen- 
tial elements  precisely  those  which  concern  all  civilized  countries,  the 
discussion  will  by  no  means  be  narrow  and  local. 

The  Charity  Council  (la  Congrcgazionc  di  Carita)  of  a  city  is 
easily  transformed  into  a  central  bureau  for  the  organization  of  urban 
philanthropies.  For  example,  the  Charity  Council  of  Florence, 
founded  at  first  upon  the  basis  of  the  law  of  1862,  and  made  a  corpo- 
ration after  the  enactment  of  the  law  of  1890,  brought  under  a  single 
administration  36  different  charitable  funds,  and,  in  1900,  had  a  cap- 
ital of  more  than  9,000,000  lire.  The  objects  for  which  the  funds  are 
set  apart  are  of  varied  character :  aid  to  infants,  payments  to  nurses, 
care  of  the  sick,  surgical  appliances,  furniture  for  poor  families, 
clothing,  food,  and  employment  for  the  able-bodied.  The  central 
administration  is  aided  by  committees,  reinforced  by  sections  of 
workers  in  the  various  parishes  of  the  city. 

La  Societa  Umanitaria  at  Milan  has  proposed  the  introduction  of 
a  central  organization  similar  to  the  English  and  American  Charity 
Organization  Societies,  and  the  argument  reveals  the  same  difficulties 
of  conflict,  duplication  and  defect  which  are  found  elsewhere.  On 
the  other  hand,  leading  writers  think  a  better  way  to  correct  these 
evils  w^ould  be  to  improve  the  Congregazione  di  Carita,  which  is  al- 
ready loyally  recognized  and  is  adapted  to  Italian  conditions.^ 

F.  Indoor  Relief. — The  number  of  institutions  in  Italy  is  very 
great,  yet  there  is  a  serious  lack  of  provision  for  almshouses  for  the 
feeble  and  of  suitable  workhouses  to  test  and  help  able-bodied  beg- 
gars. One  of  the  causes  of  the  notorious  evils  of  mendicancy  is 
precisely  this  absence  of  provision  for  those  really  or  professedly 
unable  to  work. 

The  difficulties  of  exterminating  street  mendicancy  are  well  illus- 
trated by  the  experience  of  the  Associazione  di  Beneficenza  per  la  Re- 
pressione  deW  Accattonaggio  of  Naples.  This  society  appeals  to  the 
civic  pride  of  those  citizens  of  Naples  who  realize  the  disgrace  of 
tolerated  begging,  and  asks  them  to  combine  to  suppress  a  plague 
which  they  feel  injures  the  morality  and  prosperity  of  the  city  at 
home  and  its  fame  with  strangers  who  come  to  see  its  natural  and 
historical  glories.  The  policy  of  the  society  is  to  employ  agents  to 
offer  beggars  an  asylum  in  places  of  refuge  and  induce  them  to  cease 

^  Rivjsta  Ben.  Pubb.,  Feb.,  1904,  p.  95  ff. 


ITALY 


579 


from  public  mendicancy.  But,  as  the  world  knows,  this  is  a  stub- 
born tribe,  parasitic  habits  are  inveterate,  and  the  traditions  of  indis- 
criminate almsgiving  are  deeply  rooted.  The  report  complains  that 
the  society  has  only  the  powers  of  a  voluntary,  private  association.^ 
The  police  will  not  make  arrests,  under  the  penal  code,  unless  it  can 
be  proved  to  them  that  there  is  an  almshouse  to  which  those  arrested 
can  be  sent,  and  the  asylums  of  this  society  are  not  yet  recognized  as 
legal  asylums  within  the  meaning  of  the  code.  Only  about  1,200 
subscribers  could  be  found  to  aid  the  society,  whose  expenditures  in 
1902  were  41,819.72  lire.  The  income  was  derived  from  member- 
ship fees,  special  gifts,  proceeds  of  charity  entertainments  and  sub- 
sidies from  the  government.  The  report  complains  of  public  apathy 
and  of  the  general  scepticism  as  to  the  ability  of  voluntary  associa- 
tions to  improve  the  situation.  Various  charitable  societies  compete 
with  each  other  for  gifts  and  cooperation  has  not  been  organized. 
These  confessions  are  painfully  appreciated  by  all  who  have  to  do 
with  voluntary  charities,  and  many  of  us  understand  the  declaration 
that  the  subscriptions  are  "non  sempre  spontanee  ne  facili." 

At  Faenza  the  report  of  the  Ricovero  di  mcndicita  for  1901  shows 
that  there  were,  on  Dec.  31,  118  male  and  85  female  inmates;  the 
average  expenditure  per  inmate  was  239.40  lire. 

G.  Vagrants,  Beggars  and  the  Unemployed. — The  relief  of 
persons  unable  to  labor  {inahili  al  lavoro)  is  regulated  by  the  law  of 
1890  and  by  a  former  law  of  public  security  of  1881.  As  stated  else- 
where, begging  on  public  streets  is  forbidden  where  stations  of  relief 
are  provided,  and  where  local  aid  is  deficient  they  are  certified  to 
higher  authorities  to  be  properly  relieved.  But  this  regulation  is  very 
imperfectly  administered.  The  prescriptions  are  not  clearly  ex- 
pressed and  the  relation  of  the  communes  to  the  State  is  not  explicitly 
stated.  At  first  the  400,000  lire  placed  in  the  budget  of  state  for  the 
purpose  was  thought  sufficient,  but  the  communes  sought  to  throw  as 
many  cases  as  possible  on  the  state,  and  the  sum  apparently  required 
rose  to  6,000,000  lire,  so  that  in  1897  the  government  struck  the  item 
from  the  budget,  and  the  Boards  of  Charity  and  voluntary  benevo- 
lence had  to  carry  the  load,  and  for  this  they  were  not  prepared. 

In  1900  De  Martino  declared  in  his  report  that  of  the  100,000  per- 
sons unable  to  labor  (an  estimate  evidently  very  low),  more  than 

^  Reports  for  1901-3,  kindly  sent  by  Count  De  La  Field  at  the  request  of  Dr. 
Bradley  Davis.     See  Arthur  Syraons,  Cities,  p.  91  ff,  1903. 


58o  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

40,000  lacked  suitable  care.  About  62,000  were  assisted,  but  many 
very  imperfectly.  The  statistics  of  January  i,  1899,  gave  the  number 
of  persons  resorting  to  the  beggars'  stations  (ricoveri  de  mendicita) 
as  35,417  (18,229  males  and  17,188  females),  most  of  whom  must 
have  been  unable  to  work ;  and  the  report  shows  that  the  mortality  in 
these  institutions  was  65  per  cent.,  because  the  persons  aided  were 
mostly  broken-down  invalids,  and  they  rarely  left  the  house  except 
by  death. 

In  1903,  Dr.  E.  Stiatti  writes  of  "the  plague  of  begging,  which 
is  a  disgrace  to  the  entire  country,  a  disturbance  to  the  people  and  a 
national  economic  injury,  even  where  it  does  not  assume  at  times  the 
form  of  a  menace  to  public  order  and  security."^ 

In  1899,  Comte  Stellenti-Scala  declared  that  Italy  presented  to 
the  world  the  sorry  spectacle  of  a  nation  which,  after  an  experience 
of  ten  years  with  this  branch  of  the  law,  declared  itself  that  far  bank- 
rupt, since  the  act  of  striking  out  the  item  from  the  budget  could  not 
be  otherwise  characterized ;  and  he  demanded,  on  political,  moral  and 
administrative  grounds,  that  this  objectionable  attitude  should  cease. 
The  Minister  of  the  Interior,  Pelloux,  answered  this  attack  with  good 
will,  announced  a  new  bill,  and  admitted  that  the  nation  should  escape 
from  this  condition  as  soon  as  possible,  since  it  could  not  continue 
without  shame  to  all  (una  specie  di  vergogna  per  tutti  noi).  The 
Minister  Giolitti  and  his  successors  took  the  same  position,  but  with- 
out definite  progress.  A  friend  of  international  peace  might  interject 
the  remark  that  it  is  difficult  to  care  properly  for  the  poor,  the  laborer 
and  schools,  and  build  warships  for  the  Triple  Alliance  at  the  same 
time. 

A  law  of  April  6,  1879  {sidle  Congrue  dei  Parrochi)  was  passed 
to  carry  out  the  law  of  1866,  which  required  the  income  of  certain 
properties  of  cloisters  to  be  paid  over  to  the  communes  for  aid  of 
public  instruction,  hospitals,  and  care  of  persons  unable  to  labor. 
The  value  of  this  property  was  estimated  at  25,000,000  lire  ;  the  quar- 
ter belonging  to  the  communes  would  be  6-y  million,  and  the  annual 
income  of  this  part  about  200,000  lire. 

It  is  thought  by  many  experts  that  the  State  cannot  undertake  the 
entire  expense  without  leading  the  communes  to  shirk  their  burdens 
and  increasing  the  number  of  beggars.     Local  authorities  are  usually 

*  Rivista  Ben.  Pubb.,  Jan.,  1903,  p.  31.     Cf.  March,  1903,  p.  181. 


ITALY  581 

much  less  careful  if  they  think  the  general  government  will  pay  the 
bills.  The  Congress  of  Charities  at  Venice,  in  October,  1900,  dis- 
cussed this  subject  and  reached  the  conclusion  that  there  was  pressing 
need  of  regulation,  and  recommended  the  establishment  of  a  fund  in 
each  province  which  should  be  composed  of  contributions  from  the 
charitable  funds,  the  communes,  the  provinces  and  the  state.  The 
communes  should  contribute  according  to  the  number  of  their  settled 
citizens  who  were  incapable  of  work,  while  the  provinces  should  give 
one-tenth,  and  the  state  one-half  of  the  contribution  due  from  the 
commune.  With  the  help  of  communes  and  private  benevolence 
some  attempts  have  been  made  to  furnish  work,  but  as  yet  these  ef- 
forts have  been  few  and  those  chiefly  in  cities.  The  statistics  for 
1898-99  showed  that  there  were  23  workhouses  (case  d'industria) 
caring  for  over  5,000  persons  (two-thirds  men  and  one-third  women). 
Most  of  these  workhouses  give  only  work  and  not  lodgings.^ 

Homeless  Men. — At  Turin,  in  1888,  an  asylum  for  lodgers  was 
established.  The  structure  and  furnishings  have  cost  60,000  lire. 
It  has  a  capacity  for  50  persons,  and  receives  persons  of  both  sexes 
and  all  ages.  From  its  opening  to  1899  it  had  received  37,909  lodg- 
ers for  87,412  nights,  an  average  of  30  persons  each  night,  with  two 
nights  of  entertainment.  The  annual  receipts  are  9,000  lire,  and 
expenses  about  8,000  lire. 

At  Milan,  in  1901,  was  opened  the  Alhergo  Popolare,  or  Lodging 
House,  whose  idea  was  suggested  by  the  Rowton  House  which  was 
established  in  London  in  1893,  and  which  was  imitated  in  the  Mills 
Hotel  in  New  York  and  in  other  cities.  The  rules  prohibit  smoking 
in  the  sleeping  rooms,  late  hours  and  gambling,  but  provide  for  cheap 
baths,  clean  beds,  good  plain  food  at  low  prices,  amusement  rooms 
and  all  that  is  necessary  for  decent  and  comfortable  living.^  A 
visitor  to  this  establishment  has  criticised  its  administration  on  the 
ground  that  it  does  not  help  the  persons  for  whom  it  was  originally 
designed,  the  very  poor;  and  that  it  is  treated  as  a  comfortable, 
cheap  hotel  by  travelers  who  like  its  luxury  and  are  abundantly  able 
to  pay  more  than  its  low  rates.  This  visitor  says  that  the  customers 
do  not  wash  their  own  clothes  in  the  free  laundry,  but  hire  it  done ; 
nor  do  they  go  to  the  trouble  of  cooking  their  own  food  in  the  free 
kitchen,  but  take  meals  at  the  restaurants.     It  seems  to  be  admitted 

^  See  Florian  and  Cavaglieri ;  I  Vagabondi,  1900,  I,  530  ff ;  Statistics  in  II,  96  ft". 
'^  Riv.  Ben.  Pubb.,  June,  1901,  p.  498. 


582  MODERN  ^lETHODS  OF  CHARITY 

that  smaller  and  cheaper  lodging  houses  must  be  provided  to  meet 
the  needs  of  a  still  lower  stratum  of  wandering  men.^  The  Prinio 
Alloggio  Popolare  at  Trieste,  erected  by  the  general  Council  of 
Charity,  has  provided  a  beautiful  lodging  place  at  a  cost  of  30  cen- 
tesime  each  night,  or  even  24c.  if  paid  a  week  or  a  month  in  advance. 

H.  Medical  Relief. — The  union  of  science  and  charity  in  the 
cure  and  prevention  of  disease  finds  beautiful  and  impressive  illustra- 
tions in  Italy.  In  1898,  including  20  children's  hospitals,  with  4,130 
patients,  there  were  counted  1,208  general  hospitals  with  426,766 
patients.  In  1885  there  were  1,117  institutions  with  335,255  patients. 
The  rate  of  mortality  fell  in  the  same  period  from  11. 7  to  lo.i.  The 
hospitals  are  very  unequally  distributed :  the  largest  number  is  at 
Rome, — 34.8  patients  to  1,000  inhabitants  ;  Tuscany,  24.5  ;  Lombardy, 
21.99;  while  Abruzzia  had  only  0.14,  Basilicata  0.15  and  Campania 
0.26.  In  rural  communes  there  is  great  lack  of  hospital  service.  In 
lower  Valtellin  there  is  only  one  hospital  to  25  km. 

For  maternity  cases  provision  was  made  in  1898  in  13  special 
establishments,  in  addition  to  18  foundling  asylums  and  104  maternity 
wards  in  general  hospitals.  The  total  number  January  i,  1898,  was 
870  inmates,  and  in  the  course  of  the  year  16,567  entered  (15  in  1,000 
of  confinements).  But  averages  are  misleading,  if  taken  for  very 
wide  areas,  since  in  the  southern  provinces  there  is  little  provision  for 
maternity  cases.  The  mortality  rate  is  1.6  per  cent,  in  the  hospitals 
and  0.31  outside,  but  the  report  partly  explains  the  fact  by  saying  that 
a  very  large  proportion  of  the  women  who  go  to  hospitals  have  reason 
to  expect  difficult  confinement,  or  are  tmmarried  mothers  whose  situa- 
tion is  peculiarly  depressing  and  trying. 

In  the  spring  of  1900  the  Minister  of  the  Interior  proposed  the 
draft  of  a  law  which  should  require  the  hospitals  to  receive  sick  per- 
sons without  circumlocution  or  delay.  Out  of  1,197  hospitals  he 
stated  that  893  receive  patients  without  regard  to  their  residence,  and 
the  bill  proposed  to  require  all  hospitals  to  do  the  same  throughout 
Italy.  The  mayor  or  police  could  give  order  for  the  reception  of 
destitute  patients,  and  in  emergency  cases  the  hospital  might  receive 
at  once  and  secure  formal  order  afterwards.  The  cost  of  care  of 
dependent  patients  was  to  be  paid  to  the  hospital  by  the  commune 
where  the  patient  has  legal  settlement;  and  the  bill  defined  a  legal 

^  Riv.  Ben.  Pubb.,  1902,  p.  447  ff  and  p.  716. 


ITALY 


583 


settlement  for  this  purpose  as  the  place  where  the  person  has  hved  for 
two  years,  or  the  birthplace,  or  the  habitual  residence.  The  Con- 
gress of  V'enice  in  1900  approved  this  bill.  The  bill  did  not  provide 
for  increasing  the  number  of  hospitals.  The  report  accompanying 
the  text  showed  that  the  accommodations  for  the  sick  are  more 
meagre  than  in  other  advanced  countries.  In  Italy  there  were  13.8 
receptions  to  1,000  inhabitants;  in  Prussia,  18.08;  in  Bavaria,  21.96. 
The  rates  of  mortality  were  9.9,  6.9,  and  4.2,  the  reason  for  the  higher 
rate  in  Italy  apparently  being  that  the  institutions  were  inferior,  and 
that  the  space  being  inadequate,  only  those  dangerously  ill  were  taken 
to  them. 

The  municipality  of  Padua  in  1902  sought  to  extend  relief  of  the 
sick  in  their  homes  by  furnishing  medical  advice,  medicines  and  sick 
diet.  The  results  were  satisfactory  and  the  pressure  on  hospital  facil- 
ities was  reduced.  The  municipal  authorities  were  able  to  make 
proper  arrangements  with  druggists  as  to  price  and  quality  of  medi- 
cines.^ 

The  hospital  Maria  Vittoria  was  the  first  to  be  established  in  Italy 
for  diseases  of  women  and  children.  It  owes  its  foundation  to  the 
initiative  of  Dr.  Joseph  Berruti,  seconded  by  the  generosity  of  Prince 
Amedee  of  Savoy,  duke  of  Aoste.  The  hospital  was  opened  to  the 
public  in  1887  with  only  12  beds  and  without  endowment,  but  the  in- 
telligent work  of  the  surgeons  soon  brought  the  institution  to  the 
attention  of  the  community  and  improvements  were  made.  The 
establishment  has  come  to  possess  seven  groups  of  buildings  with  80 
beds  for  women  and  40  for  children,  and  its  property  is  over  500,000 
lire.  Both  charity  and  pay  patients  are  received.  There  are  three 
grades  of  payment  for  those  who  are  able  to  pay :  those  of  the  first 
class  pay  10  lire  a  day,  those  of  the  second  5,  and  those  of  the  third  3. 
In  the  period  between  October  10,  1887,  and  December  31,  1899,  the 
hospital  received  4,837  women  and  946  children.  More  than  half  of 
the  sick  persons  were  operated  upon,  and  with  such  happy  issue  that 
the  mortality  has  been  less  than  3  per  cent.  All  the  halls  for  the  sick 
in  the  pavilions  are  provided  with  arrangements  for  surgery,  with  the 
best  modern  appliances;  and  nursing,  general  supervision,  laundry, 
kitchen  are  under  the  care  of  sisters.  Consultations  and  medicines 
are  furnished  gratuitously  at  the  hospital  for  those  who  may  be  cared 

^  Riv.  della  Ben.  Pubb.,  Jan.,  1903,  p.  46, 


S84 


MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 


for  at  home.  The  expenses  in  1899  were  91,728  Hre,  and  these  ex- 
penses are  met  by  voluntary  contributions  and  payments  of  patients. 
The  institution  was  approved  by  royal  decree  of  February  26,  1887. 
It  is  administered  by  a  council  of  nine  members.  The  business  man- 
ager is  directly  responsible  to  the  president  of  the  council  of  admin- 
istration. 

Tuberculosis. — Italians  have  entered  with  commendable  zeal  and 
intelligence  into  the  movement  to  combat  the  ravages  of  consumption. 
Before  1899  there  was  one  sanatorium  at  Nervi,  in  addition  to  sana- 
toria for  children.  By  a  ministerial  order  of  May,  1897,  the  isolation 
of  tuberculous  patients  in  hospitals  was  required.  In  1899  the  Na- 
tional League  against  Tuberculosis  was  founded  by  Professor  Gio- 
vanni under  the  presidency  of  Baccelli,  with  its  central  office  at  Rome, 
and  it  carries  on  its  work  through  publications  and  discussions.  The 
Minister  of  the  Interior,  May  15  ,1899,  requested  the  prefects  to  aid 
all  such  efforts,  and  early  in  1900  he  offered  a  prize  for  the  best  plan 
of  a  model  sanatorium  adapted  to  the  needs  of  100  patients,  50  men 
and  50  women. 

The  Congress  of  Hygiene  which  met  at  Como  in  September,  1899, 
discussed  the  topic;  and  the  Congress  of  Charity  in  1900  urged  the 
erection  of  sanatoria  in  all  the  provinces.  Funds  have  been  provided 
for  hospitals,  and  at  Padua  one  was  built  with  30  beds  and  one  for  100 
incurables.  In  Milan  a  public  subscription  secured  the  erection  of  a 
large  institution,  and  for  Naples  the  Sanatoria  Filangiere  was  built. 

Red  Cross. — The  international  agreement  of  Geneva  (August  22, 
1864)  was  approved  by  royal  decrees  in  Italy  September  23,  1865, 
It  provided  for  a  distinctive  uniform  and  flag  for  the  protection  of 
persons  engaged  in  caring  for  the  wounded  and  sick  in  war.  The 
law  of  May  21,  1882,  provided  for  the  incorporation  of  the  Italian 
Association  of  the  Red  Cross,  relieved  it  of  the  ordinary  supervision 
of  charitable  societies,  placed  it  under  the  control  of  the  Ministry  of 
Army  and  Navy,  and  gave  it  free  use  of  postal,  telegraph  and  railway 
service  in  time  of  war.^  By  decree  of  May  31,  1896,  the  government 
established  a  commission  for  deciding  questions  relating  to  the  privi- 
leges of  agents  of  the  Red  Cross  and  abuses  of  these  privileges.  The 
Red  Cross  Society  in  Italy  in  1899  had  24,000  members,  363  sub- 
committees, 682  communal  delegates,  a  property  of  6,474,674.23  Hre 

'  G.  Saredo,  Codice  della  Beneficenza  Pubblica,  pp.  432,  627. 


ITALY  585 

(capital  of  4,188,917.98  and  materials  of  the  value  of  2,285,756.27 
lire).  In  the  war  between  Spain  and  the  United  States,  in  South 
Africa,  and  in  China,  this  society  has  carried  on  its  healing  mission. 
In  times  of  peace  it  has  improved  hospital  service,  trained  nurses,  and 
helped  the  victims  of  malarial  fever. 

The  need  for  instruction  in  first  aid  to  the  injured  created  the 
Samaritan  School  first  at  Turin  in  1883,  which  was  transferred  to  the 
Red  Cross  Society  in  1889. 

In  1901  the  Cassa  Nacionale  infortuni  reported  20,247  accidents 
to  laborers,  with  230  cases  of  death,  711  of  permanent  disablement, 
and  19,306  of  temporary  disablement,  and  the  fund  contributed  aid  to 
the  value  of  1,748,645.48  lire.  Perhaps  as  many  more,  not  connected 
with  this  fund,  suffered  from  accidents.  These  figures  are  an  argu- 
ment for  the  organization  of  classes  in  methods  of  first  aid  to  the  sick 
and  injured,  and  they  have  been  influential  in  this  direction.^ 

Two  great  plagues  of  Italy  are  the  diseases  of  pellagra  and  ma- 
laria. The  government  as  early  as  1888  passed  a  law  forbidding  the 
sale  of  the  defective  maize  (grantnrco)  which  causes  the  malady  of 
pellagra  and  increases  pauperism  by  destroying  industrial  efficiency. 
Paoli  Doneti  declared  that  the  two  diseases  arise  from  a  common 
cause ;  that  the  immature,  innutritious,  easily  decaying  maize  grows  in 
the  low,  swampy  places  where  malaria  also  originates ;  and  he  de- 
clares that  the  government  could  best  strike  both  evils  at  once  by 
draining  and  redeeming  the  soil  and  restoring  it  to  agriculture.^ 

By  a  law  approved  March  30,  1902,  the  government  made  ar- 
rangements to  furnish  quinine  gratuitously,  or  at  reduced  cost,  to 
laborers  living  in  malarial  regions  and  suffering  from  the  fever,  the 
distribution  to  be  made  through  communal  officers  and  charity  coun- 
cils.^ 

J.  Care  of  Defectives.  The  Blind. — The  friends  of  the  blind 
have  protested  against  the  laws  which  classified  these  unfortunate 
members  of  society  among  the  incompetents,  and  have  sought  to  give 
them  the  juristic  position  of  normal  persons,  unless  serious  mental 
defects  are  proved  in  addition  to  loss  of  sight.* 

^  Riv.  Ben.  Pubb.,  1902,  p.  156  (address  of  Dr.  C.  Galliano). 

'Ibid.,  1902,  p.  229. 

^  Ibid.,  1902,  p.  429  flF. 

*  Action  of  the  IVth  Italian  Congress  for  the  Blind  ;  Riv.  Ben.  Pubb.,  May,  igoi, 

p.  357  ff,  414. 


586  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

The  approved  subjects  of  instruction  are  those  given  to  normal 
children,  with  special  training  in  reading  with  the  fingers  according 
to  modern  methods.  All  are  to  learn  music  and  those  who  reveal 
special  ability  are  trained  professionally.  Industries  in  which  the 
sense  of  touch  can  be  relied  on  for  guidance  are  preferred  for  the 
trade  school.  The  telegraph  and  telephone  have  opened  new  callings 
to  the  blind. 

At  the  Paris  exposition,  1900,  a  medal  of  gold  was  awarded  to 
the  institute  for  the  blind  at  Milan  directed  by  the  Abbe  Vitoli.  It  is 
described  as  a  splendid  establishment  and  of  ancient  origin.  Among 
the  products  of  its  industries  shown  were  basket  work  and  elegant 
embroidery. 

The  institute  of  the  Prince  of  Naples,  at  Naples,  was  founded  in 
1873  and  recognized  by  royal  decree  of  November  9,  18S5.  It  re- 
ceives both  boys  and  girls  and  teaches  them  trades.  The  articles 
manufactured  were  shoes,  blinds,  baskets,  bindings,  printing,  em- 
broideries, all  finely  executed.  A  special  appliance  for  writing  and 
copying  music  was  shown,  the  invention  of  the  director,  M.  Martus- 
celli.  The  house  has  about  85  pupils,  and  the  annual  expenses  are 
about  40,000  lire.     Support  comes  from  gifts  and  subsidies. 

At  Florence  is  the  Institute  of  Victor-Emmanuel  II  for  young 
blind  persons,  which  was  awarded  a  bronze  medal ;  while  honorable 
mention  was  made  of  the  Society  of  Patronage  of  Niccolo  Tommaseo 
and  to  M.  Victor  Montrucchio  of  Turin  for  the  invention  of  a  writing 
machine. 

Deaf. — In  1800  there  were  in  Italy  only  two  schools  for  the  deaf ; 
in  1900  there  were  47.  All  but  one  (that  in  Catania)  are  boarding 
schools.  They  are  supported  mainly  by  voluntary  gifts.  A  few 
receive  subsidies  from  the  government  on  condition  of  giving  instruc- 
tion to  a  certain  number  of  pupils.  Ordinary  school  subjects  are 
taught.  The  school  period  is  7-10  years.  The  number  of  deaf  chil- 
dren of  school  age  in  Italy  in  1898  was  about  4,000,  of  whom  2,299 
were  in  schools.^ 

Three  institutes  for  the  deaf  made  exhibitions  at  Paris  in  1900, 
all  under  the  Minister  of  Public  Instruction,  one  at  Naples,  the  others 
at  Rome  and  at  .Sienna.  The  institute  at  Milan  was  founded  by  a 
Frenchman,  Antoine  Heyraud,  in  1805.     It  is  now  administered  as  a 

'  Zeitsclirift   fiir  das   Armenwesen,  June,    1003,  p.   167. — Storia   del   R.   Istitr.lo 
Nazionale  pei  Sordomuti  in  Genova,  1901,  by  D.  Silvio  Monaci. 


ITALY  587 

national  establishment  by  a  council  of  five  members,  of  whom  the 
principal  is  one.  There  were  48  pupils  (36  boys  and  12  girls),  who 
were  taught  elementary  studies  and  a  trade.  There  is  a  school  for 
training  teachers  with  18  students.  The  annual  expenses  are  about 
78,000  lire,  which  are  furnished  by  gifts  and  by  subsidies ;  16,900  lire 
were  given  for  the  support  of  24  dependent  children. 

The  institution  at  Rome  was  the  first  in  Italy  for  deaf  mutes,  and 
was  founded  in  1784.  In  1870  it  received  the  name  of  the  Royal 
Institute  for  Deaf  Mutes,  and  now  has  105  pupils,  of  whom  58  are 
boys  and  47  girls.  The  instruction  is  in  elementary  branches  and 
technical  training.  The  council  of  direction  is  composed  of  seven 
members,  of  whom  four  are  named  by  the  government  and  three  by 
the  council  of  the  province.  The  annual  revenues  are  about  30,000 
lire.  The  Minister  of  Instruction  grants  27,000  lire  a  year.  The 
total  receipts  are  about  81,000  lire  annually,  and  expenditures  75,000 
lire. 

The  Pendola  institution  at  Sienna  was  founded  in  1828.  It  is 
governed  by  a  council  of  five  members,  the  president  being  named  by 
royal  decree.  The  number  of  pupils  is  86,  of  whom  48  are  boys  and 
38  girls,  all  boarders.  The  instruction  is  the  same  as  at  Rome.  The 
resources  flow  from  the  annual  income  of  funds  and  from  govern- 
ment payments.  The  total  receipts  are  about  74,000  lire  and  the  ex- 
penses 71,000  lire. 

At  Milan  is  an  institute  for  deaf  mutes  founded  in  1853,  with  193 
pupils,  106  boys  and  87  girls.  Almost  all  are  supported  and  taught 
gratuitously.  The  oral  method  is  employed  and  teachers  have  come 
from  France  to  study  it. 

There  is  a  school  at  Naples  and  one  at  Lecce,  which  are  mentioned 
in  the  prize  lists  of  the  Paris  exposition  of  1900. 

Insane. — There  has  been  marked  progress  in  provision  for  the 
insane:  there  were  in  1878,  57  hospitals  with  15,173  patients  and  in 
1898  there  were  128  institutions  with  34,802  patients. 

S.  Luigi  Lucchini  recently  stated  in  the  Chamber  of  the  national 
parliament  (Feb.  9,  1904)  that  in  the  last  25  years  the  number  of  the 
insane  has  increased  from  20,000  to  more  than  40,000,  and  that  the 
capacity  of  the  asylums  is  too  small  for  the  latter  number,  lacking 
accommodations  for  4,000  who  require  them.  This  means  unsuitable 
treatment,  crowding  and  neglect,  as  we  see  only  too  often  in  other 
countries. 


588 


MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 


The  Vth  National  Congress  of  Charities,  at  Venice,  in  1900,  voted 
a  declaration  of  judgments  which  indicate  the  tendency  of  competent 
opinion  and  at  the  same  time  reveal  the  conditions.  The  care  of  the 
insane  is  the  duty  of  the  provincial  administration.  The  resolutions 
approve  the  custom  of  placing  the  quiet  insane,  and  even  idiots, 
cretins  and  epileptics,  if  harmless,  in  poorhouses,  but  favor  family 
care  under  the  direction  of  physicians.  Endowed  hospitals  for 
chronic  sick  are  urged  to  relieve  the  commune  of  the  cost  of  caring 
for  the  quiet  incurable  insane,  if  permitted  by  their  regulations  and 
their  income.  Private  establishments  should  not  be  permitted  to 
care  for  the  insane  without  official  authority,  and  the  director  should 
be  upright  and  professionally  trained.  There  should  be  in  a  hospital 
for  the  insane  one  physician  for  120  patients  and  a  nurse  for  12  pa- 
tients. Provisional  admission  of  a  patient  should  be  on  the  certificate 
of  a  physician  and  the  authority  of  a  pastor.  A  provincial  council, 
under  legal  direction,  decides  within  a  fortnight  whether  the  patient 
shall  remain  or  be  discharged.  Every  hospital  for  the  insane  should 
contain,  in  addition  to  the  ordinary  sections  for  the  several  classes,  a 
department  for  observation,  a  division  for  those  engaged  in  outside 
work  on  farms,  a  division  for  infectious  diseases,  a  section  for  those 
sent  by  courts  for  examination.  The  expenses  for  the  buildings  and 
grounds  should  be  met  by  the  province,  and  those  for  maintenance  by 
the  province  and  the  commune  where  the  patient  has  a  settlement 
{domicilio  di  soccorso).  The  repayment  of  cost  by  the  family  of  the 
patient  is  to  be  regulated  by  the  provincial  authorities.  The  Minister 
of  the  Interior  should  inspect  all  hospitals  and  control  their  adminis- 
tration.^ 

The  House  of  the  Insane  of  Saint  Lazarus,  at  Reggio-Emilia,  is 
a  good  illustration  of  the  best  tendencies.  This  asylum  was  awarded 
a  medal  of  gold  at  Paris  in  1900.  It  is  directed  by  a  medical  super- 
intendent, who  is  assisted  by  an  administrative  commission.  It  was 
founded  in  1820.  In  1822  it  had  only  20  inmates,  but  it  has  steadily 
increased  in  importance,  and  the  recent  average  number  annually  has 
been  about  1,300.  The  receipts  in  1899  were  about  780,000  lire. 
The  institution  received  a  silver  medal  at  Milan  in  1881,  and  one  of 
gold  at  Turin  in  1884. 

K.    Children.     Foundling  Asylums. — A  clear  distinction  should 

^  Riv.  Ben.  Pubb.,  Feb.,   igoi. 


ITALY 


589 


be  made  between  the  foundling  asylums  (brefotrofi)  and  the  orphan- 
ages {orfanotroU)  ;  the  former  had  a  very  early  origin  and  were 
founded  by  charitable  persons.  In  1898  there  were  113  foundling 
asylums,  which  cared  for  100,418  children,  a  few  in  the  asylums,  but 
most  placed  out  for  care  in  families.  During  the  year  21,307  were 
received,  while  21,504  were  discharged, — not  less  than  10,127  of 
them  died.  On  Jan.  i,  1899,  100,221  children  remained  under  care. 
In  19  provinces  there  are  no  foundling  asylums  and  in  these  places 
the  communes  care  for  foundlings.  The  mortality  is  very  great ;  the 
average  mortality  in  1893-96  was  39.4  per  cent. ;  in  1897,  35  P^^  cent. ; 
in  1899,  36  per  cent. 

Public  attention  has  been  fixed  upon  the  foundling  asylums  in 
consequence  of  discoveries  made  at  Naples.  Two  questions  have 
been  vigorously  discussed, — the  principles  underlying  such  asylums 
and  the  actual  methods  of  administration  in  those  which  exist. 

The  principle  of  anonymity  in  the  care  of  foundlings  was  gener- 
ally at  the  basis  of  the  earlier  asylums,  and  the  means  of  securing  it 
was  the  revolving  crib  (ruota),  an  arrangement  for  receiving  the 
infant  without  seeing  the  person  who  brought  it.  The  wretched 
mother  could  come  at  night,  lay  her  unwelcome  babe  in  the  cradle  on 
the  outside,  give  the  wheel  a  turn,  and  at  once  place  it  in  a  world  of 
tenderness  and  care,  cut  off  from  its  shameful  relations.  The  argu- 
ment for  this  method  was  that  the  unmarried  mother  might  thus  be 
prevented  from  shame  and  despair,  and  would  not  be  driven  to  suicide 
or  infanticide  in  the  hour  of  suffering  and  desertion.  The  opponents 
of  this  measure  declare  that,  by  relieving  the  mother  of  responsibility, 
a  premium  is  placed  on  immorality  and  the  dissolution  of  family  ties. 
Moreover,  the  argument  for  prevention  of  infanticide  is  very  weak, 
since  the  statistics  show  that  the  rate  of  mortality  with  children  de- 
serted by  their  mothers  is  exceedingly  high. 

Thus  Dr.  Romani^  arraigns  the  ruota  system  as  murderous  in 
effects.  In  the  Napoleonic  period,  of  618  infants  admitted  at  Mar- 
seilles, only  18  survived ;  at  Toulon,  only  3  out  of  104.  In  France, 
from  1816  to  1841,  794,831  (or  880,639  if  we  count  those  in  asylums 
at  the  end  of  1815)  were  received  and  of  these  484,127  died.  In 
Naples,  in  1895,  out  of  856  infants  only  3  survived  one  year.  In 
Rovigo,  in  1886  (the  year  before  an  important  reform  in  methods 

-In  Rivista  Ben.  Pubb.,  Feb.,  1903,  p.  65  ff. 


ggo  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

there),  74  died  out  of  142  (52.7  per  cent.).  In  Padua,  in  1876,  out  of 
374,  275  died.  In  Milan,  in  1898,  44.61  per  cent.  died.  In  Genoa,  in 
1900,  35.37  per  cent.  died.  In  Florence,  in  1899,  55.59  per  cent.  died. 
In  Padua,  in  1901,  27.73  per  cent.  died.  The  author  well  says  :  "The 
unmarried  mother  who  abandons  her  babe  and  refuses  it  her  breast 
multiplies  its  chances  of  death  three  times." 

Medical  men  note  the  danger  of  syphilitic  communication  from 
illegitimate  infants  to  nurses  and  from  nurses  to  infants.  In  1889- 
1898,  in  Milan,  from  4.30  to  11.83  per  cent,  of  infants  were  syphilitic 
and  from  8-31  per  cent,  of  nurses  were  infected.  This  danger  is 
itself  a  strong  argument  in  favor  of  requiring  unmarried  mothers  to 
nurse  their  own  infants.^ 

Another  source  of  mortality  with  illegitimate  and  all  abandoned 
infants  is  the  neglect  of  those  who  carry  them  from  the  cities  to  the 
country  nurses.  Romani  quotes  a  description  of  Monod's  "De  I'in- 
dustrie  des  nourrices" :  "All  who  travel  on  the  line  from  Paris  to 
Lyons  to  go  to  Auxerre  or  Mombert,  or  on  the  line  from  Paris  to 
Nevers,  may  any  day  verify  this  picture.  These  poor  little  creatures 
are  one  month,  six  weeks,  at  most  two  months  old.  It  may  be  in- 
tensely cold  or  tropical  with  heat ;  they  quit  the  bosom  of  the  mother, 
and,  instantly,  without  preparation,  they  pass  from  the  sweet  ma- 
ternal life  to  cruel  experiences.  It  is  a  terrible  spectacle,  the  poor 
infants  packed  upon  each  other,  crying,  for  the  nurses  to  save  ex- 
pense travel  third  class.  Add  one  detail  to  this  sad  picture.  Some 
of  these  women,  for  the  purpose  of  stilling  these  importunate  cries, 
administer  to  the  feeble  creatures  narcotic  drinks  and  procure  arti- 
ficial sleep,  sometimes  the  sleep  of  death."  And  Romani  adds  :  "Can 
we  believe  that  our  [Italian]  intermediaries,  rude,  ignorant  and  mer- 
cenary, are  better  than  the  menenses  of  France?"^ 

The  method  has  been  employed  in  various  countries  and  was  of- 
ficially recognized  in  France  as  late  as  181 1.  But  of  late  illegitimate 
children  have  come  to  receive  better  care,  and  the  revolving  cradle  has 
generally  diasppeared.  At  the  beginning  of  the  kingdom  the  system 
of  the  riiota  was  general  in  Italy,  and  these  were  used  in  1179  com- 
munes. Gradually  it  was  abolished,  not  by  law,  but  by  the  action  of 
provincial  authorities  ;  57  communes  had  abandoned  the  method  before 
i860 ;  193  others  between  i860  and  1869 '  256  between  1870  and  1879 ; 

'^  Riv.  I>en.  Pubb.,  Feb.,  1903,  p.  loi. 
'Cf.  Zola,  Fecundite,  1896. 


ITALY 


591 


105  between  1880  and  1889,  and  42  after  1890.  In  1893  there  were 
still  526  communes  in  which  the  ruota  was  in  existence,  although  only 
in  462  was  it  used.^  To  a  great  extent  the  ruofa  has  been  abandoned 
in  Italy  also,  and  the  infant,  which  is  never  refused  admission,  even  if 
no  information  is  furnished  by  the  person  who  brings  it,  is  received 
openly.  But  in  306  communes  of  Italy  it  was  reported  that  the  ruota 
was  still  in  use.  It  has  been  learned  that  the  ruota  has  been  favored 
much  more  to  secure  the  care  of  the  child  than  to  hide  the  shame  of 
the  mother  by  a  secret  surrender.  When  unmarried  mothers  came  to 
know  that  they  would  receive  care  and  their  infants  be  provided  for 
the  number  abandoned  decreased.  The  province  of  Rovigo  in  1888 
introduced  a  new  system  and  promised  mothers  who  would  acknowl- 
edge their  babes  at  first  three  years'  support,  and  later  reduced  the 
period  to  one  and  one-half  years.^  Dr.  Oliva  declared  that  this  revo- 
lutionary change  aroused  determined  opposition.  But  he  was  able  to 
prove  for  the  period  1878- 1897,  on  the  basis  of  testimony  from  over 
100  physicians  to  whom  he  sent  inquiries,  that  the  new  system  was 
satisfactory.  Whereas  in  the  decade  1878-1887,  1,358  children  were 
received  (an  annual  average  of  135),  of  whom  249  were  acknowl- 
edged by  a  parent,  during  the  period  1888- 1897,  1,414  children  were 
received  (an  average  of  141  annually),  which  were  all  acknowledged 
by  their  mothers.  And  while  of  the  1,358  children  of  the  former 
period,  531  died  under  one  year  of  age,  131  under  two,  and  787  in 
other  age  classes,  during  the  latter  period  only  99.81  and  180  in  the 
same  age  classes  died.  The  expenditures  decreased  from  640,690  lire 
to  583,937  lire ;  and  the  reduction  is  still  greater  for  recent  years :  in 
the  three  years  1885-87  the  annual  cost  was  65,000  lire  and  in  1895-97 
only  35,000  lire  annually.  The  assistance  given  to  mothers  was  9  lire 
monthly  for  the  first  year  and  5  lire  for  the  following  months  ;  but  the 
majority  of  the  physicians  consulted  advised  giving  12  lire  monthly 
for  three  years,  and  they  urged  careful  supervision.  In  1899  the 
Charity  Congress  of  Turin  declared  in  favor  of  the  Rovigo  system, 
the  abolition  of  the  ruota,  the  encouragement  of  mothers  to  acknowl- 
edge their  infants,  and  the  condemnation  of  foundling  asylums.  At 
the  same  time  many  writers  are  urging  not  only  that  mothers  should 
acknowledge  their  offspring,  but  that,  as  in  Germany,  Switzerland 

*  Statistica  della  Assistenza  dell'  infanzia  abbandonata,  Anni  1890,  1891  e  1892, 
Roma,  1894. 

^  LAssistenza  all'  infanzia  illegitima  abbandonata. 


592 


MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 


and  the  United  States  of  America,  a  legal  investigation  of  paternal 
responsibility  should  be  made  in  each  case  {riccrca  della  paternita). 

A  bill  was  proposed  in  the  national  legislature  to  make  the  Rovigo 
system  general.  This  bill  as  drafted  made  the  care  of  abandoned 
children  obligatory  on  each  province.  The  care  was  to  be  confined  to 
infants,  foundlings  in  the  strict  sense,  and  children  of  unmarried 
mothers.  The  expense  was  to  be  divided  between  the  province  and 
the  communes  concerned,  with  the  exception  of  communes  where 
existing  arrangements  for  the  purpose  were  sufficient.  Where  there 
are  no  foundling  asylums  assistance  is  to  be  given  to  mothers,  and 
rooms  furnished  for  the  first  reception.  Without  afifecting  the  rules 
for  reception  in  existing  foundling  asylums,  the  administrators  are 
to  secure  information  about  the  antecedents  of  child  and  mother,  and 
this  information  must  be  kept  secret.  Only  mothers  who  have  ac- 
knowledged their  children  obtain  a  right  to  receive  information  about 
them  afterwards.  Supervision  by  medical  men  is  provided  for  chil- 
dren up  to  10  years  of  age  for  boys  and  to  12  years  for  girls  ;  suckling 
infants  are  to  be  inspected  once  a  fortnight  up  to  three  months  and 
afterwards  up  to  the  seventh  month  at  least  once  a  month.  The 
observations  of  visits  are  to  be  recorded  in  a  book.  A  medical 
director  is  to  supervise  the  inspections  in  and  outside  the  institution. 
Within  a  period  of  one  year  after  the  passing  of  the  law  all  existing 
establishments  must  adopt  the  regulations  and  accept  certain  hygienic 
and  sanitary  prescriptions.  It  has  been  urged  as  an  objection  to  this 
bill  that  it  was  too  timid  and  limited  in  its  scope ;  that  it  protects 
existing  arrangements  too  carefully ;  that  it  cares  only  for  a  limited 
number  of  children,  the  foundlings  and  the  illegitimate,  and  neither 
requires  the  acknowledgment  by  the  mother  nor  asks  about  the  father. 
But  the  law  once  enforced  would  at  least  mark  progress.  Even  with- 
out legislation  progress  has  been  made  in  some  provinces  beside 
Rovigo.  The  report  on  the  Casa  dell'  Anmmciata  di  Napoli  was 
made  by  G.  Pucci,  who  administered  the  house  two  years  in  order  to 
correct  abuses  and  introduce  a  better  system  ;  and  on  the  whole  he  was 
quite  successful ;  but  the  report  indicates  a  fear  that  after  his  departure 
some  abuses  returned.  Information  is  given  in  respect  to  the  uneco- 
nomical methods  of  administration,  the  unhygienic  condition  of  rooms 
for  children  and  nurses,  the  dirty  clothing,  the  lack  of  isolating  rooms, 
etc.  When  Pucci  undertook  the  administration  there  were  96  nurses 
and  224  children ;  all  kept  in  4  rooms,  in  each  of  which  there  were 


ITALY 


593 


23-26  nurses,  and  68,  55,  64  and  27  children,  while  each  nurse  had  to 
give  nourishment  to  3  children.  In  the  milk  supply  adulteration  was 
discovered,  and  half  of  it  was  water.  Still  worse  was  the  care  of 
children  in  the  families  of  peasants,  who  were  paid  8  lire  monthly. 
144  lire  were  paid  for  the  care  of  18  months,  and  the  child  was  left  to 
its  fate  without  supervision,  while  no  scrutiny  was  made  in  the  selec- 
tion of  families.  It  was  found  that  not  less  than  965  children  had 
died,  172  were  sent  out  of  Italy,  226  to  other  communes,  while  nothing 
could  be  learned  of  102.  Of  children  sent  to  families  in  Naples,  of 
595  children  born  in  the  years  1890-96,  190  could  not  be  found,  75 
were  reported  dead,  and  115  removed  to  other  homes.  Not  less 
unhappy  was  the  condition  of  the  older  children  and  of  inmates  who 
were  brought  up  in  the  houses  and  still  remained  there,  413  in  number. 
But  here  the  complaint  was  not  of  hard  treatment  but  of  such  exces- 
sive comfort  that  the  inmates  were  unwilling  to  go  out  and  work  for 
their  own  support.  The  luxurious  meals  and  complete  freedom  to 
come  and  go,  robbed  the  institution  of  its  original  character  as  a 
charitable  establishment.  Habit  had  become  so  inveterate  that  oppo- 
sition to  improvement  was  obstinate,  and  Pucci  could  do  nothing  by 
orders,  requests  and  threats ;  the  inmates  went  so  far  as  to  mutiny. 
By  determined  effort  Pucci  effected  a  complete  change,  restricted  the 
liberty  of  going  and  coming  at  pleasure,  required  the  pupils  to  work 
in  the  house,  abolished  unnecessary  luxuries,  etc.  But  some  of  the 
girls  said  to  his  face  that  they  would  remain,  in  spite  of  his  strict 
measures,  because  there  would  soon  be  a  new  superintendent  and  he 
would  restore  the  old  order. 

Pucci  proceeded  in  his  reforms  by  reconstructing  the  buildings  so 
that  there  should  be  a  larger  number  of  rooms  and  fewer  nurses  and 
infants  to  each  room ;  he  provided  rooms  for  isolating  cases  of  infec- 
tious disease ;  ordered  medical  supervision  and  improved  the  quality 
of  the  milk.  Medical  visits,  previously  much  neglected,  were  re- 
quired twice  a  day,  and  the  condition  of  nurses  and  children  was  care- 
fully studied.  Cleanliness  in  rooms,  bedding  and  clothing  was 
strictly  enforced.  The  results  were  at  once  manifest  in  the  dimin- 
ished death  rate  of  infants,  which  in  1896  was  41.55  per  cent.,  but  in 
1898  had  fallen  to  30.12  per  cent. 

The  care  of  children  outside  the  house  was  improved  by  inspection 
and  selection  of  families.  Pucci  emphasizes  in  this  connection  the 
necessity  of  the  cooperation  of  local  communal  officials,  physicians, 

38 


594 


MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 


clergy  and  of  special  comitati  di  patronato.  But  in  his  judgment  it 
is  also  necessary  to  have  a  constant  supervision  by  salaried  persons. 
Physicians  of  the  institution  were  charged  with  the  oversight  of  the 
nurses. 

The  conditions  on  which  foundlings  are  received  have  a  strong 
influence  on  the  numbers  presented,  the  cost  of  care,  and  the  morality 
of  the  parents.  Thus  at  Milan  in  1896  the  infants  abandoned  to  the 
Foundling  Asylum  {BrefotroHo)  numbered  1,177;  in  1897  the  num- 
ber was  1,097;  ^"  1898,  962;  in  1901,  only  823.  The  cost  fell  from 
343,000  lire  in  1890  to  281,000  lire  in  1901,  although  prices  had  in- 
creased. The  principal  cause  of  these  changes  seems  to  have  been  the 
introduction  of  a  rule  that  only  illegitimate  infants  should  be  received, 
and  these  must  be  of  mothers  residing  in  the  province.  Under  this 
rule  married  mothers  cease  to  cast  off  their  babes  and  nursed  them 
themselves,  securing  charitable  assistance  if  necessary ;  and  unmar- 
ried mothers  ceased  to  come  from  other  provinces  to  throw  the  bur- 
den of  support  upon  the  city.^ 

Foundlings. — The  Hospital  of  the  Innocents  at  Florence  was 
founded  in  1419  and  cares  for  foundlings.  A  council  of  administra- 
tion of  five  members  with  a  permanent  director  conducts  the  institu- 
tion. In  1899  the  number  of  infants  sheltered  was  6,637.  The  ex- 
penditures were  620,000  lires  and  the  receipts  644,750  1.  At  the  Paris 
exposition  of  1900  an  album  of  photographs  represented  the  ofifice  of 
reception  of  foundlings ;  the  gallery  of  ancient  pictures,  including  a 
fresco  by  Foncetti  representing  the  Massacre  of  the  Innocents ;  an 
infirmary  with  arrangements  for  feeding  the  children  with  milk ;  an 
isolation  room  ;  an  infirmary  for  weaned  children  ;  a  vaccination  labor- 
atory, from  which  is  supplied  vaccine  for  Tuscany ;  and  a  school  for 
sick  children.  Very  instructive  and  interesting  is  the  work  of  the 
Spedale  di  Santa  Maria  degl'  Innocenti  di  Firenze,  which  gives  the 
history  of  the  institution  from  its  foundation  to  the  present  time.  The 
former  conditions  of  the  foundling  asylum  were  not  favorable,  and 
here  also  were  found  the  crowded  rooms,  defective  medical  super- 
vision, uncleanliness,  etc.  The  mortality  was  naturally  enormous ;  in 
the  period  between  1755- 1774  the  average  rate  was  70  per  cent.  In 
recent  times  the  institution  has  been  quite  reformed.  The  old  build- 
ings were  abandoned  and  new  houses  on  the  pavilion  plan  were 

^  See  resolutions  of  the  congress  of  representatives  of  provinces  at  Turin,  1898, 
in  Riv.  Ben.  Pubb.,  1902,  p.  239. 


ITALY  595 

erected  in  the  extensive  gardens  of  the  place ;  so  that  instead  of  dark 
and  ill-ventilated  rooms  the  children  are  kept  in  lighted  rooms  with 
only  a  reasonable  number  to  a  room.  The  children  are  now  received 
in  a  quarantine  room  until  they  can  undergo  a  medical  examination. 
The  beds  which  formerly  held  two  infants  now  have  but  one.  Suck- 
lings are  ordinarily  retained  14  days  in  the  house  and  are  then  sent 
out ;  but  if  they  betray  defect  or  weakness  they  are  retained  for  treat- 
ment. Formerly  goat  milk  was  preferred,  but  now  sterilized  milk  of 
cows  is  used,  and  this  milk  is  furnished  to  private  persons  at  cost. 
The  special  supervision  of  nurses  is  in  the  hands  of  a  sister  assisted  by 
six  grown  pupils  of  the  institution. 

Outside  care  is  given  to  women  of  blameless  lives  and  good  health, 
generally  women  who  have  given  suck  to  their  own  children  {sono 
come  suol  dirsi,  di  secondo  lattc).  Still  it  is  confessed  that  it  is  not 
easy  to  find  suitable  persons,  because  such  women  prefer  to  go  to 
private  service  where  they  are  better  paid.  The  price  which  the  hos- 
pital pays  acts  as  a  kind  of  regulator,  since  private  persons  go  a  little 
higher  than  the  rate  of  the  institution.  Physicians  inspect  the  milk 
of  the  nurses,  if  necessary  by  analysis.  Local  physicians  are  informed 
in  respect  to  the  giving  out  of  children  and  a  clergyman  and  physician 
of  the  locality  are  also  informed. 

There  is  also  a  paid  overseer  in  the  neighborhood,  who  is  partic- 
ularly careful  to  secure  knowledge  of  those  from  whom  nothing  has 
been  heard  for  some  time.  The  rate  of  payment  is  low,  and  is  only 
10-12  lire  monthly  for  the  first  year,  8  in  the  second  year,  and  falls  to 
4,  3,  2  lire  to  the  tenth  year ;  after  the  tenth  year  only  i  lira  per  month 
is  paid  for  girls  up  to  the  14th  year.  It  is  understood  that  children  in 
the  country  are  useful  after  the  loth  year,  and  a  few  are  sent  back  by 
foster  parents.  Families  who  keep  boys  until  they  are  18  years  of  age 
or  girls  till  they  are  25,  receive  a  premium  of  50  lire.  To  girls  a  gift 
of  200  lire  is  granted.  For  sickly  and  defective  children  the  payment 
is  higher.  Very  favorable  is  the  influence  of  agricultural  labor,  and, 
while  formal  adoption  is  not  frequent,  the  children  generally  remain 
members  of  the  family.  The  institution  does  a  work  of  large  extent. 
At  the  end  of  1899  it  had  under  its  care  6,393  pupils,  of  whom  2,552 
were  boys  and  2,841  girls ;  the  annual  additions  on  the  average  are 
700.  The  total  number  received  since  the  riiota  was  abolished  has 
greatly  diminished ;  there  were  about  9,000  to  10,000  after  1850  and 
7,000  to  8,000  after  1870.     The  rate  of  mortality  is  high.     Another 


cjg5  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

illustration  may  be  given  in  the  monograph  on  L!  ospizio  provinciale 
dcgli  esposti  e  delle  partorienti  di  Udine,  a  relatively  small  establish- 
ment. In  an  accurate  description  we  find  the  same  effort  to  substitute 
for  the  ruota  the  proper  assistance  of  mothers,  if  they  acknowledge 
their  children.^  This  movement  began  in  1873  and  entered  on  a  new 
stage  in  1895  with  a  new  administration.  The  number  of  infants 
acknowledged  by  mothers  steadily  rose  under  the  new  system,  from 
11.82  per  cent,  in  1885,  to  51.77  per  cent,  in  1895,  and  47.82  per  cent, 
in  1897 ;  it  is  somewhat  higher  with  older  children  than  with  infants. 
At  the  same  time  the  number  of  abandoned  children  decreased,  from 
203  in  1885  down  to  69  in  1897.  The  assistance  given  corresponding- 
ly increased,  from  969  lire  for  12  mothers  in  1885,  to  30,160  lire  for 
432  mothers  in  1897.  The  cost  of  maintaining  a  child  outside  the 
institution  in  the  last  period  was  70.80  lire  against  30.19  lire  in  the 
beginning  of  the  century ;  while  the  cost  of  institutional  care,  in  which 
general  expenditures  are  included,  rose  to  605  lire,  a  proof  that  family 
care  is  not  only  better  but  cheaper  than  that  in  institutions.  The  rate 
of  mortality  was  formerly  very  high ;  in  1754  it  was  90  per  cent. ;  in 
1819-21  it  was  still  60-70  per  cent. ;  while  at  the  same  time  in  family 
care  it  was  only  1-6  per  cent.  Of  late  it  sunk  from  67.80  per  cent. 
(1880)  to  35.62  per  cent.,  which  is  by  no  means  satisfactory,  although 
it  is  well  understood  that  the  mortality  of  illegitimate  children  is 
necessarily  greater  than  that  of  others.  The  institution,  in  accord- 
ance with  its  new  statute  of  1894,  receives,  in  addition  to  foundlings 
and  illegitimate  children,  also  legitimate  infants,  if  the  communes  or 
other  authorities  pay  for  their  care.  The  administration  exercises 
oversight  of  boys  until  they  are  18  years  of  age,  and  of  girls  until  they 
are  21.  When  the  ordinary  income  is  insufificient,  the  province  gives 
a  subsidy.  The  local  authorities  share  with  the  administration  the 
task  of  supervision. 

Dr.  P.  G.  Bevilaqua  has  published  a  valuable  study  of  the  mortality 
of  abandoned  children  in  the  commune  of  Lanciano.  In  the  period 
1875-1899  the  number  of  children  on  record  was  1,061 ;  516  male  and 
545  female.  In  the  last  decade  the  number  diminished,  a  fact  appar- 
ently due  to  more  favorable  economic  conditions.  Of  those  received, 
16  were  dead,  while  569  died  after  reception,  290  under  one  month, 
and  206  under  one  year,  a  rate  of  56  per  cent.  The  author  thinks  that 
the  lack  of  maternal  nourishment  is  not  the  only  reason  for  the  high 

^  See  article  in  Riv.  Ben.  Pubb.,  March,  1903,  pp.  156,  163. 


ITALY 


597 


rate  of  mortality.  Such  children  are  born  under  conditions  which, 
even  under  favorable  circumstances,  must  cause  death.  UncleanH- 
ness  in  the  vessels  used  for  artificial  food,  in  the  handling  of  the  new- 
born infant,  and  defective  sanitary  conditions  of  the  institution  are 
mentioned.^ 

A  very  interesting  example  of  child  saving  work,  which  reminds 
one  of  Dr.  Barnardo's  work  in  London,  is  the  Little  House  of  Divine 
Providence  in  Turin,  which  was  founded  by  Don  Cottolengo  in  a  poor 
little  cottage  of  two  rooms,  which  he  gradually  extended,  so  that  to- 
day there  is  a  village  of  over  3,000  poor,  sick,  sisters,  brothers,  who 
are  divided  into  families  in  accordance  with  age,  form  of  need  and 
occupation.  There  is  one  family  of  deaf-mutes  in  which  the  sisters 
instruct  about  80  girls,  born  deaf,  in  speaking,  reading,  writing  and 
needlework.  As  soon  as  the  children  can  make  themselves  under- 
stood they  usually  return  home,  but  may,  if  they  prefer,  remain  in  the 
house.  If  they  dedicate  themselves  to  a  religious  calling,  they  find  in 
the  home  a  congregation  whose  duty  it  is  to  take  care  of  the  altars  and 
consecrated  objects  in  the  13-14  chapels  of  the  institution.  There  are 
also  families  of  the  feeble-minded,  insane,  epileptic,  etc.  Each  family 
has  its  own  living  and  sleeping  rooms  and  a  chapel.  The  so-called 
"university"  of  the  Little  House  provides  instruction  from  the  ele- 
mentary school  up  to  the  university.  The  beginning  is  made  in  the 
children's  asylum  in  which,  at  the  last  report,  90  children  dwelt  in  a 
spacious  chamber,  slept  and  received  instruction,  while  in  a  great  court 
they  played  and  had  gymnastic  exercises.  From  this  division  the 
more  gifted  pupils  proceed  to  the  higher  grades.  The  instructors  for 
the  100-115  cloister  pupils  all  dwell  in  the  institution  and  are  there  for 
the  most  part  educated  for  the  work.  The  "Thomas  School"  for 
philosophy  and  theology  is  the  culmination  of  the  system.  The  pupils 
of  this  division  attend  the  schools  and  lectures  of  the  city  under  the 
care  of  a  teacher,  and  return  to  the  house  after  the  lessons,  and  there 
enjoy  the  use  of  a  library  and  room  for  work.  In  this  family  the 
teachers,  confessors  and  priests  of  the  Little  House  are  trained,  and 
some  of  the  younger  theologians  devote  themselves  to  missions  in 
other  places.  Sisters  are  also  educated  here  as  nurses,  druggists, 
teachers  of  deaf  mutes,  etc.  There  are  technical  schools  for  book- 
binders, woodworkers,  saddlers,  painters ;  and  employment  is  secured 
for  deaf  mutes,  cripples  and  feeble-minded.     Tailoring  and  shoe- 

^  Rivista  di  Beneficenza,  1900,  p.  497  ff. 


598  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

making  are  taught,  and  those  who  are  trained  supply  the  wants  of 
inmates  of  the  Little  House,  while  those  who  are  weak  and  undevel- 
oped are  thus  furnished  occupation.  Sisters  and  brothers  assist  in 
instruction,  care  of  the  sick  and  labor  of  household  and  kitchen,  all 
with  cheerful  consecration.  Especial  mention  may  be  made  of  the 
Cottolengo  hospital,  which  is  visited  by  physicians  of  Turin  and  does 
not  exclude  any  form  of  sickness. 

In  order  to  procure  means  of  support  for  the  Little  House  the 
pupils  march  in  processions,  by  sections,  through  the  city,  and  beg 
for  it.  There  is  no  effort  to  procure  permanent  endowment.  All 
productive  property  is  turned  into  cash  and  used  for  current  expenses. 
The  residents  of  the  Little  House  will  trust  their  fate  with  firm 
confidence  to  the  hand  of  Divine  Providence. 

Italy  has  carried  very  far  the  work  of  providing  sanatoria  for 
children.  While  summer  outings  are  less  needed  and  less  common 
than  elsewhere,  and  care  for  only  about  1,200  children,  there  are  21 
sanatoria  for  poor  scrofulous  children,  which  in  1898  received  about 
8,029  children  for  a  period  of  40-45  days. 

Societies  for  Preventing  Cruelty. — In  Italy  the  Societa  Nazionale 
Pro  Infantia  was  founded  at  Rome  in  1897.  It  has  for  its  task  the 
protection  of  children  under  16  years  of  age  against  cruelty  and  mal- 
treatment, the  resistance  against  introducing  children  to  immoral  and 
hurtful  occupations,  the  prevention  of  mendicancy  and  vagabondage, 
and  the  furtherance  of  education.  To  promote  these  purposes  the 
society  maintains  a  permanent  service  and  has  personal  relations  with 
parents,  guardians  and  local  authorities,  in  order  to  assist  the  children 
W'hich  come  under  its  protection.  When  the  parents  are  very  poor 
the  child  may  be  aided  at  home,  or  placed  in  an  asylum  or  hospice  for 
a  time  or  permanently,  or  with  a  family  in  the  country,  where  it  is 
watched  over  by  the  society.  In  this  association  are  not  only  mem- 
bers who  pay  but  also  others  who,  without  payment,  make  themselves 
useful  by  service.  The  means  of  the  society  are  not  large :  the  last 
accessible  report  gives  only  ^,000-10,000  lire  annually. 

Children. — In  the  field  of  child  saving  work,  Italy  shows  the 
greatest  progress.  While  advance  is  everywhere  limited,  the  neces- 
sity for  improvement  is  recognized  and  in  many  branches  of  adminis- 
tration noteworthy  reforms  have  begun,  especially  in  connection  with 
hygienic  and  social  measures.  Very  earnest  efforts  have  been  put 
forth  to  secure  a  thorough  knowledge  of  actual  conditions.     Compre- 


ITALY 


KQ9 


hensive  statistical  investigations,  numerous  monographs,  various  bills 
for  legislation  and  discussions  of  them  in  the  national  legislature  have 
interest  in  the  charity  world. 

Orphanages. — These  establishments  care  for  destitute,  abandoned 
and  neglected  children ;  and  of  these  there  were  in  1898,  1,005  institu- 
tions with  43,590  children,  most  of  whom  were  in  the  larger  cities; 
69  cities  furnished  27,333  children. 

Of  institutions  for  youth  under  correction  (riformatori)  there 
were  in  1898,  45, — 9  belonging  to  the  State,  36  were  private, — in  all 
6,859  inmates.  Little  progress  has  been  made  in  these  institutions  in 
recent  years.  There  are  no  provisions  for  compulsory  education  of 
neglected  children  who  have  not  actually  committed  a  crime,  although 
the  Charity  Congress  of  1900  earnesly  advocated  this  measure. 

Assistance  of  School  Children. — In  Italy,  as  elsewhere,  it  has  been 
found  that  many  pupils  are  prevented  from  attending  school  on 
account  of  the  inability  of  their  parents  to  provide  for  them  suitable 
shoes  and  clothing.  In  many  cases  the  children  are  so  ill-fed  at  home 
that  they  are  too  weak  to  study  continuously,  the  power  of  attention 
being  dependent  on  nutrition.  Several  methods  of  meeting  this  ac- 
knowledged need  have  been  proposed :  municipal  grants,  increase  of 
school  tax  for  the  purpose,  public  relief,  private  charitable  associa- 
tions. Some  socialistic  leaders  are  demanding  that  all  children  alike 
be  fed  at  school,  so  that  none  shall  be  disgraced  before  their  compan- 
ions as  objects  of  charity.  Against  this  extreme  measure  the  finan- 
cial argument  seems  decisive,  for  the  communes  of  Italy  are  already 
excessively  burdened  with  taxation.  The  general  opinion  seems  to 
be  in  favor  of  meeting  the  want  in  cases  when  it  arises  by  special 
forms  of  charitable  assistance,  either  at  the  school  or  in  the  home.^ 

K.-L.  Children  and  Youth. — The  Society  for  the  Protection 
of  Children,  of  Milan,  was  founded  in  1879,  and  recognized  as  of 
public  utility  by  royal  decree  of  October  21,  1881,  and  has  for  its 
object  the  protection  of  children  abandoned  or  maltreated.  These 
children  are  collected  in  the  institution,  or  are  given  gratuitously 
shelter,  food  and  instruction  in  elementary  studies,  drawing,  music, 
gymnastics  and  manual  training.  The  society  secures  for  them  an 
opportunity  to  learn  a  trade  suited  to  their  aptitudes  and  tastes. 
The  director  of  the  institution  supervises  the  work  and  sees  that  the 
children   are   properly   treated    in    the    factories.     Half   the   wages 

'^  Article  by  Paolo  Doneti,  in  Riv.  Ben.  Pubb.,  Jan.,  1901. 


6oo  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

earned  by  the  child  are  deposited  in  his  name  in  a  savings  bank 
and  the  other  half  goes  to  the  society.  At  eighteen  years  of  age 
the  youth  has  a  trade  and  can  make  his  living  and  has  a  little 
capital  of  200  to  600  lire.  The  director  takes  pains  to  see  that 
the  guardian  of  the  youth  after  his  eighteenth  year  is  proper 
and  reliable.  The  person  may  not  draw  from  his  savings  account 
without  permission  of  the  director,  until  he  is  of  age.  The  new 
guardian  assumes  from  the  society  responsibility  for  the  subsequent 
care  of  the  youth.  The  pupils  show  affection  and  gratitude  toward 
the  institution  in  after  years  and  seek  advice  of  the  director  in  their 
affairs.  The  average  annual  expenditures  of  the  society  are  about 
24,000  lire.^ 

The  Comitato  per  la  difesa  giuridica  deW  infanda  e  della  fanciid- 
leaca  obbandonata  in  1902  declared  that  there  were  in  Italy  30,000 
children  entirely  abandoned ;  that  every  year  on  an  average  14,000 
children  between  the  ages  of  9-14  years  are  convicted ;  that  of  minors 
over  14  years  about  64,000  are  annually  convicted ;  and  that  about  40 
per  cent,  of  children  in  the  great  cities  lead  a  more  or  less  vagrant  life,^ 
and  that  these  evils  are  increasing.  This  committee  insists  that  the 
former  policy  of  seeking  to  correct  children  in  reformatories  is  costly, 
wasteful  and  futile ;  that  it  is  more  economical  and  hopeful  to  antici- 
pate crime  and  not  wait  for  the  offense  in  order  to  lend  the  helping 
hand  of  the  State. 

The  Pio  Istituto  pei  Figli  dcIIa  Providenza,  incorporated  in  1887, 
has  for  its  programme :  Assistance  of  the  still  innocent  abandoned 
child  and  punishment  of  those  guilty  of  the  act  of  abandonment.  The 
founders  of  this  society  believe  that  private  charity  is  not  able  to 
defend  the  minor  from  the  injustice  of  its  neglectful  parents,  and  that 
the  law  must  be  improved  and  its  help  invoked.  A  premium  of  a 
medal  of  gold  and  1000  lire  in  money  was  offered  for  the  best  essay 
on  the  subject ;  it  being  required  that  the  essay  should  exhibit  the 
causes  working  to  increase  the  evil  and  the  best  methods  of  making 
the  existing  laws  more  effective  and  the  wisest  amendments. 

In  1897  the  Minister  of  Education  made  an  appeal  to  the  com- 
munal and  municipal  authorities  for  the  support  of  the  Comitati  di 
Patronato,  and  it  has  been  heeded.     At  Rome  the  commune  grants 

^  For  an  account  of  the  institutions  for  the  care  of  children  and  youth  in  Rome, 
see  La  Beneficenza  Romana,  1892,  by  Quirino  Querini,  p.  420  ff. 
"^  Riv.  Bon.  Pubb.,  1902,  p.  564. 


ITALY  6oi 

annually  about  $10,000,  at  Turin  $4,000,  and  at  Cremona  $3,600.^ 
Closely  related  to  this  movement  is  the  work  of  vacation  schools  which 
have  already  done  excellent  service  in  preventing  the  pupils  during  the 
free  time  of  autumn  and  summer  from  becoming  wild  and  losing  the 
advantages  of  school  training. 

The  first  national  Congress  of  friends  of  neglected  children,  Pro 
Infantia,  met  at  Turin,  September,  1902.  The  discussions  led  to  the 
following  principal  conclusions :  The  teachings  of  science  in  respect 
to  the  food  of  infants :  that  a  microscopic  examination  of  milk  is  im- 
portant ;  that  the  age  of  the  infant  of  a  wet  nurse  must  be  considered 
in  assigning  a  foster  infant  to  her  for  nourishment ;  that  artificial  food 
may  be  used  if  it  is  scientifically  prepared  and  administered ;  and  that 
hired  nurses,  especially  among  the  poorly  fed,  are  inferior.  Asylums 
for  nourishing  infants  who  have  not  proper  maternal  care  were  ap- 
proved. The  example  of  Turin  was  held  worthy  of  imitation,  since 
there  one  finds  a  Cassa  per  la  Matcrnita,  a  fund  to  which  women  may 
contribute  and  which  gives  them  right  to  rest  and  care  before  and  after 
confinement. 

This  discussion  of  assistance  to  illegitimate  infants  elicited  the  fact 
that  there  is  a  great  army  of  the  nameless  in  Italy,  about  150,000  in  all, 
upon  whom  are  spent  annually  not  less  than  15,000,000  lire;  that  the 
immoral  rxiota  still  exists  in  more  than  300  communes ;  and  that  in 
many  provinces  about  one-half  of  all  illegitimate  infants  die  within 
the  first  year.  It  was  voted  to  approve  the  inquiry  as  to  the  mother, 
and  most  seemed  to  approve  the  search  for  the  father  as  well ;  and  by 
all  means  to  encourage  the  mothers  to  give  nurse  to  their  own  infants. 

Kindergartens  were  approved,  and  manual  training  in  public 
schools.  The  congress  divided  on  the  proposition  to  feed  ill-nour- 
ished pupils  at  public  expense,  many  thinking  this  should  be  done  by 
private  charity. 

The  addresses  on  care  of  defective  and  feeble  children  revealed  the 
fact  that  Italy  does  not  provide  adequately  from  public  funds  for 
their  education,  training  and  asylum. 

Perhaps  the  most  enthusiastic  and  unanimous  votes  were  taken  on 
the  judicial  care  of  neglected  children  and  youth,  abandoned,  mal- 
treated and  delinquent  minors,  the  duty  of  the  state  to  safeguard  the 
young  without  waiting  until  they  have  forced  themslves  upon  the 
notice  of  officers  of  law  by  some  crime. 

^B.  King,  Italy  of  To-Day,  p.  227. — Riv.  Ben.  Pubb.,  1902,  p.  377. 


6o2  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

Attention  was  called  to  the  "Union  of  Women"  in  Milan  for  the 
purpose  of  maintaining  a  central  office  of  information  for  poor  people 
who  do  not  know  how  to  apply  for  aid  among  the  numerous  "pious 
works"  of  a  great  city. 

The  plan  of  having  a  federation  of  all  the  agencies  which  care  for 
children  was  dicussed  and  referred  to  the  councils  of  charity  and  the 
syndics  of  the  principal  cities  for  their  judgment.^ 

Cavaglieri  says  that  Italy  does  not  provide  for  the  moral  pro- 
tection of  youth  until  they  are  already  proved  guilty  of  some  offense. 
They  may  be  in  surroundings  where  they  are  likely  to  fall  into  evil 
ways,  but  the  state  permits  them  to  go  on  until  the  vicious  habit  has 
taken  possession  of  them.  The  regulations  of  prisons  (1891)  per- 
mitted arrested  and  convicted  youths  to  be  placed  in  families,  but  in 
practice  they  are  retained  in  institutions  of  correction. - 

Attention  has  been  called  to  the  fact  that  street  playing  is  a  cause 
of  disorder,  moral  peril  and  ultimately  of  crime.  A  beginning  has 
been  made  in  some  cities  of  confining  the  children  and  youth  to  cer- 
tain open  spaces  where  they  can  be  supervised,  the  rougher  leaders 
prevented  from  becoming  dominant,  and  yet  where  recreation  is 
free  and  joyous.  Simple  gymnastic  appliances  are  provided  and 
the  younger  and  weaker  children  are  protected  from  intrusion  and 
injury.^  The  civil  code  provides  for  guardianship  of  minors,  but 
for  three-fourths  of  them  it  is  a  dead  letter.  Saredo  suggests  that 
the  communal  administration  be  charged  with  this  duty. 

M.  Preventive  Work. — Pawning  Agencies.  Monti  di  Pietd,. 
— For  many  ages,  in  different  races,  the  very  poor  borrower  has  been 
the  servant  of  the  lender.  Borrowing  to  meet  the  demands  of  con- 
sumption is  essentially  different  from  borrowing  capital  as  a  means 
of  increasing  business  profits.  The  usurer  has  gained  an  unenvi- 
able reputation  because  he  represents  the  pressure  of  necessity  and 
distress,  and  there  has  always  been  a  tendency  to  give  over  this  kind 
of  business  to  a  class  of  men  who  were  not  sensitive  to  social  con- 
tempt. The  church  developed  a  doctrine  on  the  subject  which  as- 
sumed very  definite  form  during  the  middle  ages  and  influenced  cus- 
tom and  legislation,  as  well  as  church  discipline.     In  the  second  half 

*  A.  Canelini,  in  Riv.  Ben.  Pubb.,  1902,  p.  771  ff. 
*Florian  and  Cavaglieri,  I  Vagabondi,  p.  527  (1897). 
^  G.  Saredo,  Codici  della  Beneficenza,  Int.  p.  xviii. 


ITALY 


603 


of  the  fifteenth  century,  in  consequence  of  a  strong  preaching  cru- 
sade at  Perugia  directed  against  usury  by  a  monk  named  Barnabus, 
certain  rich  citizens  contributed  to  the  foundation  of  a  bank  for  the 
poor  (Monti  di  pietd),  which  has  served  as  model  and  inspiration  for 
many  later  establishments.  Whether  Italy  was  the  country  of  origin 
or  not  may  be  uncertain,  but  it  is  unquestionably  the  classic  land  for 
development  of  this  form  of  relief.  From  the  beginning  the  move- 
ment had  the  powerful  alliance  of  the  church,  and  various  cities  of 
Northern  Italy  founded  institutions  of  this  kind,  notably  Milan, 
Florence,  Bologna,  Verona,  Sienna  and  Vicenza.  From  Italy  the 
movement  extended  into  France,  Holland  and  elsewhere.  In  Italy 
the  pawnshops  are  regarded  as  "mixed"  institutions,  partly  charitable 
and  partly  for  credit. 

A  good  illustration  is  the  Monti  di  pieta  at  Milan,  founded  in 
1496.  The  minimum  loan  made  is  2  lire ;  the  maximum  is  not  lim- 
ited ;  the  time  for  redemption  is  six  months  for  certain  kinds  of  se- 
curity and  a  year  for  valuable  articles.  The  rate  of  interest  is  5 
per  cent,  on  sums  of  10  lire  or  less,  and  for  sums  above  10  lire  it 
is  6  per  cent,  plus  5  per  cent,  for  marking  and  2  per  cent,  for  storage 
and  packing.  The  depositor  of  more  than  300  lire  must  pay  a  gov- 
ernment tax.  In  1896  there  were  387,132  articles  pledged  and  7,988,- 
369  lire  lent. 

The  establishment  at  Rome  was  founded  in  1539  and  in  1898 
lent  15,000,533  lire  on  1,066,146  articles.  It  had  a  capital  of  3,549,- 
535.24  lire.  In  accordance  with  a  new  law  of  May  14,  1899,  this 
bank  collects  interest  even  on  small  sums,  whereas  previous  to  this 
law  sums  of  less  than  5  lire  were  lent  without  interest.  The  rate  is 
from  4  to  7  per  cent,  according  to  the  value  and  nature  of  the  se- 
curity. This  is  the  largest  bank  of  its  kind  in  Italy  and  has  a  branch 
at  Tivoli  and  14  auxiliary  bureaus. 

The  bank  at  Bologna  was  founded  in  1473  by  Bernardin  de  Feltre, 
In  1899  it  had  a  fund  of  1,041,051  lire,  it  lends  on  sums  from  50 
lire  to  300  lire,  and  the  rate  is  7  per  cent,  plus  a  fixed  rate  rising  from 
10  lire  to  2  lire.  In  1896,  2,389,567  lire  were  lent  on  the  security  of 
208,040  articles. 

The  Monti  di  Pietd  di  Paschi  has  united  with  its  lending  on 
pawned  articles  a  large  credit  business,  with  savings  bank  and  other 
branches. 

In  1897  the  Minister  of  Agriculture  made  an  investigation  of  the 


6o4  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

condition  of  the  Monti  di  picta.  From  this  inquiry  it  was  found  that 
at  the  end  of  1896  there  were  in  Italy  555  such  institutions  with  a 
capital  of  169,376,799  Hre,  or,  deducting  obHgations,  71,986,698  Hre.^ 

Saz'iiigs  Banks. — The  government  has  a  method  of  promoting 
the  collection  of  small  amounts  in  connection  with  the  Postoffice  De- 
partment. Teachers  of  schools  and  agents  of  societies  for  mutual 
benefit  can  deposit  these  savings  with  expense  for  fees,  and  the 
government  pays  interest  on  the  deposits.  The  lowest  sum  which 
is  received  is  5c.  (i  cent).  Directors  of  schools  inscribe  the  amounts 
deposited  in  little  books  and  in  a  record  and  represent  the  pupils  with 
the  postal  authorities.^ 

The  postal  savings  banks  were  established  in  1876  by  virtue  of 
the  law  of  March  27,  1875.  In  1895  they  numbered  4.777,  had  is- 
sued 2,938,402  books,  and  had  deposits  to  the  value  of  462,413,311 
lire.  On  December  31,  1899,  there  were  3,664,618  books  credited 
with  628,000,000  lire  of  deposits. 

There  are  also  ordinary  savings  banks  which  are  regulated  by 
the  law  of  July  15,  1888,  and  July  17,  1898,  and  royal  decree  of 
January  21,  1897.  They  acquire  special  privileges  with  incorpora- 
tion; their  statutes  must  be  approved  by  the  government;  and  they 
are  inspected  by  agents  of  the  central  administration. 

In  1895  there  were  402  ordinary  savings  banks,  with  1,588,424 
books,  and  deposits  of  1,343,720,018  lire.  In  1899  there  were  1,630,- 
678  books  and  deposits  of  1,430,816,003,  and  a  capital  of  200,296,271 
lire. 

There  are  also  cooperative  societies  which  act  as  savings  banks. 
These  had  on  December  31,  1898,  297,990  books  and  233.841,979 
lire  deposits. 

The  ordinary  societies  of  credit  also  had  in  1895  100,570  books 
and  66,016,667  deposits. 

The  interest  rates  paid  was  in  1886,  3.5  per  cent. ;  in  1899  ^^ 
had  been  reduced  to  2.88  per  cent. 

The  schools  are  agencies  for  extending  the  use  of  savings  banks ; 
the  number  of  depositors  among  school  children  increased  from 
11,933  in  1876  to  65,062  in  1885,  and  to  102,832  in  1888.  There  was 
a  temporary  fall  to  90,974  in  1890. 

^  Annuario  Statistico  Italiano,  1900,  p.  ISS- 

*  G.  Saredo,  Codice  della  Beneficenza  Pubblica,  p.  346  fT.     Annuario  Statis.  Ital., 
1900,  p.  827. 


ITALY 


60s 


Mutual  Benefit  Societies. — Legal  arrangements  are  made  by  law 
of  April  15,  1886,  by  which  workmen  may  form  associations  for  the 
purpose  of  providing  help  to  their  members  in  sickness,  infirmity, 
old  age  and  death.  Such  associations  may  become  corporations  by 
conforming  to  the  regulations,  and  the  law  exempts  them  from  cer- 
tain fees  and  taxes,  in  recognition  of  their  beneficent  features.  A 
consulting  commission  was  created  by  royal  decree  (July  22,  1894) 
to  consider  legislation  relating  to  savings  banks  and  mutual  benefit 
associations.  A  law  of  1896  further  regulated  the  incorporation  of 
societies  of  workingmen. 

There  are  two  classes  of  mutual  benefit  societies,  those  "recog- 
nized" and  having  corporate  powers,  and  those  which  exist  in  fact 
but  have  no  jural  rights.  In  1895  there  were  reported  in  both  classes 
6,725  societies,  of  which  6,587  reported  a  membership  of  994,183.^ 

Reformed  Prostitutes.^ — By  royal  decree  of  October  21,  1891, 
the  office  of  public  security  is  required,  in  case  it  discovers  a  woman 
of  ill-repute  who  wishes  to  return  to  an  honest  life,  to  give  her  en- 
couragement. The  officer  is  commanded  to  bring  to  her  help  the 
service  of  benevolent  associations  formed  for  such  rescue  work ;  and 
the  prefects,  and  other  representatives  of  government  are  asked  to 
promote  the  establishment  of  such  societies.  Young  girls  under  six- 
teen years  of  age  may  be  placed  under  the  supervision  of  relatives 
or  other  suitable  guardians. 

Societies  for  Aiding  Discharged  Prisoners.^ — In  the  communes, 
districts  and  provinces  of  the  kingdom  private  citizens  are  encouraged 
to  take  the  initiative  in  giving  counsel  and  assistance  to  persons  who 
wish  to  return  to  honesty  and  industry  after  a  period  of  incarcera- 
tion. The  rules  of  the  society  must  be  approved  by  the  Minister 
of  the  Interior.  Six  months  before  the  day  of  liberation  of  a  con- 
vict, who  has  made  a  request  to  be  placed  under  the  care  of  the 
society,  the  president  designates  a  member  who  is  to  care  for  him,  and 
from  that  moment  he  is  permitted  to  communicate  with  and  visit  the 
person  to  be  liberated,  so  that  he  may  become  acquainted  with  his 
condition.  The  central  administration  may  grant  a  subsidy  in  case 
a  society  opens  an  asylum  or  offers  employment  to  those  under  its 
protection,  or  supports  a  Bureau  of  Employment,  or  assists  the  fami- 

^  G.  Saredo,  o.  c,  p.  340.     Ann.  Stat.  Ital.,  1900,  p.  830. 

'^  Ibid.,  op.  ci.,  p.  356. 

^  Ibid.,  o.  c,  p.  351.     C.  R.  Henderson,  Modern  Prison  Systems,  pp.  305-306. 


5o6  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

lies  of  convicts;  and  the  interest  on  certain  funds  and  the  proceeds 
of  certain  legacies  may  be  devoted  to  the  same  purposes.  The  so- 
ciety of  patronage  may  accept  the  responsibiHty  for  the  conduct  of 
minors  entrusted  to  them,  in  order  to  avoid  prolonged  imprisonment. 

The  expense  of  maintaining  an  aged  person  in  the  Pio  Albergo 
Trivulzio,  which  entertained  about  800  people,  was  about  i  lira  per 
day.  If  a  workman  began  to  contribute  12  lire  a  year  from  the  time 
he  was  30  years  of  age  he  would  at  70  have  to  his  credit  more  than 
1,500  lire,  which  would  give  him  a  right  to  shelter  for  his  remaining 
days,  under  the  cooperative  plan  of  a  savings  bank  at  Bologna.^ 

As  early  as  1859  the  eminent  statesman,  Cavour,  made  plans  for 
insuring  Italian  workmen,  but  the  time  was  not  ripe  for  carrying 
them  into  effect.  One  is  reminded  of  that  other  founder  of  a  united 
nationality,  Bismarck,  who  lived  at  a  moment  more  favorable  for 
the  realization  of  the  idea  of  national  care  of  its  toiling  citizens.  The 
Cassa  Nazionale  is  not  compulsory  but  voluntary,  and  provides  for 
invalidism  or  old  age.^ 

At  Verona,  in  1901,  a  Labor  Bureau  was  established  with  the 
object  of  bringing  employers  and  employes  together,  furnishing  in- 
formation in  regard  to  the  demand  for  labor,  a  medium  of  concilia- 
tion in  case  of  disputes,  a  fund  for  the  unemployed,  and  other  means 
of  assistance  to  laboring  men.  Both  capitalists  and  laborers  were  ad- 
mitted to  membership  and  given  representation  in  administration.^ 

It  is  claimed  that  each  Italian  Parliament  has  considered  some 
aspect  of  the  conditions  and  needs  of  workingmen.  As  early  as 
1850  Camillo  Cavour  offered  the  draft  of  a  law  on  pensions  for 
laboring  men.  But  the  crowding  political  events  of  the  following 
years  connected  with  the  unification  of  Italy  absorbed  attention 
and  made  the  plan  financially  impracticable.  Meantime  the  wage 
workers  and  Socialists  have  come  to  be  a  much  greater  power 
than  in  former  years,  and,  with  the  development  of  industry,  the  need 
of  better  provision  for  old  age  has  become  greater  and  more  appar- 
ent. Charity  itself  begins  to  see  the  meaning  of  Ricardo's  saying, 
that  the  best  means  of  helping  the  poor  is  to  place  them  in  a  position 
where  thcv  do  not  require  assistance.  Poor-relief  necessarily  offends 
against  the  dignity  of  human  nature,  no  matter  how  well  it  is  ad- 

^  Riv.  Ben.  Pubb.,  March,  1901,  p.  323. 
'Ibid.,  March,  1901,  p.  314. 
^  Ibid.,  June  1901,  p.  494. 


ITALY 


607 


ministered.  After  long  discussion,  much  conflict  of  opinion  and 
careful  investigations,  on  March  17,  1898,  the  Parliament  passed  the 
bill,  under  the  leadership  of  Luigi  Luzzatti  and  Francesco  Guicciar- 
dini,  in  favor  of  men  injured  at  work ;  and  on  July  17,  1898,  the  Cassa 
Nazionale  di  Previdenza  was  established.  It  was  admitted  that,  with- 
out the  help  of  society,  subsidies  and  administrative  direction,  the 
multitude  of  unskilled  laborers  could  not  save  enough  to  provide  for 
the  absolute  necessities  of  old  age  and  the  unfitness  for  labor  which 
comes  with  disease  and  increasing  liability  to  discharge  from  the 
workshop.  Under  the  new  law,  which  marks  the  beginning  of  a 
national  policy,  the  state  encourages  thrift  by  adding  to  each  man's 
savings  as  much  as  he  contributes  to  the  national  fund.  There  were 
already  many  mutual  benefit  societies  which  kept  securely  the  vol- 
untary deposits  of  wage  earners ;  but  now  that  the  state  offers  to 
double  these  sums,  many  of  the  associations  have  made  their  mem- 
bers also  participators  in  the  advantages  of  the  Cassa  Nadonale. 
Both  men  and  women  are  admitted  to  these  privileges,  if  wage  work- 
ers, and  receive  an  old  age  pension,  beginning  with  the  age  of  60 
years,  if  they  have  been  contributors  for  25  years.  But  if  they  have 
been  made  incapable  of  labor  through  sickness  or  accident  they  may 
receive  a  pension  even  before  they  are  60  years  of  age,  if  they  have 
been  subscribers  for  five  years.  The  rate  of  pension  is  determined  by 
the  amount  one  has  paid  in  as  premiums ;  but  he  may  not  give  more 
than  100  lire  annually  nor  less  than  six.  The  payments  must  not  be 
less  than  50  centesimi  monthly.  If,  indeed,  they  choose  to  pay  less 
than  six  lire  in  a  year  they  do  not  secure  the  additional  state  subsidy. 
The  capital  of  the  fund  is  large  and  growing.  Originally  the  state 
contributed  to  it  10,000,000  lire,  and  continues  to  pay  in  the  sums  aris- 
ing from  certain  extraordinary  sources  of  income.^  The  interest  is 
divided  among  the  contributors. 

There  are  two  forms  of  subscriptions :  that  of  Miitualita  and  that 
of  Contribnti  riservati.  Under  the  contract  oiMutualita  the  working- 
man  requires  that,  in  case  of  his  death  before  reaching  the  age  of 
60  years,  the  money  paid  in  by  him  shall  go  to  pension  those  who, 
being  on  the  same  list  with  him,  have  reached  the  age  of  60  years. 
Under  the  contract  of  Confributi  riservati  the  workingman  secures 

^The  fund  in  1902  was  14,000,000  lire,  and,  counting  other  funds  devoted  to  the 
purpose,  20,000,000  lire.  Article  by  Azio  Samarani,  Riv.  Ben.  Pubb.,  1902,  pp. 
75-87. 


6o8  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

a  pension  for  surviving  wife,  minor  children,  parents  or  grand- 
parents, if  he  dies  before  his  own  claim  is  valid.  Carefully  itemized 
accounts  are  kept  with  each  subscriber.  While  the  calculations  vary 
with  circumstances  an  approximately  correct  statement  of  benefits 
would  be :  A  workingman  who  begins  to  subscribe  at  20  years  of 
age  and  pays  6  lire  annually  in  the  list  of  Miitnalita,  at  60  years  of 
age  will  receive  about  180  lire  per  year;  by  paying  12  lire  annually 
he  will  secure  a  pension  of  260  lire,  and  by  paying  18  lire  will  secure 
a  pension  of  350  lire.  On  the  plan  of  Contribnti  riscrvati  the  pen- 
sions will  be,  respectively,  150,  208,  and  265  lire.  In  a  private  com- 
pany the  workingman  would  have  to  pay  in  40  years  1,000  lire  to 
secure  a  pension  of  85  lire,  and  the  security  would  be  inferior  to  that 
of  the  state.  Thus  it  is  possible  for  the  workingman  to  look  forward 
to  a  serene  old  age,  undismayed  by  the  prospect  of  the  humiliation 
and  disgrace  of  dependence  on  charity,  and  of  hearing  his  own  chil- 
dren pray  that  he  may  die  so  that  there  will  be  one  less  mouth  to 
feed. 

But  the  system  is  voluntary,  as  distinguished  from  the  compul- 
sory system  of  the  German  Empire,  and  it  remains  to  be  seen  whether 
the  laborers  of  Italy,  especially  the  poorest  who  need  it  most,  can  be 
induced  to  make  use  of  the  system.  Perhaps  it  is  too  early  to  form 
an  opinion;  but  at  present  the  outlook  is  not  very  bright.  In  1903 
a  very  small  number  had  inscribed  their  names,  only  about  20,000 
persons.  Private  persons  join  with  the  government  in  persuading 
wage  earners  to  become  subscribers  to  the  fund.  Registration  is 
made  without  a  fee,  and  payments  may  be  made  at  any  postoffice  or 
local  office  of  the  fund.^ 

Factory  Laws. — A  law  regulating  the  labor  of  children  and 
women  was  approved  by  the  Chamber  of  Deputies  March  23,  1902. 
Children  under  12  years  of  age  may  not  be  employed  in  factories. 
In  certain  unwholesome  and  dangerous  occupations  the  minimum  age 
is  15  years,  and  a  medical  certificate  is  required  showing  that  such 
persons  are  able  to  do  the  work.  Night  work  is  forbidden  in  the 
case  of  persons  under  15  years,  and  women  are  hereafter  to  be  kept 
from  night  work.  Fines  collected  for  violations  of  the  law  are  paid 
over  to  the  old  age  pension  fund. 

'  References  on  old  age  pensions  and  accident  insurance :  Bolton  King,  Italy  of 
To-Day,  p.  216  ff.  Report  of  Industrial  Commission,  Vol.  XVI.  Rivisti  Ben. 
Pubb.,  March,  1903,  p.  210;  Jan.,  1901,  p.  60-63  ;  1902,  p.  498  ft. 


ITALY  609 

Housing. — An  exhibit  was  presented  at  the  Exposition  at  Paris, 
in  1900,  by  the  Committee  on  Houses  for  the  Poor  at  Florence,  which 
was  estabhshed  in  1885  and  opened  a  lodging  house  for  needy  persons 
without  distinction  of  nationality  or  creed.  In  1886-7  they  cared 
for  15,760  persons,  of  whom  257  were  foreigners.  In  1887-8  they 
entertained  16,002  persons,  335  of  whom  were  strangers.  Since 
then  the  committee  has  built  6  houses  for  the  poor,  with  3  apart- 
ments in  each ;  each  apartment  has  2  to  4  rooms,  with  bath  and  water 
closet  in  each  apartment.  These  apartments  are  rented  by  the  week 
or  month,  and  contain  176  families  with  901  persons.  The  capital 
is  540,000  lire  in  real  estate.  Its  principal  revenues  come  from 
annual  sales  and  festivals  of  charity.  This  may  be  taken  as  an 
example  of  the  movement  which  attracts  wide  interest  in  Italian 
cities. 


39 


CHAPTER  XI. 
BELGIUM 

BY   EBEN    MUMFORD,   A.    B. 

Historical  Introduction. — The  poor  laws  of  Belgium,  at  first 
based  upon  the  German  system,  were  supplanted  by  the  French 
laws  during  the  connection  of  Belgium  with  France.  But  the 
French  system  was  not  in  harmony  with  the  spirit  of  the  people 
of  Belgium,  and  with  the  separation  from  France  there  began  a 
movement  directed  toward  the  former  system. 

The  first  step  in  the  reorganization  was  the  reinstatement  of 
the  law  of  1818,  relating  to  settlement.  It  provided  for  relief  in 
the  commune  in  which  the  person  was  located  at  the  time  and  if 
it  happened  that  this  commune  was  not  the  legal  settlement  of 
the  person,  then  the  commune  in  which  relief  had  been  given  was 
entitled  to  recompense  from  the  proper  commune.  The  law  also 
lengthened  the  time  for  gaining  a  settlement  to  four  years.  A 
provision  in  the  law  of  1825  charged  the  communes  with  the  cost 
of  the  maintenance  of  vagrants  in  the  almshouses,  with  a  reserva- 
tion making  it  the  duty  of  the  state  to  share  the  expense. 

After  the  separation  from  Holland,  the  system  of  equalization 
was  taken  up  again.  It  related  to  children  and  provided  that 
one-half  the  expense  of  the  maintenance  of  foundlings,  abandoned 
children  and  orphans  whose  parents  are  unknown  should  be  de- 
frayed by  the  communes  in  which  they  were  exposed,  abandoned 
or  found,  and  that  the  other  half  of  the  expense  should  be  borne 
by  the  provinces. 

The  law  of  1836  contained  two  provisions  relating  to  equaliza- 
tion. The  first  provided  that  the  expense  of  the  care  of  the  in- 
sane poor  as  well  as  the  poor  in  almshouses  should  be  defrayed 
by  the  communes.  The  second  provided  that  the  communes 
should  defray  the  expense  of  the  care  of  children  and  of  the  deaf 
mutes  with  the  reservation  that  the  state  or  provinces  should 

610 


BELGIUM  6ll 

grant  assistance  in  case  the  regular  services  of  the  communes 
were  inadequate. 

In  1845  the  period  for  gaining  a  legal  settlement  was  raised 
to  eight  years.  The  objection  was  made  that  the  former  period 
had  given  rise  to  many  arbitrary  arrangements  of  the  burden  of 
relief.  However,  the  reform  did  not  bring  any  permanent  solu- 
tion. Complaints  arose  in  regard  to  the  severity  of  the  applica- 
tion of  a  law  for  such  a  long  period  and  also  from  the  heavy 
burdens  which  it  placed  upon  the  communes. 

After  many  changes,  the  law  brought  about  a  condition  that 
may  be  called  a  codification  of  the  laws  up  to  this  time.  It  in- 
cluded the  following  subjects:  (i)  The  place  of  settlement;  (2) 
methods  of  relief;  (3)  the  duty  of  the  communes  in  relation  to  the 
provinces  and  the  state  as  well  as  plans  for  the  establishment 
of  an  equalization  of  the  burden  of  relief  and  the  treatment  of 
difficulties  relating  to  it. 

By  the  law  of  1876,  the  obligation  of  the  communes  to  lend 
pecuniary  assistance  to  the  hospitals,^  and  bureaus  of  charity  in 
case  of  the  inadequacy  of  income  of  the  last  two  was  extended  to 
include  all  kinds  of  public  charity.  The  law  of  1876,  also,  pro- 
vided for  relief  in  the  communes  where  need  for  it  occurred,  in 
case  it  was  urgent;  the  commune  which  gave  aid  being  entitled, 
however,  to  remuneration  from  the  commune  in  which  the  indi- 
vidual had  his  legal  settlement.  But  his  commune  could  demand 
that  he  be  sent  home  if  his  condition  would  permit  or  if  he  was 
not  receiving  special  treatment  in  hospital  or  other  institution. 
The  legal  settlement  upon  which  the  title  to  relief  depends  is, 
first  of  all,  in  the  commune  in  which  the  person  is  born.  By  the 
terms  of  the  law  of  1876  the  time  for  acquiring  a  new  settlement 
was  five  years. 

The  law  of  1891  related  to  public  relief,  medical  relief  and  the 
repression  of  vagrancy  and  beggary.  The  judgment  as  to  the 
efficacy  of  the  law  varied  greatly  and  only  the  part  concerned 
with  vagrancy  and  beggary  received  wide  support.  The  legisla- 
tion of  1891  does  not  abandon  the  basis  of  optional  poor-relief  on 
which  it  has  always  stood.  In  accordance  with  this  law,  the 
hospitals  and  bureaus  of  charity  defray  the  expenses  of  poor- 
relief  as  far  as  possible.     However,  there  was  a  noticeable  tend- 

^  Very  nearly  equivalent  to  our  English  "home"  or  asylum. 


6i2  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

ency  toward  public  poor-relief  in  two  directions  •}  (a)  the  obliga- 
tion of  the  communes  to  make  the  required  contributions  in  case 
of  the  inadequacy  of  the  means  of  the  hospitals  and  bureaus  of 
charity;  (b)  in  case  of  the  incapacity  of  the  communes,  the  larger 
divisions  of  the  state  must  share  the  expenses.  The  division  of 
the  expenses  of  charity  was  upon  the  principle  that  the  place  of 
settlement  should  assist  though  in  a  limited  manner  in  compari- 
son with  the  German  system.  The  commune  in  which  the  indi- 
vidual became  indigent  was  under  obligation  to  give  him  aid 
but  in  case  it  was  not  his  legal  settlement,  it  could  demand  his 
transference  if  the  condition  of  his  health  permitted.  The  com- 
mune had  a  right  to  recompense  for  the  outlay  incurred  in  aid 
only  for  the  following  cases:  (i)  orphan  children  under  six- 
teen; (2)  persons  over  seventy;  (3)  those  received  and  cared  for 
in  the  hospitals.  Foreigners  were  given  aid  in  the  communes 
in  which  need  for  it  occurred,  but  the  communes  had  the  right 
of  recompense  from  the  state. 

The  system  by  which  the  larger  divisions  of  the  state  shared 
in  the  burden  of  charity  was  built  up  comparatively  early  in  Bel- 
gium as  in  France.  By  the  law  of  1891,  the  earlier  system  of  the 
common  funds  was  retained  and  to  it  was  assigned  the  expense 
of  the  care  of  the  insane,  the  deaf  and  dumb  and  the  blind.  To 
these  funds  the  state  and  the  provinces  each  contribute  one-fourth 
and  the  communes  one-half.  However,  the  hospitals  and  bu- 
reaus of  charity  share  in  the  contribution  of  the  communes  if 
they  are  able. 

In  1891,  the  period  for  acquiring  settlement  was  changed  to 
three  years.  The  law  of  1891  made  it  the  duty  of  the  commune 
to  provide  medical  service  for  the  poor,  either  by  the  establish- 
ment of  hospital  service  in  the  institutions  for  the  poor  or  by 
an  agreement  with  hospitals  or  private  institutions.  The  law  of 
1891  concerning  the  suppression  of  begging  and  vagrancy,  be- 
longing in  part  to  the  province  of  criminal  law,  was  chiefly  with 

^  Perhaps  a  clearer  expression  would  be  "toward  pecuniary  assistance  on  the 
part  of  the  communes,  provinces  and  state.''  The  relief  offered  by  the  hospitals 
and  bureaus  of  charity  referred  to  here  was  not  private  charity  in  our  sense,  but  a 
sort  of  semi-public  charity,  the  financial  support  coming  from  (optional)  endow- 
ments, but  the  organizations  were  under  the  control  of  the  government,  and  the  aid 
was  obligatory. 


BELGIUM 


613 


reference  to  adults  able  to  work  and  to  the  compulsory  education 
of  youth.  The  government  was  required  to  establish  three  kinds 
of  institutions,  known  as  institutions  of  correction.  They  were : 
(i  workhouses  {depots  de  mcndicitc)  ;  (2)  houses  of  refuge 
(maisons  de  refuge)  ;  (3)  schools  of  charity  {ccolcs  de  bienfai- 
sance).  The  first  were  for  those  adults  able  to  work  but  disso- 
lute and  lazy,  the  last  were  for  neglected  young  people,  while 
the  houses  of  refuge  furnished  a  sort  of  intermediary  form  be- 
tween the  workhouse  and  the  poorhouse,  that  is  to  say  a  home 
for  those  who  were  compelled  to  beg  on  account  of  age,  sick- 
ness or  other  cause  of  inability  to  work.  It  is  in  relation  to  these 
institutions  that  the  principle  of  having  the  larger  divisions  of 
the  state  share  in  the  expense  of  caring  for  the  poor  is  especially 
brought  out,  the  expense  of  maintaining  these  institutions  being 
divided  equally  by  the  state,  provinces  and  communes. 

Conditions  Confronting  the  Commission  of  i8g^  and  Its  Method 
of  Procedure.  —  We  have  seen  that  of  the  new  laws  enacted  in 
1891 — that  is  in  regard  to  public  assistance,  medical  relief, 
and  the  repression  of  vagrancy  and  beggary — only  the  last 
was  in  some  measure  satisfactory  and  that  the  attempt  to  carry 
them  into  practical  effect  left  much  to  be  desired.  For  this 
reason  a  commission  was  appointed  in  1895  for  the  purpose  of 
considering  methods  of  reforming  these  laws.  This  commission 
held  several  meetings  from  February,  1897,  to  April,  1900,  and 
in  the  course  of  the  year  1900  submitted  a  report  to  the  Minister 
of  Justice,  which  treated  of  the  entire  charity  system  and  of  the 
means  for  its  amelioration.  The  treatment  of  the  problems  sub- 
mitted was  upon  the  basis  of  the  latest  results  of  science  and  its 
application  both  in  Belgium  and  in  other  countries.  The  report 
both  in  form  and  content  was  much  superior  to  the  usual  parlia- 
mentary report  and  may  be  considered  as  a  compendium  of 
charity  methods  which  in  many  respects  is  to  be  strongly  rec- 
ommended to  the  closer  study  of  charity  workers.  The  author 
of  the  report  is  Cyr.  Van  Overbergh,  director-general  of  higher 
instruction  in  science  and  letters.  The  president  of  the  commis- 
sion was  the  Duke  of  Ursel ;  the  total  membership  was  twenty- 
four.  The  report  shows  a  very  liberal  and  broad  comprehension 
of  the  subject  and  of  the  social  needs  of  Belgium,  and  it  is  free 
from  political  and  religious  prejudice. 


6i4  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

The  problem  as  it  presented  itself  to  the  commission  was  not 
to  make  a  tabula  rasa  of  the  past  and  to  attempt  to  construct 
some  kind  of  an  ideal  system  for  the  future.  It  saw  the  many- 
faulty  elements  in  the  existing  system,  but  realized  also  that  it 
was  the  result  of  a  slow  growth  with  relation  to  the  historical 
needs  of  the  country  and  that  if  the  work  of  the  commission  was 
to  have  any  practical  value,  it  must  have  its  foundation  in  this 
development  of  the  past.  The  deliberations  of  the  commission 
as  set  forth  in  the  report  show  a  constant  desire  to  maintain  a 
proper  equilibrium  between  the  existing  system  and  the  proposed 
innovations,  and  the  experience  of  other  countries  is  always  con- 
sidered with  reference  to  the  customs  and  traditions  of  Belgium. 

The  condition  confronting  the  commission  was  that  of  a  semi- 
public  charity  system,  which,  as  in  France,  was  carried  on  by 
means  of  hospitals  and  local  bureaus  of  charity — semi-public  in 
so  far  as  aid  was  obligatory  within  the  limits  of  the  means  at 
hand,  and  in  that  the  communes,  provinces,  and  state  were  under 
legal  obligations  to  give  assistance.  There  was  also  a  law  of 
settlement  for  adjustment  of  the  expense  of  relief  among  the  dif- 
ferent communes,  according  to  which,  however,  the  duty  of  re- 
funding or  compensation  was  very  limited  in  comparison  with 
the  German  law  of  settlement.  The  principal  part  of  the  law 
was  retained,  but  it  was  extended  to  include  abandoned  children 
under  sixteen  years  of  age,  criminals  and  incurables. 

The  law  relating  to  the  common  funds  was  also  retained. 
These  funds  serve  as  a  means  of  equalization  among  the  com- 
munes of  the  cost  of  poor-relief  or  as  a  general  fund  for  aiding 
the  local  and  intercommunal  commissions  when  it  is  established 
that  the  poor  tax  of  the  communes  is  inadequate  to  meet  the 
demands  imposed  upon  it.  It  is  made  up  by  special  subscrip- 
tions, by  the  balance  left  over  from  charity  administration,  by 
help  from  the  state,  and  by  a  special  property  tax  used  as  a 
poor  tax. 

Statistics. — The  commission  attempted  to  get  statistical  in- 
formation from  every  available  source  in  regard  to  the  number 
and  classes  of  indigent,  the  methods  of  relief  and  the  develop- 
ment in  the  results  of  charity  efforts.  The  report  showed  the 
inadequacy  of  the  statistical  resources  and  one  of  the  first  rec- 
ommendations of  the  commission  was  for  a  complete  reorganiza- 


BELGIUM  615 

tion  of  the  statistical  service  concerning  the  indigent.  The  Hnes 
along  which  the  recommendations  proceeded  were  as  follows : 
A  clear  definition  and  classification  of  the  indigent  together  with 
the  construction  of  tables  for  securing  information  upon  all  par- 
ticulars relating  to  their  condition  and  care.  These  tables  are 
to  be  filled  out  by  the  various  charity  organizations  in  order  that 
information  may  be  secured  as  to  the  moral  and  material  situa- 
tion of  the  poor,  their  number,  the  quantity  and  quality  of  reHef 
given,  the  part  contributed  by  each  of  the  social  forces  concur- 
ring in  the  alleviation  of  poverty,  and  the  work  of  both  private 
and  public  charity.  In  order  to  secure  such  statistics  the  com- 
mission recommended  the  establishment  of  a  committee  of  in- 
formation comprising  members  of  both  private  and  public  charity 
organizations  with  a  legal  personality  so  that  they  might  be  re- 
quired to  furnish  the  desired  information. 

From  1828  to  1850,  the  population  increased  33  per  cent,  and 
the  number  of  indigent  increased  53  per  cent.  There  was,  also,  a 
corresponding  increase  in  the  number  of  inmates  of  the  work- 
houses. But  it  should  be  noted  that  in  this  period  there  were  two 
great  economic  crises,  the  one  in  1836-37,  and  the  other  in  1847-48, 
which  accounted  in  part  for  the  increase  in  poverty. 

The  statistics  of  the  indigent,  taken  by  the  administrative 
authorities  at  the  request  of  the  commission,  give  the  most  re- 
liable information  available  at  the  time  of  the  publication  of  the 
report.  In  order  to  average  the  transient  disturbing  influences, 
the  period  for  which  the  statistics  were  taken  was  extended  from 
1890  to  1894.  The  report  included  the  following  classes :  (a) 
Those  over  seventy;  (b)  aged  and  infirm  unable  to  provide  for 
themselves  by  work ;  (c)  orphans  ;  (d)  those  receiving  permanent 
help ;  (e)  those  helped  during  a  part  of  the  year;  (/)  those  injured 
while  working.  The  report  showed  that  there  was  one  indigent 
person  for  every  14.4  inhabitants,  while  in  1850  the  proportion 
was  as  I  :  5.  During  this  period  there  was  an  increase  of  50 
per  cent,  in  the  population  and  a  decrease  of  50  per  cent,  in  those 
receiving  the  aid  of  charity.  This  condition  may  be  compared 
to  that  of  England  and  France.     In  France  it  was  as  follows : 

1847 3.7  per  100  inhabitants 

1871 4.4     "       " 

1886 4.7     "       " 


6i6  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

In  England: 

1849 1  indigent  for  every  16      inhabitants 

1850-1859 1         "  "         "       20.4 

1860-1870 1         "  "         "      21.7 

1870-1880 1         "  "         "       27.5 

1880-1890 1         "  "         "       36.0 

Although  the  actual  proportion  between  the  population  and 
the  number  receiving  aid  is  much  larger  in  Belgium  than  in 
France  or  England,  yet  it  is  evident  that  the  progress  in  Belgium 
has  been  much  more  considerable.  The  causes  of  this  improve- 
ment were,  in  part,  the  marvelous  development  of  private  charity 
and  the  amelioration  of  the  economic  situation  and  of  the 
methods  of  public  relief. 

B.  Administration. — The  fact  that  the  condition  up  to  this 
time,  apart  from  the  law  concerning  vagrants,  had  not  been  sat- 
isfactory was  not  due  entirely  to  the  existing  laws,  but  also  to 
the  system  of  administration.  The  commission  considered  three 
possible  systems  of  administration:  (i)  the  complete  centraliza- 
tion of  the  care  of  the  poor  under  the  authority  of  the  state;  (2) 
decentralization  through  the  assignment  of  poor-relief  to  the 
communes;  (3)  a  mixed  system  by  which  the  communes  in- 
capable of  performing  their  charity  obligations  would  be  united 
with  other  like  communes.  The  first,  often  discussed  by  re- 
formers of  charity  systems,  seemed  to  the  commission  to  be  open 
to  certain  fundamental  objections  making  it  undesirable.  While 
it  has  the  apparent  advantage  of  a  complete  equalization  of  the 
relationships  between  rich  and  poor  communes,  it  has  the  disad- 
vantage of  a  much  more  grievous  want  in  local  feeling  and  sym- 
pathy for  the  needs  of  the  poor.  It  would,  also,  result  finally  in 
the  establishment  of  a  complex  system  of  bureaucratic  machinery 
which  the  report  characterized  as  "uniform,  invariable,  indififer- 
ent,  cold,  and  pitiless."  In  this  connection  the  Austrian  law  of 
1893  was  called  to  mind  and  the  movement  that  was  directed 
against  it.  Consequently,  it  was  decided  to  retain  the  communes 
as  the  bearers  of  the  local  charity  work  but  also  to  add  the  new 
factor  of  the  intercommunal  organizations  which  makes  it  pos- 
sible for  several  communes  to  unite  in  one  charity  association  in 
the  same  sense  as  the  German  charity  law  permits  the  united 
charity  organizations. 


BELGIUM  617 

One  of  the  chief  evils  in  the  system  of  charity  organization 
at  that  time  was  in  the  lack  of  reciprocity  and  unity  between  the 
two  systems  of  administration  of  the  civil  asylums  and  the  bu- 
reaus of  charity.  Under  the  old  system  of  administration,  out- 
door relief  was  assigned  to  the  bureaus  of  charity  or  charity 
boards,  and  indoor  relief  to  the  civil  asylums,  the  two  being  under 
separate  forms  of  administration.  In  order  to  prevent  the  con- 
flicts and  duplications  arising  from  this  lack  of  unity  as  well  as 
to  prevent  the  arbitrarily  increased  cost  of  administration  and 
the  want  of  reciprocal  feeling  between  the  two  systems,  the  com- 
mission recommended  the  establishment  of  a  unified  system  of 
administration  under  the  name  of  the  Commission  of  Assistance 
(Commission  d' Assistance)  which  should  take  the  place  of  the 
Commission  of  Civil  Asylums,  and  that  of  the  Bureau  of  Charity. 
With  the  exception  of  rights  and  appropriation  of  property 
legally  established,  there  was  a  complete  fusion  of  the  patri- 
monies of  the  civil  asylums  and  the  bureaus  of  charity.  This 
unification  of  the  administrative  system  also  makes  possible  an 
oversight  of  the  work  of  the  hopitanx  and  hospices,^  of  which  at 
the  time  of  the  publication  of  the  report,  there  were  452  with 
room  for  30,967  persons.  These  institutions  are  very  unevenly 
distributed  over  the  country. 

Only  those  communes  are  to  be  free  from  the  obligation  to 
form  a  common  organization  with  other  communes  whose  charity 
organization,  whether  with  or  without  the  help  of  the  commune, 
has  sufficient  income  to  perform  the  required  duties.  In  such 
cases  there  is  a  local  commission  endowed  with  a  legal  person- 
ality, which  has  full  charge  of  the  care  of  the  indigent  in  the 
commune. 

The  number  of  the  weaker  communes  constituting  one  organi- 
zation cannot  exceed  ten.  The  organization  is  formed  by  royal 
decree,  the  inspectors  of  public  assistance,  and  the  permanent 
deputation.  Its  administration  is  under  the  control  of  an  inter- 
communal  commission  composed  of  representatives  from  the 
respective  communes.     This  commission,  also,  possesses  a  legal 

"■  V/ith  regard  to  the  hospitals,  it  may  be  noted  that  the  Belgian  terminology 
makes  a  distinction  between  hospices  and  hopitanx.  A  variety  of  the  former  are 
the  so-called  hospices  fennes,  that  is,  the  hospitals  connected  with  the  cultivation 
of  the  soil,  where  the  poor,  so  far  as  their  strength  permits,  work  on  the  farm. 


6l8  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

personality  and  can  acquire  property.  Each  commune,  however, 
retains  certain  kinds  of  property,  as,  for  example,  gifts  and  prop- 
erty received  by  testament.  One-half  of  the  expenses  of  the 
organization  exceeding  its  regular  resources  is  levied  on  the 
basis  of  the  population  and  the  other  half  in  proportion  to  the 
poor  taxes,  out  of  which  the  common  funds  are  supplied.  The 
organization  is  also  granted  certain  privileges,  as  the  erection 
of  a  house  of  refuge  or  the  establishment  of  a  school  of  charity. 
In  other  respects  the  organization  and  functions  of  the  inter- 
communal  associations  are  similar  to  those  of  the  local  organiza- 
tions of  the  separate  communes  as  given  below. 

The  local  or  intercommunal  commissions  can  unite  into  legal- 
ized associations  in  order  to  fulfill  better  the  special  ends  of 
charity  such  as  those  involved  m  hospital  care  or  assistance 
through  securing  work.  The  local  branches  in  the  system  of 
administration  organized  under  the  Commission  of  Assistance 
are  composed  of  five  members  in  communes  with  less  than  5,000 
inhabitants,  six  in  communes  having  from  5,000  to  15,000  inhabi- 
tants, eight  in  communes  of  from  15,000  to  50,000  inhabitants, 
and  ten  in  communes  with  more  than  50,000  inhabitants.  These 
local  branches  cannot  be  composed  of  a  majority  of  aldermen, 
and  the  mayor  cannot  be  a  member,  though  he  is  authorized  to 
call  meetings  and  to  act  as  chairman,  having  only  an  advisory 
vote.  The  mayor  and  aldermen  are  called  upon  to  superintend 
the  work  of  the  commission.  It  must  include  in  its  membership 
a  clergyman,  an  alderman  and  a  laborer.  With  reference  to  this 
innovation  in  regard  to  the  labor  member,  a  precedent  for  which 
is  found  in  no  other  country,  the  report  gives  the  following: 
"The  presence  of  a  laborer  on  the  commission  will  result  in  se- 
curing the  confidence  of  the  laboring  classes,  that  element  of 
the  population  having  most  need  of  aid.  Too  often  at  present 
there  exists  distrust  and  suspicion  among  the  poor  in  relation  to 
charity  work.  Nothing  can  more  effectually  remove  this  preju- 
dice and  grievance  than  the  presence  of  laborers  on  the  commis- 
sion, who  may  take  part  in  the  discussion  and  have  a  voice  in  the 
control  of  the  proceedings.  In  addition  the  laborers  will  be  able 
to  explain  to  the  commission  the  needs  of  the  poor  and  also 
whatever  abuse  of  their  privileges  there  may  be.  The  position 
as  a  member  of  the  commission  is  an  honorary  one,  no  salary 


BELGIUM 


619 


attaching  to  it.  Only  in  the  case  of  the  labor  member  is  the 
noteworthy  exception  made,  to  the  effect  that  he  can  claim  rec- 
ompense for  the  time  given  the  commission  if  his  employer  de- 
ducts from  his  wages  because  of  his  absence." 

Equally  noteworthy  is  the  admission  of  women  to  charity 
work  with  equal  rights  and  duties.  There  were  some  members 
of  the  commission  who  regarded  the  innovation  as  dangerous, 
as  contrary  to  law  and  custom,  and  they  feared  evil  to  adminis- 
tration on  account  of  it  since  they  claimed  that  women  were  not 
prepared  by  training  for  this  kind  of  work.  The  majority,  how- 
ever, favored  the  admission  of  women  and  pointed  out  that  they 
had  played  the  most  important  role  in  all  charity  undertakings 
and  had  often  demonstrated  their  especial  ability  for  this  kind 
of  work.  "Les  vertus  hospitalicres  et  consolatrices  sont  dans  le 
caractere  de  la  fenimc."  Each  commission  of  assistance  ap- 
points a  treasurer  who  cannot  be  a  member  of  the  commission 
but  may  receive  compensation  for  his  work.  They  also  appoint 
a  secretary  who,  when  a  member  of  the  commission,  receives  no 
compensation,  only  his  expenses  being  paid ;  but  if  he  is  not  a 
member  of  the  commission  he  may  receive  a  salary.  Neither  the 
treasurer  nor  the  secretary  can  be  a  tavern-keeper  or  a  retail 
shop-keeper. 

The  budget  of  each  local  commission  is  made  up  yearly  and 
must  be  ratified  by  the  Common  Council  and  the  Standing  Depu- 
tation, or  government  officials,  who  examine  all  the  budgets  of 
the  communes.  In  case  the  commission  refuses  to  provide  for 
the  obligatory  expenditure,  the  Standing  Deputation,  after  giv- 
ing the  commission  a  hearing,  can  compel  the  placing  of  the 
proper  amount  in  the  budget.  In  other  respects  the  budget  of 
the  commune  is  completely  separated  from  that  for  the  care  of 
the  poor. 

Above  all  these  organizations  the  commission  provided  for  a 
system  of  Central  Inspection,  and  a  Superior  Council  of  Public 
Relief.  The  inspectors  are  appointed  by  the  King,  at  least  one 
for  each  province.  Each  inspector  superintends  the  service  of 
public  relief  in  his  jurisdiction.  The  service  of  inspection  at  the 
time  the  report  was  made  was  under  the  control  of  the  general 
director  of  the  charity  organizations  and  was  limited  to  certain 
institutions.     But  the  report  extends  the  duty  of  the  inspectors 


620  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

over  the  entire  charity  service  and  they  are  to  work  toward  the 
apphcation  of  sound  principles  of  charity.  The  report  gives  the 
following  in  regard  to  their  work:  "We  are  firmly  convinced 
that  a  staflf  of  active  and  attentive  inspectors,  who  are  conscious 
of  the  importance  of  their  task  and  duties  will  be  competent  in 
a  few  years  to  change  completely  the  entire  outlook  of  our  charity 
system." 

The  Superior  Council  of  Public  Assistance  is  composed  of 
five  lawyers,  two  senators,  two  members  of  the  House  of  Depu- 
ties, the  Director-General  of  Public  Charity,  and  ten  members 
appointed  by  the  King.  This  council  is  associated  with  the  min- 
istry and  concerns  itself  with  all  questions  of  relief.  Its  func- 
tions are  completely  analogous  to  those  of  the  French  Superior 
Council.  It  studies  and  examines  all  questions  referred  to  it 
by  the  Minister  and  through  information  obtained  from  the  in- 
spectors acts  as  an  advisory  body,  making  recommendations  as 
to  changes  or  reforms  in  the  relief  system. 

The  commission  also  expressed  the  desire  that  there  be  estab- 
lished international  agreements  in  the  domain  of  public  charity 
for  the  reciprocal  protection  of  indigent  strangers. 

Methods  of  Relief. — The  commission  divided  the  indigent  into 
three  classes:  (i)  those  unable  to  work  (children,  the  aged,  sick, 
weak,  defective,  etc.)  ;  (2)  those  able  to  work,  but  who  cannot 
find  the  opportunity  to  work  (involuntary  indigent)  ;  (3)  those 
unwilling  to  work.  To  the  first  class  of  indigent,  or  those  unable 
to  work,  the  usual  forms  of  help  are  granted.  However,  there 
is  a  decided  tendency  against  public  outdoor  relief.  The  com- 
mission regarded  the  aid  given  in  homes  by  public  charity  as  sub- 
ject to  serious  inconveniences  and  to  be  resorted  to  only  under 
the  most  imperious  circumstances.  Outdoor  relief  by  public 
charity  organizations  is  to  be  kept  within  the  narrowest  limits, 
and  wherever  possible  it  is  to  be  given  over  to  local  private 
charity.  The  report  speaks  of  the  numerous  and  glaring  mis- 
uses of  public  outdoor  relief  in  all  countries  and  especially  in 
Belgium  and  of  the  unsuccessful  efforts  which  have  been  made 
to  remove  these  abuses. 

The  local  or  intcrcommunai  commissions  may,  in  case  of  need, 
encourage  the  creation  of  private  associations  where  they  do  not 
exist  or  where  their  number  is  insufficient,  and,  in  case  of  neces- 


BELGIUM  621 

sity,  they  may  grant  them  subsidies.  If  there  is  a  lack  of  pri- 
vate associations  presenting  the  proper  guarantees,  the  local  or 
intercommunal  commissions  must  take  it  upon  themselves  to 
organize  assistance  in  the  homes.  They  may  organize  methods 
of  relief  in  families  or  special  institutions  and  may  take  indigent 
persons  from  an  institution  where  they  are  not  properly  treated 
and  place  them  in  another  institution.  They  may  also  adopt  the 
regime  of  the  private  family  in  the  charity  institutions.  Each 
commission  must  have  at  its  disposal  a  quarantine  hospital  for 
purposes  of  isolation. 

C.  Private  Charity.  —  The  treatment  accorded  to  private 
charity  by  the  commission  was  in  harmony  with  the  most  ad- 
vanced position  of  scientific  investigation  and  practical  experi- 
ence. The  extent  of  private  charity  in  Belgium  is  very  great, 
providing  for  at  least  one-half  of  the  indigence  of  the  country. 
There  is  a  large  number  of  private  associations,  religious  and 
secular,  and  many  old  and  very  large  endowments  for  their  work. 
In  more  recent  times  private  charity  has  been  very  active,  the 
expenditures  in  this  direction  in  the  last  ten  years  amounting  to 
almost  thirty  million  francs,  the  greater  portion  of  which  was 
spent  in  the  large  cities.  In  addition  to  a  recognition  of  the 
extent  of  private  charity,  the  commission  also  recognized  its 
greater  flexibility  and  power  of  adaptability  to  the  new  forms  of 
misery  arising  under  changing  social  conditions  when  compared 
to  the  more  inflexible  forms  of  public  charity.  Whenever  pos- 
sible outdoor  relief  is  assigned  to  private  charity.  The  nature 
of  the  help  given  includes  in  the  first  place,  lodging,  food,  cloth- 
ing, fuel,  light,  hygienical  and  medical  care,  funeral  expenses, 
etc.,  and  in  the  second  place  aid  in  money  or  in  titles  to  the  acqui- 
sition of  either  material  or  immaterial  aid. 

E.  Co-operation  of  Public  and  Private  Charity, — One  of 
the  chief  problems  which  occupied  the  attention  of  the  commis- 
sion was  the  consideration  of  the  means  for  the  establishment  of 
coherent  and  fruitful  relations  betv/een  the  various  branches  of 
public  and  private  charity.  The  methods  adopted  for  this  pur- 
pose in  England  and  France  were  discussed  with  reference  to 
their  bearing  upon  the  condition  in  Belgium.  In  the  first  place 
it  was  pointed  out  that  though  the  system  of  public  charity 
should  be  brought  to  a  high  state  of  development,  the  charity 


()22  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

efforts  would  still  be  only  half  organized  since,  as  we  have  seen/ 
at  least  one-half  of  the  charity  work  is  performed  by  private 
charity.  Both  the  strong  and  the  weak  points  in  the  private 
charity  system  were  discussed.  The  commission  recognized 
that  if  it  considered  it  a  duty  of  private  initiative  to  assist  in  the 
alleviation  of  poverty,  then  it  was  also  the  duty  of  the  state  to 
encourage  private  charity  in  every  possible  way  and  especially 
by  granting  its  organizations  a  legal  personality  and  public  sub- 
sidies. Previous  to  this  time,  lack  of  knowledge  of  the  work  of 
private  charity  and  political  antagonisms  had  prevented  the 
legal  recognition  of  private  charity  organizations  and,  although 
the  commission  was  divided  on  the  question  of  granting  a  legal 
personality  to  these  organizations,  the  majority  decided  that  they 
should  act  as  persons  and  so  have  the  same  right  to  be  endowed 
with  a  legal  personality  as  have  the  commercial  organizations. 
A  legal  personality  is  conferred  upon  every  association  which 
fulfills  the  following  conditions,  fixed  by  law:  Smallest  possible 
number  of  members,  possession  of  a  constitution,  publication 
annually  of  its  accounts,  name  and  location  of  the  association  to 
be  designated  in  the  constitution  as  well  as  its  particular  end  and 
the  special  class  of  work  it  intends  to  do.  In  addition  to  this, 
each  association  shall  permit  inspection  of  its  work  and  at  stated 
times  give  any  information  that  may  be  useful  for  the  promotion 
of  charity  work.  This  innovation  called  forth  a  lively  discus- 
sion in  the  commission,  which  dealt  largely  with  the  well-known 
arguments  in  regard  to  the  surveillance  of  private  charity.  The 
majority  saw  in  the  obligation  to  impart  information  a  prepara- 
tion for  a  national  organization  of  private  charity.  The  commis- 
sion considered  this  provision  so  important  that  they  stated  ex- 
plicitly in  Art.  87  that  it  would  be  desirable  to  have  a  joint  cen- 
tral committee  of  information  in  each  local  administrative  di- 
vision which  should  include  all  private  and  public  charity  asso- 
ciations. In  this  way  the  Commission  would  attempt  to  coordi- 
nate all  branches  of  charity  activity  and  through  a  wider  and 
more  accurate  knowledge  of  the  conditions  of  the  indigent  to 
make  a  more  economical  and  effective  use  of  the  resources  of  pri- 
vate and  public  relief. 

G.     The  Treatment  of  Vagrants  and  Beggars. — As  we  have 
seen  in  the  historical  introduction,  of  the  three  laws  of  1891,  the 


BELGIUM 


623 


one  relating  to  the  suppression  of  vagrancy  and  beggary  has 
given  most  satisfaction.  It  has  been  brought  into  connection 
with  the  charity  system  because  it  is  concerned  with  persons, 
who,  on  account  of  lack  of  other  means  of  support,  justly  or  un- 
justly, have  claimed  a  right  to  help  from  the  charity  organiza- 
tions. This  claim  has  been  just  on  the  part  of  those  unable  to 
work,  but  another  class  able  to  work  but  refusing  to  do  so  have 
misused  the  institutions  of  charity.  This  law,  therefore,  treats 
of  a  matter  which  belongs  in  part  to  the  province  of  criminal  law. 
However,  a  similar  condition  is  found  in  the  legislation  of  other 
countries.  That  which  characterizes  the  Belgian  law  is  the  con- 
scious purpose  to  strike  as  hard  as  possible  at  the  habitual  va- 
grants and  beggars,  to  make  harmless,  so  far  as  it  can,  these  para- 
sites of  human  society,  and  on  the  other  hand  to  help  back  again 
to  normal  conditions  those  who  have  been  the  victims  of  unfor- 
tunate circumstances.  Here,  then,  is  taken  a  position  similar  to 
that  on  which  the  introduction  of  conditional  sentence  is  based, 
with  which  Belgium  has  made  such  a  notable  beginning. 

By  this  law  it  is  the  duty  of  the  government  to  establish  three 
kinds  of  institutions,  which  are  included  under  the  name  of  insti- 
tutions of  correction.  They  are :  (a)  workhouses  ;  (b)  refuges ; 
(c)  schools  of  charity. 

The  workhouses  are  exclusively  for  persons  able  to  work  but 
who,  instead  of  gaining  their  livelihood  by  work,  make  a  busi- 
ness of  begging,  and  for  those  who  in  consequence  of  idleness 
and  immorality  live  as  vagrants.  These  persons  are  brought 
before  a  magistrate  and  assigned  by  him  to  the  government  for 
imprisonment  for  a  period  from  two  to  seven  years. 

The  refuges  are  a  sort  of  intermediary  form  between  the  poor- 
houses  and  workhouses  and  are  a  home  for  those  who  through 
age,  sickness,  and  other  causes  of  inability  to  work  are  forced  to 
beg.  A  person  in  such  circumstances  who  is  found  begging  can 
be  brought  before  a  magistrate  and  then  assigned  to  the  Board 
of  Management  for  a  period  of  one  to  seven  years.  Also  persons 
who,  on  account  of  indigence,  have  voluntarily  reported  them- 
selves to  the  commune  can  be  placed  in  these  institutions. 

The  Schools  of  Charity  are  only  in  part  what  their  name  indi- 
cates, /.  e.,  in  so  far  as  the  youth  under  eighteen  years  of  age  are 
assigned  to  them  through  the  commune.     Otherwise  they  are  for 


624  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

the  youth  who  on  account  of  begging,  vagrancy  or  other  misde- 
meanors are  given  over  to  the  Board  of  Management.  In  gen- 
eral they  may  be  designated  as  compulsory  training  schools. 

The  expense  of  supporting  the  inmates  of  the  workhouses  and 
the  houses  of  refuge  is  defrayed  by  the  state  and  provinces,  each 
one-third,  and  the  other  third  by  the  commune  to  which  the  indi- 
vidual belongs.  In  case  the  individual  has  no  legal  settlement, 
the  expense  falls  to  the  province.  If  it  relates  to  the  inmates  of 
the  workhouses,  the  costs  are  defra3'cd  out  of  the  treasury  of  the 
commune  concerned,  while  in  case  of  inmates  of  the  refuges  con- 
tributions are  received  from  the  hospitals  and  bureaus  of  charity. 
The  state  and  the  communes  bear  the  cost  of  the  support  of  the 
schools  of  charity  except  in  cases  where  there  is  no  legal  settle- 
ment and  then  provinces  assume  the  share  of  the  communes. 

This  law  was  supplemented  by  the  royal  decree  of  1895  which 
relates  to  the  principles  by  which  work  in  the  institutions  is  regu- 
lated. These  are,  in  substance,  as  follows :  All  able-bodied  per- 
sons are  required  to  work  and  must  be  employed  so  far  as  prac- 
ticable on  the  kind  of  work  to  which  they  have  been  accustomed. 
In  order  to  prevent  injury  to  private  industries  they  are  em- 
ployed as  far  as  possible  in  the  construction  of  objects  necessary 
to  the  institutions  under  the  control  of  the  government.  The 
institutions  have  over  1,200  hectares  of  land  at  their  disposal. 

Compensation  so  far  as  possible  is  in  proportion  to  the  amount 
of  work  done,  a  deduction  being  made  proportionate  to  the  cost 
of  maintenance  of  the  individual.  The  wages  for  work  in  the 
workhouses  and  refuges,  fixed  by  the  minister,  vary  according  to 
the  classification  of  the  inmates  which  is  on  the  basis  of  their 
conduct.  In  the  refuges  they  range  from  24  to  71  centimes  in 
the  first  class,  from  21  to  60  in  the  second,  and  from  9  to  27  in 
the  third.  The  wages  in  the  workhouses  are  very  small,  amount- 
ing in  the  highest  class  to  from  15  to  25  centimes.  Those  un- 
able to  work  receive  an  allowance  of  6  centimes.  The  inmates 
in  both  classes  of  institutions  are  allowed  one-third  of  their  wages 
for  their  support,  while  two-thirds  is  reserved  till  the  time  of  their 
discharge.  If  the  total  is  under  five  francs  it  is  raised  to  that 
amount  by  the  management  in  case  of  good  conduct. 

The  principal  difficulty  in  carrying  out  the  law,  in  other  re- 
spects, lies  in  the  individualization  of  the  different  cases.     Infor- 


BELGIUM 


62s 


mation  is  sought  in  regard  to  the  character  of  the  former  Hfe,  the 
nature  of  the  punishment,  home  relations,  etc.,  and  this  is  taken 
into  consideration  in  fixing  the  period  of  detention.  Besides  a 
patronage  committee  for  both  institutions  has  been  formed  at 
Wortel  and  Merxplas  whose  members  help  the  inmates  to  secure 
work  and  also  in  other  ways. 

H.  Medical  Relief. — The  local  and  intercommunal  commis- 
sions fix  the  number  of  physicians  in  such  a  manner  as  to  assure 
to  the  indigent  the  liberty  of  choice.  The  report  contains  very 
noteworthy  remarks  concerning  the  questions  over  which  there 
has  been  so  much  discussion  in  Germany.  It  cites  the  example 
of  the  small  city  of  Hasselt  with  15,000  inhabitants  where  the 
experiment  of  choosing  the  physicians  was  adopted  with  the  re- 
sult that  a  much  greater  demand  was  made  for  medical  care,  and, 
also,  that  many  more  physicians  were  appointed.  Consequently 
the  rate  for  these  appointments  was  lowered  10  centimes  (the 
pay  having  been  50  centimes  for  each  visit),  which  limited  the 
movement  somewhat.  The  report  considers  the  example  of 
Hasselt  valuable  and  worthy  of  imitation  but  states  that  it  could 
be  followed  with  safety  only  in  small  towns  where  control  is 
easy  and  abuses  can  soon  be  discovered.  In  the  large  cities  the 
number  of  physicians  is  so  great  and  they  are  so  widely  separated 
as  to  make  superintendence  impossible.  The  system  of  an  ab- 
solutely free  choice  of  a  physician  is,  therefore,  not  considered 
feasible.  Certain  limitations  depending  upon  the  character  of 
the  district,  are  required. 

In  case  the  local  or  intercommunal  commissions  do  not  have 
a  properly  organized  system  of  medical  aid,  the  permanent  Depu- 
tation has  a  right  to  fix  the  amount  necessary  for  medical,  obstet- 
rical, and  pharmaceutical  service. 

The  local  and  intercommunal  commissions  are  prohibited 
from  making  contracts  with  apothecaries  who  grant  reductions 
in  drugs.  The  King  is  empowered,  with  the  advice  of  the  medical 
commissions,  to  fix  the  rate  below  which  the  authorized  phar- 
macists and  physicians  can  not  furnish  medicines  and  other  phar- 
maceutical materials  to  the  local  and  intercommunal  com- 
missions. 

J.  Deaf  Mutes  and  Blind. — The  first  institute  was  opened 
at  Tournay  in  1793,  but  soon  closed  on  account  of  national  trou- 

40 


626  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

bles.  In  1819  a  school  was  opened  ai  Liittich.  There  are  12 
separate  schools  for  deaf  boys  and  girls.  Children  are  received 
at  6  years  and  discharged  at  20  or  21.  In  almost  all  Belgian  insti- 
tutions the  blind  and  deaf  are  taught  in  the  same  schools.  This 
is  not  because  the  modes  of  instruction  are  alike,  but  because  it 
is  felt  they  need  similar  protection.  Pupils  are  everywhere 
trained  to  handwork,  and  this  form  of  instruction  begins  with  the 
13th  year. 

There  are  four  asylums  for  poor  adult  deaf  women  at  Brus- 
sels, Bruges,  Ghent,  Namur.  There  are  also  societies  of  the 
deaf  for  mutual  help.  In  1900  there  were  12  schools,  926  deaf 
pupils,  139  teachers.  There  were  3.500  deaf  mutes  in  a  popula- 
tion of  6,700,000.  After  the  age  of  65  years  each  dependent  deaf 
person  receives  a  pension  of  65  francs  annually  from  the  state. 

Family  Care  of  the  Insane  at  Ghecl. — It  is  well  understood 
that  the  insane  of  certain  types  are  much  more  comfortably  and 
economically  cared  for  if  permitted  to  live  a  normal  life  in  a 
family,  with  the  freedom  and  familiarity  of  rural  surroundings 
and  occupations.  But  all  the  insane  need  careful  supervision  and 
therefore  they  must  not  be  scattered  over  too  wide  an  area. 
Since  the  beginning  of  the  seventh  century,  when  there  was  a 
resort  for  pilgrims  at  a  saint's  shrine,  there  has  been  a  colony 
for  the  insane  at  Gheel.  Early  in  the  nineteenth  century  this 
colony  was  brought  under  improved  regulations  and  its  useful- 
ness extended.  The  insane,  carefully  selected  from  harmless 
cases,  are  placed  in  families  and  share  their  life,  their  pleasures 
and  their  labors.  They  have  no  distinctive  dress  or  badge. 
Medical  supervision  is  constant  and  alert,  but  not  obtrusive.  A 
hospital  for  the  care  of  the  sick  and  the  disturbed  is  at  hand.  In 
1884  the  colony  of  Lierneux  was  established  for  Walloons,  as  that 
of  Gheel  is  for  Flemings.  The  expense  is  paid  in  part  by  the 
province  and  in  part  by  the  state.  The  daily  cost  of  maintenance 
at  Lierneux  is  about  i  fr.  40.  The  insane  who  have  means  pay 
a  minimum  annual  sum  of  511  francs.  In  1899  ^^"^^  colony  of 
Gheel  had  1,954  insane,  of  whom  1,035  were  men  and  919  women. 
Since  1875  the  colony  has  treated  7,762  patients,  and  1,256  of  these 
were  either  cured  or  greatly  improved  in  health,  a  ratio  of  16.5 
per  cent.  The  daily  cost  at  Gheel  is  o  fr.  .85  for  healthy  insane 
and  o  fr.  .99  to  i  fr.  .25  for  disturbed  cases.^ 

*  Rapports  Exposition  Univcrsellc  Internationale  de  1900,  p.  438,  Classc  112. 


BELGIUM  627 

K.  Children. — The  law  of  1895  relating  to  primary  instruc- 
tion was  retained  by  the  commission.  This  makes  it  the  duty 
of  the  commune  to  see  that  children  not  attending  the  private 
schools  and  having  the  right  of  free  instruction  receive  this  in- 
struction either  in  a  communal  school  or  in  an  authorized  school. 
The  children  having  a  right  to  free  instruction  are  those  in  com- 
munes with  less  than  5,000  inhabitants  who  pay  to  the  use  of  the 
state  in  any  way  less  than  10  francs;  in  communes  of  5,000  to 
20,000  inhabitants,  less  than  15  francs;  in  those  over  20,000  in- 
habitants, less  than  30  francs.  The  communal  council  each  year 
prepares  a  list  of  children  who  in  accordance  with  these  pro- 
visions have  a  right  to  free  instruction  and  also  the  remuneration 
due  to  the  instructors  of  the  communal  and  authorized  schools. 
This  list  as  well  as  the  quota  of  remuneration  is  submitted  to  the 
permanent  Deputation  for  approval.  The  permanent  Deputa- 
tion determines  the  part  which  devolves  upon  the  local  and  inter- 
communal  commissions  in  the  expense  of  education  of  children 
having  the  right  to  free  instruction.  The  part  assigned  to  each 
commission  is  placed  in  its  budget  and  must  be  divided  between 
the  communal  schools,  the  authorized  schools  and  the  eligible 
schools,  in  proportion  to  the  number  of  children  having  the  right 
of  free  instruction. 

M.  Preventive  Work. — The  commission  mentioned  above  an- 
nounced that  hereafter  the  policy  of  preventive  charity  would  be 
closely  adhered  to  and  very  strongly  emphasized. 

The  local  and  intercommunal  commissions  are  urged  to  en- 
courage the  organization  of  industrial  schools  and  schools  of 
domestic  economy  and  in  case  of  need  they  may  subsidize  them. 

In  regard  to  the  second  class,  or  involuntarily  idle,  the  com- 
mission considered  the  assistance  given  in  procuring  work  as 
superior  to  all  other  forms  of  aid.  It  has  recently  been  taken  up 
to  a  very  great  extent.  The  administrative  authority  is  not  only- 
urged  to  pursue  this  course,  but  is  held  responsible  for  the  crea- 
tion of  employment  offices  or  for  acquainting  itself  with  the 
institutions  already  devoted  to  this  work. 

The  commission  also  considered  the  help  given  in  providing 
sanitary  dwellings  for  a  reasonable  rent  as  very  important  and 
adapted  to  a  solution,  in  part,  of  the  dwelling  house  problem. 
"When,"  as  the  report  states,  "the  poor  receive  sanitary  dwell- 


628  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

ings  at  a  reasonable  price,  they  will  not  only  maintain  their  self- 
respect  by  paying  the  rent  themselves,  but  also,  they  will  not  be 
at  the  mercy  of  the  landlords  in  the  laboring  districts,  who  often 
charge  exorbitant  prices  for  their  unsanitary  houses."  The 
problem  of  providing  houses  to  rent  to  the  poor  is  under  the  con- 
trol of  the  local  and  intercommunal  commissions. 

The  report  of  the  commission  recommended  very  strongly  the 
establishment  of  a  general  system  of  workingmen's  insurance 
against  accidents,  sickness,  non-employment,  old  age  and  in- 
validity, similar  to  that  of  Germany.  On  this  point  the  commis- 
sion was  unanimous  and  took  special  steps  to  draw  the  attention 
of  the  government  to  this  need.  They  pointed  out  that  unless 
there  was  an  adequate  system  of  social  insurance  to  cope  with 
the  risks  which  menace  the  working  classes  public  and  private 
charity  would  be  overburdened  in  their  efforts  to  deal  with 
pauperism. 

There  were  already  in  existence  five  classes  of  institutions 
for  the  insurance  of  workingmen  against  either  accidents,  sick- 
ness, or  old  age  and  invalidity,  viz.:  (i)  The  National  Savings 
and  Old  Age  Pensions  Bank  (caisse  Gene  rale  d'Epargne  et  de 
Retraite)  ;  (2)  the  special  Miners'  Insurance  F.  kU  {Caisscs  de 
Prevoyance  en  Faveiir  des  Onvriers  Mineiirs)  ;  (3)  the  National 
Aid  Societies  (Societes  de  Secoitrs  Mntiiels)  ;  (4)  the  National 
Bank  for  the  Assistance  of  Workingmen  Injured  by  Accidents 
(Caisse  de  Prevoyance  et  de  Seconrs  en  Faveur  des  Victims  des 
Accidents  du  Travail),  and  (5)  Insurance  funds  organized  by  the 
large  employers  of  labor  for  the  benefit  of  their  employes.  Of 
these,  the  second  class  furnished  an  excellent  precedent  to  the 
Belgian  people  of  the  kind  of  workingmen's  insurance  that  would 
be  desirable  for  other  industries.  It  had  been  in  successful  opera- 
tion for  fifty  years,  providing  insurance  for  all  miners  "with  the 
creation  of  no  expensive  bureaucratic  system,  with  an  extremely 
low  cost  of  administration,  and  with  a  remarkable  absence  of 
friction."^  Under  this  system  of  miners'  insurance,  the  country 
is  divided  into  six  districts,  "in  each  of  which  has  been  created 
a  central  institution  for  the  insurance  of  miners  against  acci- 
dents, and,  to  a  limited  extent,  their  insurance  against  old  age 
and  invalidity ;  and  secondly,  the  creation  of  a  special  insurance 

*  Willoughby,  Workingmen's  Insurance. 


BELGIUM 


629 


fund  by  each  mining  company  for  sick  insurance.  Each  miner  is, 
therefore,  insured  in  two  funds ;  against  accidents  in  a  central 
fund,  and  against  sickness  in  the  particular  fund  of  his  establish- 
ment."i 

Only  comparatively  recently  has  the  modern  movement  for 
a  general  system  of  workingmen's  insurance,  either  compulsory 
or  voluntary,  gained  attention.  In  1890  and  again  in  1891,  bills 
v/evQ  introduced  providing  for  the  compulsory  insurance  of  all 
v^orkingmen  against  accident,  but  owing  to  the  preoccupation  of 
the  country  at  the  time  with  the  question  of  constitutional  revi- 
sion, these  propositions  were  not  carefully  considered.  However, 
in  1896  the  Parliament  took  up  the  question  in  a  more  earnest 
manner.  Bills  were  introduced  looking  toward  the  adoption  of 
a  more  general  system  of  workingmen's  insurance  than  had  hith- 
erto prevailed. 

While  the  commission  was  unanimous  and  insistent  upon  the 
establishment  of  a  general  system  of  workingmen's  insurance, 
it  was  not  in  harmony  with  the  view  of  the  Parti  ouvrier,  which 
desired  to  transform  the  organizations  of  public  charity  into  a 
system  of  insurance  against  accidents,  sickness,  non-employment, 
old  age  and  death.  The  commission  did  not  think  that  the  patri- 
mony of  the  poor,  embodied  in  the  charity  organizations,  should 
be  used  to  pay  the  premiums  of  social  insurance.  In  case  of  ac- 
cidents, the  commission  considered  it  the  duty  of  the  industry 
concerned  to  defray  the  larger  part  of  the  expense  of  insurance; 
in  case  of  sickness  that  the  expense  should  be  borne  by  employ- 
ers, employes,  and  society;  that  the  same  principle  should  be  ap- 
plied to  the  other  risks,  save,  perhaps,  old  age,  when  in  case  of 
insufficient  resources,  the  local  commissions  might  be  called  upon 
to  pay  part  of  the  premiums. 

The  commission  decided  that  it  should  be  the  policy  of  the 
local  charity  organizations  to  encourage  every  appropriate 
method  for  the  prevention  of  pauperism,  and,  in  case  of  need, 
to  take  the  initiative  in  the  organization  of  insurance  institutions. 
To  this  end  the  charity  organizations  are  to  have  the  power  to 
subsidize  individuals  and  institutions. 

Aid  for  Discharged  Prisoners  and  Their  Families. — The  so- 
cieties of  patronage,  of  which  there  are  twenty-nine,  attempt  to 

*  Willoughby,  Workingmen's  Insurance. 


630  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

bring  about  a  permanent  moral  reform  of  discharged  prisoners 
"by  maintaining  or  restoring  relations  with  famihes,  procuring 
assistance  that  may  be  needed,  and  standing  by  them  ...  in 
order  to  enable  them  to  enter  into  free  life  and  secure  employ- 
ment, or,  if  this  is  impossible,  to  assist  them  to  emigrate." 


PART  III 

CHAPTER  XII 
RUSSIA 

BY  HANNAH    B.    CLARK,   PH.   D. 

The  vastness  of  Russia's  territory  and  population  would  of 
itself  make  it  difficult  to  gain  a  comprehensive  view  of  the  na- 
tion's charities,  even  if  the  people  were  not,  as  they  are,  made 
up  of  many  different  races,  living  under  different  conditions,  pre- 
serving their  native  customs  and  institutions,  having  different 
forms  of  local  government,  and  representing  different  degrees  of 
culture.  A  brief  presentation  of  the  subject  must  necessarily  be 
inadequate  and  for  that  reason  inaccurate  at  many  points.  De- 
scriptions which  are  true  for  one  section  of  the  country  and  one 
group  of  people  may  be  quite  inapplicable  to  another,  and  gen- 
eralizations become  dangerous.  It  is  often  impossible  to  draw 
conclusions  from  facts  relating  to  such  a  diversity  of  conditions 
and  it  is  difficult  to  coordinate  the  information  given  in  public 
and  private  reports.  These  are  published  at  irregular  intervals 
and  show  no  uniformity  in  dates,  form  or  use  of  terms,  so  that 
they  are  generally  useless  for  purposes  of  comparison.  The 
statistics  of  authorities  often  present  hopeless  contradictions  be- 
cause they  use  the  same  general  terms  to  cover  different  groups 
of  organizations  and  fail  to  state  closely  what  localities  are  re- 
ferred to.  Nearly  all  statistics  regarding  the  numbers  of  special 
classes,  such  as  the  blind,  are  merely  estimates  and  are  useful 
only  as  suggestions.  As  the  nation  is  amorphous  and  socially 
diversified,  illustrating  in  its  civilization  the  extremes  of  bar- 
barism, mediaevalism,  and  the  highest  modern  culture  in  close 
juxtaposition,  so  is  pubHc  and  private  charity  without  plan  or  uni- 
formity; "its  character,"  says  Bravudo,  "is  wholly  occasional." 

631 


(332  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

Conscious,  organized  charity  is  almost  confined  to  European  Rus- 
sia and  to  the  neighborhood  of  large  cities.  \\'hile  only  12^ 
per  cent,  of  the  population  lives  in  cities,  83  per  cent,  of  the  chari- 
table funds  is  spent  on  them.  The  present  population  is  esti- 
mated at  135,000,000,  94.000,000  in  European  Russia.  About  5 
per  cent,  of  the  whole,  or  some  7,000,000,  are  reckoned  among  the 
needy,  of  whom  the  majority  are  peasants.  Russia's  industrial 
development  has  been  so  late  that  a  town  proletariate  is  just  be- 
ginning to  be  noticed.  The  problem  of  poverty  is  largely  the 
land  problem  at  present — the  difficulties  of  readjustment  that 
have  followed  the  emancipation  of  the  serfs.  The  peasants  have 
been  slow  in  redeeming  their  land,  partly  because  they  did  not 
at  first  understand  the  necessity  of  doing  so  and  partly  because 
the  terms  of  redemption  were  too  hard.  In  some  regions  the 
allotments  have  proved  too  small  and  in  nearly  all  the  methods 
of  agriculture  are  imperfect,  so  that  there  is  no  reserve  supply  of 
food  in  the  frequent  times  of  floods,  fires  or  pestilence.  More- 
over, the  peasant  has  inherited  the  habit  of  dependence  on  a 
master,  he  is  very  ignorant,  he  is  accused  of  laziness  and  he  is 
certainly  prone  to  drunkenness.  Through  the  latter  vice  he  is 
apt  to  get  hopelessly  in  debt  and  lose  his  cattle  and  farm  imple- 
ments, so  that  he  is  forced  to  become  a  hired  laborer,  or  drifts 
into  a  city  and  becomes  a  professional  beggar. 

In  the  Middle  Ages  mendicity  was  considered  in  Russia  less 
as  a  social  evil  than  as  an  occasion  ofifered  to  the  rich  of  doing  a 
religious  duty  for  the  good  of  their  souls  (Kapnist).  Almsgiving 
satisfied  the  conscience  of  individuals,  but  the  monasteries  de- 
veloped some  hospitals,  almshouses  and  refectories  for  travellers. 
The  need  of  discriminating  in  some  way  between  the  deserving 
poor  and  the  professional  beggar  was  felt  as  early  as  the  sixteenth 
century,  and  in  the  time  of  Ivan  the  Terrible  resolutions  were 
approved  looking  to  a  plan  for  separating  the  real  poor  and  sick 
and  providing  almshouses.  In  1670  the  first  attempt  at  public 
organization  took  the  form  of  the  "Asylums  Building  Board." 
Peter  the  Great  was  so  impressed  with  the  growing  numbers  of 
paupers  that  he  issued  a  ukase  forbidding  almsgiving  at  the  door 
and  ordering  that  vagrants  should  be  cared  for  in  convents  under 
restraint  and  that  the  sick  should  have  separate  quarters.  He 
himself  founded  an  asylum  for  the  poor  and  infirm.     Catherine  II 


RUSSIA  633 

carried  on  the  work  thus  begun.  She  organized  in  each  province 
bureaus  of  charity  whose  function  it  was  to  care  for:  (i)  national 
schools;  (2)  orphanages;  (3)  asylums;  (4)  hospitals  for  poor 
lunatics;  (5)  workhouses;  (6)  houses  of  detention  for  vagrants; 
(7)  hospitals  ;  (8)  homes  for  incurables.  She  founded  in  Moscow 
and  St.  Petersburg  the  foundling  hospitals  which  have  been  so 
famous,  and  she  enlarged  the  asylum  built  by  Peter  the  Great. 
Under  the  Empress  Marie  Feodoravna  (1797-1828)  all  these  insti- 
tutions were  enlarged,  many  schools  built  and  at  her  death  the 
various  charitable  organizations  numbered  39.  The  Emperor 
Nicholas  added  to  the  girls'  schools  and  asylums  in  country  dis- 
tricts and  built  several  orphanages  after  the  cholera  epidemics 
of  1830-31,  when  many  children  were  left  homeless  and  friend- 
less. Succeeding  sovereigns  have  patronized  these  charities  and 
they  now  include  under  the  name  of  "Institutions  of  the  Em- 
press Marie"  683  educational  and  charitable  institutions  and  so- 
cieties. No  important  changes  of  administration  were  made 
from  the  time  of  the  formation  of  Bureaus  of  Charity  in  1775 
until  local  self-government  was  organized  in  1864.  Then  the 
functions  of  the  bureaus  were  passed  over  to  the  Zemstvos  or 
local  assemblies.  There  was,  however,  no  noticeable  activity 
along  charitable  lines  until  about  a  decade  ago :  since  then  the 
development  in  methods  and  extent  of  work  has  been  very  great. 
The  relief  furnished  is,  however,  very  inadequate  still,  and  it  is 
very  unevenly  distributed  over  the  country. 

A.  Russia  has  no  poor  law,  only  special,  occasional  legisla- 
tion on  phases  of  public  assistance,  or  separate  classes  of  insti- 
tutions, and  enabling  clauses  in  the  fundamental  law  of  local  gov- 
ernments. The  Senate  has  explained  that  Zemstvos  and  cities 
have  the  right  to  give  assistance  but  are  not  under  obligation  to 
do  so ;  therefore  the  poor  can  present  no  claim.  There  are  also 
no  poor  rates.  "Public  assistance"  forms  an  item  in  the  national 
budget  as  well  as  in  local  budgets,  but  there  are  no  special  taxes 
for  poor-relief.  There  is  no  law  of  settlement,  but  in  the  rural 
districts  at  least  the  community  is  considered  responsible  for  its 
own  members. 

B.  Most  of  the  work  of  public  assistance  rests  with  local 
administrative  bodies,  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Minister  of 
the  Interior.     There  is,  however,  no  central  organization,  no  uni- 


634  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

formity  of  regulations,  no  system  of  general  reports.  To  under- 
stand the  situation  it  is  necessary  to  have  in  mind  the  general 
forms  of  local  government  in  European  Russia.  The  country  is 
divided  into  50  "governments"  or  provinces,  each  with  a  gov- 
ernor at  its  head,  and  these  provinces  are  divided  into  from  5  to 
15  districts.  Each  district  and  province  has  its  Zemstvo,  or 
popular  assembly.  That  of  the  district,  presided  over  by  the 
marshal  of  the  nobility,  is  elected  by  the  property  owners  of  the 
district  and  in  turn  elects  the  provincial  Zemstvo.  The  cities 
have  somewhat  similar  councils  presided  over  by  the  mayor. 
The  rural  units  of  government  are  the  volosts  or  cantons,  com- 
posed of  communes,  and  the  mirs,  or  communes,  which  number 
some  30  to  35  families.  Both  volosts  and  mirs  have  their  assem- 
blies. They  have  charge  of  the  aged,  orphans  and  cripples  and 
of  such  endowed  institutions  as  exist.  These  are  few  in  number. 
Most  peasant  charity  takes  the  form  of  almsgiving  or  family 
care  of  an  unfortunate  neighbor.  Upon  the  Zemstvos  and  city 
councils  rests  the  care  of  schools,  hospitals,  charitable  institu- 
tions, public  granaries  and  sanitary  service.  They  appoint  spe- 
cial committees  of  charity  administration  which  work  in  connec- 
tion with  the  heads  of  institutions.  In  the  provinces  which  have 
no  Zemstvos,  the  old  bureaus  of  charity  continue  to  act,  less 
efficiently  than  the  Zemstvos. 

In  addition  to  the  public  assistance  thus  organized  under  the 
Minister  of  the  Interior,  there  are  special  forms  of  charitable 
works  under  the  direction  of  the  Holy  Synod,  the  Minister  of 
Justice,  the  Minister  of  Finance,  as  well  as  charity  schools  under 
the  Minister  of  Instruction,  the  Minister  of  War  and  the  Min- 
ister of  Ways  of  Communication.  In  times  of  public  calamity, 
moreover,  as  the  last  great  famine,  special  commissions  are 
formed  to  direct  and  unify  the  work  of  relief.  It  is  difficult  to 
learn  the  amount  of  outdoor  relief  given  by  Zemstvos  and  cities 
because  it  is  seldom  separated  from  the  reports  of  indoor  relief. 
Miinsterberg  estimates  the  proportion  of  the  poor  aided  outside 
of  institutions  as  26  per  cent.  He  does  not  say  how  the  aid  is 
given  nor  how  much  is  medical  relief,  probably  a  considerable 
amount.  In  1899  Moscow  cared  for  393,933  people  out  of  insti- 
tutions, 18,000  of  them  in  their  own  homes,  but  again  the  pro- 
portion of  medical  aid  is  not  stated.     The  only  special  form  of 


RUSSIA  635 

help  referred  to  anywhere  is  in  a  general  report  that  says  some 
Zemstvos  and  cities  give  pecuniary  aid  to  emigrants  and  to  work- 
men in  search  of  employment.  Bureaus  of  charity  seem  to  give 
very  little  outdoor  relief. 

C.  Private  charity  is  not  to  be  distinguished  from  public  by 
its  forms  nor  even  by  a  greater  spirit  of  originality,  as  in  Western 
Europe  and  the  United  States.  It  is  true  that  new  lines  of  effort 
have  been  opened  up  at  the  suggestion  of  members  of  the  royal 
family,  to  whom  Russian  charity  owes  much  of  its  development, 
but  many  Zemstvos  and  cities  show  a  higher  degree  of  specializa- 
tion in  charitable  organizations,  and  more  modern  types  than  the 
private  associations.  Private  charity  again  is  marked  by  neither 
more  nor  less  division  of  labor  and  absence  of  an  impersonal, 
mechanical  spirit  than  public  charity.  Many  private  societies 
carry  on  as  great  a  variety  of  but  slightly  related  departments 
of  work  as  the  Zemstvos  and  cities,  and  like  these  act  through 
committees,  so  that  they  seem  equally  exposed  to  the  evils  of 
bureaucracy.  All  private  organizations  must  be  authorized  by 
the  Minister  of  the  Interior  and  in  many  cases,  as  for  example, 
hospitals,  are  subject  to  state  inspection.  The  most  conspicuous 
private  charities  in  Russia  are  those  founded  or  directed  by  mem- 
bers of  the  royal  family.  The  Czar  has  two  special  cabinets  to 
deal  with  such  matters.  The  Cabinet  of  Benevolence  grants  pen- 
sions, provides  pecuniary  aid,  places  orphans  in  schools  and  sup- 
ports a  special  asylum  for  widows  and  orphans  of  meritorious 
civil  servants  (Statesman's  Handbook).  The  second  cabinet  has 
charge  of  the  "Institutions  of  the  Empress  Marie."  This  carries 
out  the  orders  of  its  director-in-chief  and  the  decisions  of  the 
"Council  of  Guardians."  The  latter  body  deals  with  legislation 
affecting  the  institutions,  with  important  economic  and  financial 
matters  and  with  the  extension  of  the  work.  This  group  of 
organizations  is  supported  by  the  income  from  certain  banks, 
from  the  sale  of  playing  cards  and  from  the  tax  on  tickets  to 
amusements,  and  by  gifts.  Of  another  type  are  the  benevolent 
associations  directed  by  Councils  of  Guardians  which  usually 
have  a  member  of  the  royal  family  at  their  head.  Such  a  coun- 
cil is  "The  Curators  of  Industrial  Homes  and  Workshops"  under 
the  direct  patronage  of  the  Czarina.  These  councils  are  some- 
times made  up  of  the  holders  of  certain  official  positions,  some- 


636  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

times  they  are  named  by  the  patron.  They  serve  to  coordinate 
in  some  degree  the  work  of  groups  of  societies  and  institutions. 
Many  benevolent  societies  are  connected  with  schools  and  hos- 
pitals. They  often  confine  their  work  to  a  certain  parish  and 
are  composed  of  both  men  and  women.  The  St.  Petersburg 
"Ladies'  Patriotic  Society"  is  one  of  the  oldest  societies  of  women 
devoted  to  educational  charities.  In  many  cities  corporations 
or  guilds  of  men,  the  merchants,  bourgeois  and  artisans  contrib- 
ute to  charity  funds,  but  they  do  not  seem  to  organize  institu- 
tions. 

Aside  from  the  "Institutions  of  the  Empress  Marie"  the  most 
important  private  body  in  Russia  appears  to  be  the  Red  Cross  So- 
ciety. This  was  one  of  the  earliest  organized  after  the  signing  of 
the  Convention  of  Geneva,  dating  back  to  1867.  In  1899  it  re- 
ported 549  stations,  including  hospitals,  asylums,  dispensaries, 
2,344  nurses  and  over  20,000  members.  It  has  become  very  popu- 
lar throughout  the  country,  M.  V.  Botzianovsky  reports,  and  has 
stations  so  distributed,  even  on  remote  frontiers,  that  it  can  reach 
any  desired  position  quickly.  In  all  the  recent  wars  it  has  done 
efficient  service,  offering  its  services  to  both  contending  forces. 
It  aids  in  all  epidemics  and  calamities,  floods,  fires,  famines ;  it 
instructs  nurses  and  sends  sanitary  missions  into  rural  districts 
in  times  of  plagues,  among  emigrants  starting  for  Siberia,  and 
into  Siberia  itself.  Its  doctors  and  nurses  are  found  in  leper 
hospitals.  It  has  an  accident  corps  in  cities  composed  of  so- 
called  "Brothers  of  Charity."  For  sick  wounded  soldiers  the 
society  provides  a  hospital  as  well  as  care  at  baths  and  health 
resorts.  It  also  supplies  artificial  limbs,  and  it  has  two  schools 
for  the  children  of  wounded  soldiers.  In  addition  to  all  these 
forms  of  social  service  it  contributes  valuable  reports  to  inter- 
national congresses.  In  1898  it  expended  4,254,000  rubles.  Its 
efficient  provincial  organization  that  enables  it  in  times  of  emer- 
gencies to  spread  like  a  network  over  every  district  and  volost 
makes  it  especially  valuable  in  a  country  like  Russia,  where  so 
many  regions  are  ordinarily  without  charity.  Private  charity  is 
not  of  course  confined  to  the  form  of  societies.  Very  much  of 
it  is  expressed  in  gifts  to  organizations  and  individuals,  an 
amount  which  it  is  impossible  to  measure.  Tn  1893  nearly  2,000,- 
000  rubles  were  given  to  the  Minister  of  the  Interior,  but  there  is 


RUSSIA 


637 


no  report  of  the  amount  received  by  the  Zemstvos,  cities  and  pri- 
vate institutions.  Very  large  sums  are  also  given  as  direct  alms. 
In  Moscow  alone  it  is  estimated  that  1,000,000  rubles  are  thus 
given  yearly.  Often  large  properties  are  left  by  will  for  distri- 
bution among  beggars.  The  peasants,  too,  in  the  country  dis- 
tricts are  almsgivers,  as  indeed  are  most  of  the  people  in  the  less 
developed  parts  of  the  empire. 

D.  Very  little  information  can  be  obtained  regarding  eccle- 
siastical charity.  The  orthodox  church  alone  receives  notice 
and  that  very  briefly.  At  the  close  of  the  nineteenth  century  the 
Holy  Synod  was  reported  as  having  under  its  charge  3,558  insti- 
tutions, chiefly  for  the  sick  and  children.  There  are  parish  com- 
mittees that  dispense  funds.  In  1898  Bravudo  reports  the  sum 
of  487,834  rubles.  Monasteries  still  exist  in  an  enfeebled  condi- 
tion and  are  said,  with  churches,  to  conduct  198  hospitals,  841 
dispensaries,  and  to  have  assisted  13,062  people.  In  so  far  as 
these  figures  are  inclusive  they  indicate  that  present  day  charity 
is  distinctly  secular,  so  far  as  the  Russian  church  is  concerned. 
Conditions  may  be  quite  different  among  the  Dissenters,  Catho- 
lics, Jews  and  Mohammedans.  The  really  important  benevolent 
work  of  the  Holy  Synod  comes  rather  under  the  head  of  edu- 
cation than  charity,  though  it  is  preventive  work.  The  40,000 
elementary  schools  among  the  peasants  are  justly  reckoned 
among  the  humanitarian  eflforts  of  the  nation.  They  will  be  re- 
ferred to  again.  The  Salvation  Army  is  the  only  international 
Protestant  organization  for  charitable  work  which  has  ap- 
proached Russia  and  it  has  not  yet  succeeded  in  getting  nearer 
than  Finland. 

E.  As  w-e  have  seen,  public  and  private  relief  agencies  are 
occasionally  coordinated  by  means  of  specially  appointed  councils 
of  supervision,  but  the  only  complete  cooperation  is  found  in 
those  cities  which  have  adopted  a  modification  of  the  Elberfeld 
system.  Moscow  was  the  first  to  introduce  this,  in  1894.  The 
city  is  divided  into  28  sections,  each  with  a  director,  appointed 
by  the  City  Council,  and  a  committee  of  from  five  to  ten.  Vol- 
unteer visitors,  usually  young  men  and  women,  receive  contri- 
butions and  investigate  the  cases  of  applicants  for  relief.  In  1897 
there  were  1,924  helpers  who  received  250,000  rubles  and  aided 
12,097  people,  mostly  old  and  sick.      Indoor  relief  was  chiefly 


638  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

given  to  children.  There  is,  in  addition  to  this  organization,  a 
municipal  council  of  charity  and  a  municipal  section  of  informa- 
tion on  charitable  affairs.  Karoff  has  a  similar  system  and  St. 
Petersburg,  Odessa  and  Voroniga  contemplate  adopting  it.  The 
charity  organization  society  and  national  conferences  of  charity 
are  not  yet  found  in  the  country.  The  nearest  approach  to  the 
latter  is  in  the  meetings  of  special  commissions  instructed  to 
study  the  problems  connected  with  the  particular  charities 
which  they  supervise.  Representatives  of  the  government  and 
of  private  societies  are  also  found  at  the  international  confer- 
ences, often  taking  part  in  the  discussions. 

F.  Indoor  relief  is  the  usual  form  which  organized  charity 
takes  in  Russia.  Three-fourths  of  all  public  and  private  relief 
is  given  through  institutions,  which  are  for  the  most  part  to  be 
classed  under  the  heads  of  hospitals,  orphan  asylums  and  asylums 
for  the  aged.  There  is  no  division  of  labor  as  between  public 
and  private  institutions,  and  the  administration  is  similar  for 
both  types.  There  is  either  a  board,  a  director  or  both  combined, 
under  the  control  of  the  City  Council,  the  Zemstvo  or  a  Council 
of  Guardians  according  as  it  is  public  or  private.  One-half  of 
all  the  institutions  opened  during  the  last  ten  years  have  been 
private  foundations  and  many  which  are  now  under  public  ad- 
ministration were  turned  over  to  the  city  or  Zemstvos  by  the 
individual  founders.  The  funds  are  obtained  from  gifts,  city 
and  Zemstvos  budgets  and,  in  many  cases,  state  subsidies.  As 
there  are  no  requirements  in  regard  to  reports,  there  is  no  uni- 
formity in  the  time  or  form  of  publication  and  it  is  difficult  to 
obtain  any  accurate  idea  of  the  number  of  institutions.  Miinster- 
berg  gives  it  as  7,505,  but  he  does  not  say  just  what  he  includes 
under  charitable  institutions ;  whether  schools  and  hospitals  are 
partially  in  the  list  or  not.  The  total  amount  spent  on  these 
institutions  he  estimates  at  36,000,000  rubles  a  year. 

In  the  provinces  still  having  bureaus  of  charity  indoor  relief 
is  given  almost  wholly  to  the  sick  and  to  children,  in  hospitals 
and  schools.  The  Zemstvos  and  cities  have  developed  in  addi- 
tion to  these  more  specific  forms  of  help,  such  as  creches,  lodg- 
ing houses,  workshops,  cheap  restaurants, — forms  which  are  also 
found  among  private  institutions.       These  will  be  considered 


RUSSIA  639 

more  fully  under  special  topics,  medical  aid,  care  of  children,  of 
vagrants,  etc. 

G.  The  beggar  is  one  of  the  great  problems  in  the  social 
life  of  Russia.  His  characteristics  and  ways  of  living  afford  a 
most  interesting  field  of  study  to  the  sociologist,  for  in  many 
ways  he  is  unique  in  Europe.  As  far  back  as  the  time  of  Peter 
the  Great  the  extent  to  which  begging  was  practiced  was  con- 
sidered alarming  and  social  reformers  find  it  greater  to-day  than 
ever,  in  spite  of  the  efforts  of  sundry  "Commissions  to  Control 
Begging"  that  have  been  established  at  different  times.  In  1877 
one  of  these  estimated  the  number  of  beggars  at  300,000.  To- 
day, if  we  take  the  figures  for  St.  Petersburg  as  a  basis  of  calcu- 
lation, there  are  at  the  minimum  twice  as  many.  Men  are  much 
more  numerous  than  women  and  are  younger.  The  maximum 
number  of  the  former  are  between  30  and  35  years  of  age,  of  the 
latter  50  to  55.  By  far  the  greater  number  are  found  to  be  strong 
and  able-bodied,  though  there  is  a  class  of  cripples,  blind  and 
feeble-minded.  Naturally  the  greater  numbers  of  the  profes- 
sional beggars  are  found  near  cities  where  there  are  crowds  and 
relief  funds,  but  companies  of  peasants  go  begging  in  country 
districts,  especially  at  the  close  of  the  late  harvest  and  in  the 
early  spring.  In  certain  parts  of  Russia,  around  Moscow  and  in 
the  southern  provinces,  whole  villages,  men,  women  and  chil- 
dren, go  out  on  begging  tours  when  the  farm  work  is  over,  often 
covering  long  distances.  Their  excuse  for  vagrancy  is  that  they 
are  seeking  work,  but  in  truth  they  make  begging  a  by-occupa- 
tion, resorted  to  regularly.  In  Vologda,  for  example,  Loewen- 
stimm  says  that  one-fourth  of  the  population  live  upon  alms, 
so,  too,  in  the  vicinity  of  Moscow.  In  the  government  of  Pensa 
4,000  people  in  Golizino  are  beggars,  in  Voronish  8,000.  The 
gains  used  to  be  as  much  as  100  to  200  rubles  a  year,  but  now 
they  are  not  more  than  40  rubles. 

Such  an  extraordinary  condition  of  affairs  has  naturally  led 
to  investigation  of  causes  and  some  attempt  at  least,  at  remedies. 
Neglecting  now  the  uncertain  proportion  of  deserving  poor,  tem- 
porarily out  of  work  or  in  misfortune,  the  majority  are  set  down 
as  professional  beggars,  become  such  on  account  of:  (i)  Lack 
of  sufficient  charitable  relief.  The  convalescent  and  the  feeble- 
minded are  often  forced  to  beg  for  food  and  shelter,  because 


640  MODERN  I^IETHODS  OF  CHARITY 

there  is  no  place  for  them  in  asyhmis  and  they  are  not  strong 
enough  to  work,  (2)  Deportation.  Exiles  in  Siberia  are  often 
penniless  when  their  terms  expire,  and  they  beg  for  means  to 
get  home.  Prisoners  marching  overland  used  to  beg  their  food 
and  clothing,  but  better  care  and  railway  transportation  have 
nearly  stopped  this  practice.  (3)  Vagrants  without  passports, 
or  those  who  wish  to  avoid  the  notice  of  officials  beg  their  way 
through  country  districts.  (4)  Great  calamities  force  many  into 
beggary.  War,  floods,  plagues  and  the  burning  of  villages  so 
common  in  Russia,  combine  with  the  failure  of  crops  to  reduce 
hundreds  of  people  to  pauperism,  for  which  there  is  inadequate 
relief  through  organized  channels.  (5)  Permanent  economic 
causes.  In  many  cases  the  father's  allotment  of  land  proves  too 
small  when  divided  among  a  number  of  brothers ;  in  others  the 
rent  is  so  high  that  agriculture  becomes  impossible  for  an  ignor- 
ant peasant  and  he  gives  it  up.  Factory  labor,  often  turned  to  as 
an  alternative,  frequently  weakens  the  workman  physically  and 
morally,  and  he  finds  begging  the  easiest  means  of  supporting 
life.  (6)  Ethnical  traits.  Certain  peoples  like  the  gypsies  seem 
to  be  beggars  by  nature.  (7)  The  love  of  wandering  in  search 
of  luck  is  characteristic  of  Russian  peasants,  especially  those  in 
the  southern  provinces  and  around  the  Black  Sea.  The  nature 
of  the  country  helps  to  develop  this — a  boundless  plain  without 
natural  barriers  ;  and  there  is  also  a  native  spirit  of  fatalism  which 
is  a  powerful  factor.  (8)  Customs  and  beliefs.  Russians  are 
naturally  sympathetic,  quick  to  pity  sorrow  and  misfortune,  and 
so  it  is  the  national  impulse  to  respond  to  an  appeal  for  aid. 
Then,  too,  the  church  has  always  taught  that  almsgiving  is  meri- 
torious, bringing  spiritual  reward  to  the  giver,  and  has  never 
questioned  the  desert  of  the  beggar  nor  the  social  value  of  the 
gift.  To  refuse  alms  is  to  sin.  The  custom  of  giving  alms  in  a 
general  distribution  on  certain  days  of  the  week,  on  festivals  and 
such  occasions  as  royal  birthdays  is  very  common.  The  Old  Be- 
lievers are  especially  keen  about  observing  this  custom  and  recall 
some  of  the  Catholic  nobles  of  the  Middle  Ages  whose  gates  were 
thronged  with  mendicant  clients  at  the  regularly  appointed  hours 
for  alms.  Great  sums  are  often  left  by  will  for  general  distribu- 
tion among  the  beggars  of  the  city.  One  man  left  10,000  rubles 
in  this  way;  another  50,000  rubles.     Something  of  almost  sacra- 


RUSSIA 


641 


mental  virtue  appertains  to  gifts  or  aid  lo  beggars.  Many  of  the 
people  cherish  a  legend  that  Christ  was  a  beggar  and  some  of 
the  religious  sects  follow  his  supposed  example.  The  beggars 
have  been  classified  as  church  and  cemetery  beggars,  false  pil- 
grims or  "Jerusalem  folk,"  "Sevastopolers,"  travellers  on  the  rail- 
road, collectors  at  houses,  fire  beggars,  letter  writers,  women  with 
mutilated  children  or  dolls  to  imitate  children,  cripples,  church 
collectors  and  the  peasant  companies.  Many  of  these  are  com- 
mon forms  among  professional  mendicants  everywhere,  but  some 
are  peculiar  to  Russia.  The  "Jerusalem  folk"  haunt  the  shrine 
and  pilgrim  routes,  often  disguised  as  priests  or  monks.  The 
"Sevastopolers"  claim  to  be  old  soldiers.  The  fire  beggars  ap- 
pear after  a  village  fire,  often  in  numbers  greater  than  the  whole 
village  population,  and  represent  themselves  as  having  lost  every- 
thing. The  notice  writers  take  advantage  of  the  custom  of  de- 
scribing specially  needy  cases  in  the  papers  to  draw  contributions 
to  themselves.  Church  collectors  ask  aid  for  the  erection  of  a  vil- 
lage or  city  church.  The  amount  of  money  given  to  these  differ- 
ent classes  has  been  estimated  at  2  rubles  for  each  of  the  popula- 
tion. Most  of  it  is  worse  than  wasted,  being  spent  in  drink  and 
licentiousness.  But  the  beggar  is  not  only  a  great  cost  to  the 
country  in  money,  he  is  also  a  center  of  disorder  and  a  spreader 
of  disease. 

The  remedies  for  this  social  evil  which  have  been  suggested 
by  the  commissions  are,  restriction  of  the  sale  of  liquor,  better 
industrial  training,  more  care  for  the  deserving  poor,  together 
with  greater  sternness  in  repressing  professional  begging,  and, 
above  all,  the  stopping  of  indiscriminate  almsgiving.  This  latter 
practice,  however,  is  so  strongly  entrenched  in  the  customs  and 
beliefs  of  the  masses  that  one  fears  that  it  will  scarcely  pass  away 
for  many  generations.  The  problem  is  likely  to  be  of  long  stand- 
ing. 

The  present  means  of  helping  vagrants  and  the  unemployed 
is  the  organization  of  workhouses  and  workshops,  cheap  lodgings, 
night  refuges,  public  tables,  etc.  The  modern  form  of  work- 
houses dates  from  1881.  In  1895  there  was  formed  the  Society 
of  Curators  of  Industrial  Homes  and  Workshops  whose  func- 
tions are  to  found  industrial  homes  and  support  those  already 
existing,  to  help  people  discharged  from  hospitals  and  prisons,  to 

41 


642  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

prepare  children  for  self-support.  It  has  an  unlimited  member- 
ship of  four  kinds :  elective,  chosen  for  three  years  by  the  Czar- 
ina ;  honorary,  members  of  the  royal  family ;  benefactors,  those 
contributing  loo  rubles  yearly  or  i,ooo  rvtbles  at  one  time;  asso- 
ciates, those  contributing  lo  rubles  yearlj  or  lOO  rubles  at  one 
time.  The  honorary  members  and  benefactors  serve  as  inspec- 
tors of  the  workhouses  and  report  on  them.  The  support  is  from 
the  state  funds  and  from  gifts.  The  administration  is  in  the 
hands  of  the  Czarina  and  a  committee  of  ten  members,  together 
with  a  vice-president,  secretary  and  treasurer.  The  society 
meets  yearly.  Since  1898  it  has  published  a  monthly  review 
(Troudovaia  Pomocht),  "Industrial  Assistance."  This  paper  in 
1899  contained  a  report  on  the  number  of  workhouses  and  the 
persons  assisted.  According  to  this  there  were  109  houses,  loi 
in  European  Russia.  The  common  form  is  that  for  all  ages  and 
both  sexes.  This  has  separate  workrooms  for  women  with  girls 
and  men  with  boys.  There  are  also  separate  workhouses  for 
men,  women  and  children,  with  common  dining  rooms.  Those 
in  St.  Petersburg  not  only  provide  work,  but  also  teach  trades, 
in  order  to  develop  skilled  workmen  in  wood  and  iron.  There  is 
also  in  the  capital  a  house  for  intelligent  women  of  good  birth, 
who,  after  confinement,  can  only  work  a  little  and  who  need 
nourishing  food.  One  hundred  and  five  of  the  workhouses  have 
room  for  8,678  people,  96  of  them  actually  aided  13.633  people  in 
a  year  (1897).  There  is  thus  twice  as  much  help  offered,  appar- 
ently as  is  asked  for,  a  fact  which  would  give  color  to  the  con- 
clusion stated  above  that  the  majority  of  the  beggars  are  pro- 
fessionals. Besides  the  work  of  this  group  of  industrial  homes 
there  is  that  of  the  Imperial  Society  of  Charity  which  has  cheap 
lodging  houses,  night  refuges  and  people's  kitchens.  Alany  of 
the  Zemstvos  and  cities  make  similar  provisions  for  the  unem- 
ployed and  in  addition  aid  emigrants  and  those  travelling  in 
search  of  work. 

For  homeless  old  men  and  women  there  are  a  number  of 
"homes"  of  different  degrees  of  cost.  Those  in  St.  Petersburg 
and  Moscow  are  the  best.  The  former  city  has  three.  The 
Widows'  or  Old  Ladies'  Home  occupies  the  old  Elizabeth  palace 
and  the  cost  per  inmate  is  280  rubles  a  year.  Of  this  the  widows, 
who  have  separate  rooms  and  their  meals  served  in  them,  pay 


RUSSIA 


643 


250  rubles.  Spinsters,  who  are  placed  two  in  a  room  and  use  a 
common  dining  room,  pay  200  rubles.  The  deficit  is  paid  from 
the  funds  of  the  "Institutions  of  the  Empress  Marie." 

The  Old  Women's  Home  is  for  working  women,  who  pay 
part  of  the  cost.  The  deficit  is  made  up  from  charity  funds. 
The  Municipal  House,  founded  by  Catherine  H,  has  3,000  old 
women  and  800  old  men,  a  few  of  whom  pay.  The  most  beauti- 
ful of  these  houses  is  the  Heier  Home  in  Moscow,  which  accom- 
modates 33  women  and  33  men  at  a  cost  of  180  rubles  a  year. 
The  Boew  Institute  has  room  for  300  men  and  women  at  a  lower 
rate,  120  rubles,  and  a  third  is  intended  for  vagrants  and  has 
something  of  a  correctional  character  about  it.  Russia  has  not 
yet  opened  colonies  for  the  unemployed,  but  Finland  has  a  num- 
ber of  them.  They  were  originally  intended  for  the  able-bodied 
alone,  but  now  there  are  special  rooms  for  the  sick  and  insane  and 
asylums  for  children.  The  government  makes  loans  to  com- 
munities to  start  such  colonies  and  has  made  50  in  the  last  10 
years.  The  colonies  are  on  farms  and  the  aim  is  to  keep  them 
small. 

H.  Medical  relief  has  long  been  a  common  form  of  charity 
in  Russia,  though  it  is  not  adequate  to  the  need  even  yet.  The 
general  system  is  under  the  direction  of  the  Minister  of  the  In- 
terior, working  through  the  Department  of  Medical  Afifairs. 
Hospitals,  which  belong  to  Zemstvos,  cities  and  bureaus  of 
charity,  are  under  the  immediate  jurisdiction  of  the  governor  of 
the  province  and  the  prefect  of  the  city.  Each  province  has  its 
medical  inspector  and  special  sanitary  service,  as  have  the  dis- 
tricts and  cities.  In  1900  the  Zemstvos  controlled  1,300  hospitals 
with  30,000  beds,  i.  e.,  one  bed  for  2,000  people,  and  had  one  phy- 
sician for  25,100  people.  Twelve  bureaus  of  charity  have  one 
bed  for  7,663  people  and  one  physician  for  77,296  people.  The 
pharmacies  numbered  one-half  as  many  as  the  hospitals  in  1887. 
Their  establishment  is  authorized  in  hospitals  having  over  100 
beds.  Most  cities  and  Zemstvos  have  physicians  for  the  poor 
whose  service  is  gratuitous.  There  are  also  midwives  and  "feld- 
shero,"  both  men  and  women,  who  have  had  a  slight  medical 
training  and  are  able  to  be  of  service  in  country  districts  where 
physicians  are  few.  The  medical  service  in  St.  Petersburg  is 
probably  the  most  highly  developed  in  the  country  and  therefore 


644  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

merits  description.  The  city  has  a  "Municipal  Sanitary  Commis- 
sion" which  directs  the  sanitary  corps.  It  is  composed  of  12 
members,  chosen  by  the  City  Council  for  four  years,  one  from 
each  ward.  These  name  curators  for  the  quarters  of  the  city. 
There  is  also  a  consulting  council  of  physicians  from  different 
medical  institutions,  and  a  physician-in-chief  of  the  prefecture. 
The  commission  directs  the  sanitary  inspectors,  the  city  physi- 
cians, the  medical  school  inspectors,  the  city  maternity  hos- 
pitals, the  municipal  laboratory,  the  disinfecting  plant,  the  in- 
spection of  cemeteries  and  night  work.  The  city  physicians, 
24  in  number,  are  each  in  charge  of  a  district  and  give  free 
service  to  the  poor  with  orders  on  the  city  pharmacy.  Fourteen 
of  these  physicians  are  women,  as  are  many  of  the  medical 
inspectors  of  schools. 

Private  medical  relief  is  given  by  almost  every  charitable  so- 
ciety, especially  by  the  Institutions  of  the  Empress  Marie  and  the 
Red  Cross.  Like  those  in  the  public  service  the  physicians  have 
the  reputation  of  being  very  well  trained.  Medical  colleges  are 
all  connected  with  universities  except  the  Medical  Academy  in 
St.  Petersburg,  which  is  a  separate  institution.  Nurses,  in  public 
and  private  service,  come  chiefly  from  the  Red  Cross  classes. 
These  form  a  semi-religious  body,  not  bound  by  life  vows,  and 
they  are  of  both  sexes. 

Both  public  and  private  hospitals  are  divided  into  general  and 
special  hospitals.  There  are  maternity  hospitals,  children's, 
orthopaedic,  ophthalmic,  as  well  as  hospitals  for  infectious  dis- 
eases, but  the  most  common  form  is  the  general.  There  are 
numerous  maternity  hospitals  in  charge  of  private  societies,  the 
Institutions  of  the  Empress  Marie,  and  of  cities  and  Zemstvos. 
The  children's  hospital  of  Prince  Oldenburg  is  over  30  years  old. 
It  is  described  as  being  finely  equipped  and  administered  in  the 
most  perfect  manner. 

Payment  in  the  hospitals  is  usually  graded  according  to  the 
patient's  means,  the  very  poor  being  admitted  free.  In  large 
towns  a  hospital  tax  is  levied  upon  working  people  and  servants 
who  are  entitled  to  free  treatment.  Out-patients  pay  unless 
they  present  certificates  proving  their  poverty. 

In  1892  there  were  3,969  hospitals  under  the  Ministry  of  the 
Interior,  62,453  beds  in  general  hospitals,  11,790  in  special  hos- 


RUSSIA  645 

pitals  and  21,924  for  special  classes  of  people,  as  factory  em- 
ployes. 

Like  the  rest  of  Europe  Russia  suffers  severely  from  tuber- 
culosis and  her  physicians  are  constantly  studying  methods  of 
cure  and  prevention.  The  royal  family  has  led  the  way  in  prac- 
tical efforts  to  combat  the  evil.  In  1891,  through  the  suggestion 
and  with  the  support  of  Alexander  III  the  first  sanitarium  was 
built  at  Halida  near  St.  Petersburg.  It  is  considered  in  every 
way  a  model.  There  are  two  wards,  one  of  which  ("Section 
Marie")  holds  50  beds,  the  other  ("Section  Nicholas")  has  32 
beds.  Dr.  Gabrilowitch  is  its  director.  The  success  of  this  hos- 
pital led  Nicholas  II  to  found  another  in  1895  which  was,  how- 
ever, not  opened  until  1900.  It  is  situated  at  Taectzi.  It  con- 
tains 50  beds,  20  of  which  are  free.  A  third  sanitarium  with  30 
beds  was  located  at  Massandra  on  the  Crimea  and  a  fourth  is 
under  construction  by  Prince  Oldenburg  at  Gagry  on  the  Black 
Sea. 

The  work  of  the  Red  Cross  Society  in  sending  sanitary  mis- 
sions among  the  peasants  in  time  of  epidemics  and  its  efforts  to 
prepare  girls  to  become  nurses  are  the  only  form  of  educational 
work  among  the  people  to  which  reference  could  be  found.  The 
sanitary  inspection  practiced  in  St.  Petersburg  with  a  view  to 
preventing  epidemics,  and  the  visits  of  physicians  to  schools, 
constitutes  all  that  can  fairly  be  called  preventive  medical  service, 
except  the  use  of  vaccination  which  is  somewhat  general.  Pre- 
ventive medicine  is,  however,  the  subject  of  study  and  discussion 
among  physicians. 

J.  With  rare  exceptions  all  care  of  defectives  is  private  and 
is  very  limited  in  extent.  The  blind  were  the  first  to  receive  any 
attention  and  this  by  the  formation,  in  1881,  of  a  special  society 
which  was  later  made  one  of  the  "Institutions  of  the  Empress 
Marie."  This  has  charge  of  23  schools  for  children  in  some 
dozen  cities,  with  over  600  pupils,  of  trade  schools  for  adults,  of 
3  refuges,  7  hospitals  and  33  m.issions  of  oculists  for  country  dis- 
tricts. It  publishes  two  periodicals  and  expends  203,000  rubles 
a  year,  funds  obtained  from  its  own  members  and  from  gifts. 
The  total  number  of  blind  is  to-day  estimated  at  some  200,000, 
so  that  the  pitiful  inadequacy  of  the  relief  offered  is  very  evident. 
There  is  not  even  an  estimate  of  the  number  of  deaf  and  dumb. 


546  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

and  until  very  recently  there  was  no  care  taken  of  them.  There 
is  now  a  society  similar  to  that  which  cares  for  the  blind.  This 
has  a  school  with  230  pupils,  137  boys  and  93  girls,  both  boarders 
and  day  scholars.  They  are  taught  by  the  oral  method  as  well 
as  by  sign  and  manual,  reading,  arithmetic,  religion  and  trades. 
According  to  the  report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Education 
(U.  S.)  for  1890-91  there  were  then  13  schools  in  all  for  deaf 
mutes  and  one  for  idiots.^ 

The  feeble-minded  are  carefully  distinguished  in  legal  defini- 
tions from  the  insane,  but  they  are  kept  in  the  same  public  insti- 
tutions. The  only  separate  asylums  are  private.  There  are 
two  of  these  in  St.  Petersburg  and  there  are  also  special  wards 
in  the  Alexander  Hospital  and  in  one  in  Moscow.  Yolsk  on  the 
Volga  has  a  school  for  backward  children  of  the  military  schools. 
No  further  details  are  obtainable,  and  we  can  only  infer  that  these 
unfortunate  ones  are  practically  neglected.  It  is  known  that  they 
are  found  in  the  great  army  of  beggars. 

Epileptics  also  receive  little  care.  They  are  frequently  found 
in  insane  asylums,  but  the  rule  is  to  receive  only  those  who  are 
mentally  diseased.  The  treatment  of  the  insane  has  followed 
much  the  same  course  as  in  the  rest  of  Europe.  During  the 
Middle  Ages  if  they  were  cared  for  at  all  it  was  in  the  monas- 
teries. They  were  thought  to  be  possessed  by  evil  spirits  as  they 
still  are  among  the  peasants.  In  1677  a  law  was  passed  guard- 
ing the  property  of  the  insane,  and  Peter  the  Great  announced 
others  on  the  same  subject,  including  regulations  for  the  exami- 
nation of  the  supposed  lunatic.  Catherine  II  had  special  wards 
or  houses  provided  for  the  insane  and  these  were  placed  in  charge 
of  the  bureaus  of  charity.  Now,  like  other  hospitals,  they  are 
under  the  general  direction  of  the  Minister  of  the  Interior  and 
the  Medical  Department.  Private  hospitals  must  be  sanctioned 
by  the  Minister  of  the  Interior.     This  minister  names  a  medical 

'  From  another  source  we  learn  (1903)  that  it  has  been  estimated  that  there  are 
200,000  deaf  mutes  in  the  empire,  of  whom  about  40,000  to  50,000  are  of  school 
age.  In  1901  there  were  885  pupils  in  the  schools.  There  are  20  schools  for  the 
deaf;  St.  Petersburg  has  162  pupils,  Warsaw  170,  Moscow  158.  The  imperial 
institute  at  St.  Petersburg  lays  great  emphasis  on  industrial  training.  In  Moscow 
there  is  an  asylum  for  deaf  girls  after  school  years,  and  a  benevolent  society  to 
care  for  adults.  Warsaw  has  a  Sunday  school  for  the  instruction  of  deaf  hand- 
workers. 


RUSSIA  647 

director.  Each  Zemstvo  has  a  permanent  commission  on  asy- 
lums composed  of  the  president  and  two  or  three  other  members, 
and  also  a  medical  director  named  by  the  commission.  The  City 
Council  names  the  city  director.  Outside  of  the  Zemstvos  gov- 
ernments there  are  but  three  separate  insane  hospitals.  The 
Zemstvos  have  10,000  beds,  some  in  general  hospitals,  some  in 
those  which  separate  chronic  and  acute  cases.  The  hospitals 
are  classified  as  state,  departmental,  municipal  and  military.  In 
some  places  the  insane  are  simply  kept  in  separate  wards  of  or- 
dinary hospitals,  and  the  country  hospitals  are  very  few  and 
small.  According  to  law  the  hospital  for  the  insane  is  a  walled- 
in  building  and  has  a  military  guard,  but  the  latter  provision  is 
often  a  dead  letter.  The  physicians  are  trained  alienists  and  their 
aids  are  good,  but  the  attendants,  chiefly  peasants,  are  very  poor. 
They  are  quite  illiterate  and  untrained,  receive  wretched  wages 
and  have  bad  living  arrangements,  so  that  the  service  they  render 
is  necessarily  very  unsatisfactory. 

The  estimates  of  the  total  number  of  the  insane  are  of  doubt- 
ful value.  There  are  said  to  be  64.4  men  to  38.6  women  and  some 
18,000  are  reported  in  hospitals. 

In  1886  Dr.  Bajenofif  first  introduced  family  care  of  mild, 
chronic  cases.  His  plan,  which  is  being  gradually  adopted  in 
different  parts  of  the  country,  is  to  place  about  ten  patients  in  a 
village  either  near  a  large  hospital  or  so  located  that  a  small 
hospital  could  be  erected  as  center  for  several  colonies.  There 
is  not  room  enough  in  the  hospitals  for  all  cases  and  he  believes 
the  patients  are  happier  where  they  can  see  and  share  in  home 
occupations.  He  hopes  to  thus  colonize  20  per  cent,  of  the 
patients.  Admission  to  hospitals  is  gained  by  direct  application 
through  parents  or  the  police  to  the  physician  in  charge.  In 
the  country  parents  apply  to  the  medical  director  of  the  district 
and  he  makes  the  arrangements  with  the  director  of  the  asylum. 
Examinations  of  the  supposed  insane  are  held  in  the  presence  of 
the  officials  under  whose  jurisdiction  the  patient  is,  the  Gov- 
ernor, the  president  of  the  district  court  of  law  or  judges,  and, 
if  he  is  a  noble,  of  the  marshal  of  the  nobility  of  the  district. 
The  examination  may  be  held  at  his  house  if  the  patient  cannot 
well  be  moved.  It  is  conducted  by  the  medical  director  or 
his  representative.     The  governing  senate  passes  on  the  find- 


648  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

ings  of  the  examination  in  order  to  appoint  guardians  of  the 
property,  except  in  the  case  of  the  peasants  for  whom  the 
district  authorities  act.  The  heirs  usually  have  charge  of 
the  property  until  the  person  is  cured  or  dies.  Property  is  re- 
stored upon  order  of  the  senate  or  in  the  case  of  a  peasant,  when 
he  has  been  two  years  without  a  relapse.  Release  from  the  hos- 
pital is  obtained  upon  cure  or  at  the  demand  of  parents  or  re- 
sponsible friends. 

Criminal  lunatics  must  be  confined  in  asylums  of  the  prison. 
They  are  examined  by  the  medical  inspector  or  assistant  and  two 
physicians  in  the  district  court  while  the  judges  are  in  session. 

Most  of  the  treatment  in  hospitals  for  the  insane  is  free,  as 
is  made  necessary  by  the  fact  that  80  per  cent,  are  needy  peas- 
ants, 15  per  cent,  bourgeois  and  only  5  per  cent.  rich. 

Cripples  receive  no  special  attention  and  their  numbers  have 
never  been  estimated.  There  are  said  to  be  great  numbers  of 
them  among  the  beggars,  some  of  them  the  victims  of  accidental 
injuries,  others  purposely  mutilated  in  order  to  excite  pity.  The 
cripple  children  of  the  poor  are  sometimes  given  to  beggars  to 
be  brought  up  in  what  seems  for  him  the  most  profitable  pro- 
fession. The  Foundlings'  Hospital  of  Moscow,  which  gives  pen- 
sions to  its  cripples,  finds  that  they  often  become  beggars  in 
order  to  add  to  their  incomes. 

K.  The  Council  of  Guardians,  formed  to  extend  the  work 
of  the  cabinet  which  administers  the  "Institutions  of  the  Empress 
Marie,"  has  under  the  Minister  of  the  Interior  the  most  extended 
oversight  of  the  "work  of  protecting  and  educating  poor  chil- 
dren." The  state  does  not  assume  to  stand  in  loco  parentis  to 
dependent  children  nor  has  it  passed  any  general  legislation  in 
regard  to  them.  There  is  no  children's  court,  but  a  law  of  1897 
declares  that  children  under  ten  years  of  age  are  not  subject  to 
judicial  procedure.  If  arrested  the  judge  sends  them  home  to 
their  parents  or  places  them  with  responsible  people. 

The  real  social  care  of  the  child  begins  long  before  this.  The 
oldest  institutions  for  children  are  the  Great  Foundlings'  Hos- 
pitals of  St.  Petersburg  and  Moscow,  established  by  Catherine  II. 
In  1899  the  former  cared  for  33,366  children,  the  latter  for  39,033. 
The  Moscow  hospital  ir.  the  more  famous.  It  is  intended  for 
illegitimate  children,  but  a  few  others  are  admitted  if  the  mother 


RUSSIA  649 

is  dead  or  too  sick  to  care  for  the  child.  For  the  illegitimate, 
certificates  of  birth  are  required.  The  mother  is  asked  to  come 
in  and  nurse  her  child,  receiving  75^  rubles  a  month  if  she  does. 
Otherwise  well  children  are  kept  in  the  hospital  but  two  weeks  in 
summer,  three  in  winter  and  are  then  put  out  to  nurse  in  a  peas- 
ant's family  in  the  neighborhood.  The  weak  and  sick  are  also 
boarded  out  if  places  can  be  found  for  them,  but  many  remain 
permanently  in  the  hospital.  The  nursing  staff  in  1891  included 
60  superintendents,  150  nurses  and  950  wet  nurses.  The  latter 
were  apt  to  leave  at  the  time  of  festivals  and  then  the  mortality 
among  the  babies  sometimes  rose  as  high  as  60  per  cent.,  but 
recent  changes  are  said  to  have  removed  these  evils. 

The  children  placed  out  are  paid  for  at  the  rate  of  3  rubles 
per  month  for  a  year;  the  amount  is  then  gradually  lessened  until 
for  a  girl  of  from  10  to  15  years  and  a  boy  from  10  to  17,  only  I 
ruble  is  paid.  There  is  a  system  of  inspection  for  these  children 
and  Moscow  has  41  districts,  each  with  an  inspector,  usually  a 
physician  who  pays  at  least  six  visits  a  year  to  the  children.  The 
hospital  has  over  100  primary  schools  and  offers  prizes  to  the 
peasants  for  the  child  that  passes  the  best  examination. 

The  department  of  children's  asylums,  also  among  the  Institu- 
tions of  the  Empress  Marie,  has  for  its  primary  object  that  of 
feeding  and  caring  for  the  children  whose  parents  are  at  work 
all  day.  It  has  under  its  charge  146  infant  schools,  11  baby 
homes  and  a  children's  library  in  Moscow. 

Under  the  same  institutions  are  a  number  of  orphanages  in 
Moscow,  St.  Petersburg  and  Gatchina  for  girls  alone  and  for 
girls  and  boys.  There  is  also  a  home  for  half  orphans.  There 
are  of  course  schools  in  connection  with  these  asylums  and  con- 
siderable attention  is  apparently  given  to  health.  Open  air  ex- 
ercise is  required  and  a  system  of  medical  gymnastics  is  em- 
ployed in  at  least  one  place. 

Creches  are  a  common  form  of  aid  in  large  cities.  They  are 
supported  by  the  cities,  by  Zemstvos,  by  the  curators  of  indus- 
trial homes,  by  the  Red  Cross  and  by  other  private  associations. 
Day  nurseries  for  slightly  older  children  have  also  been  opened 
in  some  places. 

Elementary  charity  schools  which  usually  have  manual  train- 
ing in  some  form  are  supported  by  many  different  societies,  some 


650  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

of  which,  like  the  Elizabeth  Society,  aid  the  child  with  food  and 
clothing.  The  Zemstvos  in  their  endeavor  to  make  the  primary- 
schools  available  for  children  in  sparsely  settled  regions  have 
opened  night  shelters  and  lodging  houses. 

For  sick  children  there  is  the  medical  inspection  in  St.  Peters- 
burg schools,  the  Foundlings'  Hospitals,  the  general  hospitals 
and  one  or  two  devoted  especially  to  them.  Two  special  sana- 
toriums  and  a  ward  in  another  have  been  opened  for  the  use  of 
delicate  girls. 

L.  Children  between  lo  and  17  years  of  age  when  arrested 
are  adjudged  either  with  or  without  discernment.  If  the  latter 
they  are  sent  back  to  their  parents  or  to  responsible  people,  in 
extreme  cases,  to  a  correctional  home.  Those  with  discernment 
are  sentenced  either  to  a  correctional  home  or  to  prison. 

The  older  children  under  the  care  of  the  Foundlings'  Hos- 
pitals are  selected  for  higher  teaching.  In  1898  there  were  1,500 
in  Moscow  learning  trades.  The  girls  generally  remain  in  the 
country  and  learn  housework. 

Nearly  all  assistance  offered  to  youths  is  educational.  There 
were  596  societies  at  the  close  of  the  nineteenth  century  which 
aided  scholars,  usually  by  means  of  purses  or  prizes  and  there 
are  many  schools  for  special  classes  of  youths,  soldiers'  orphans 
and  those  of  members  of  the  civil  service  and  children  of  railway 
employes,  which  are  wholly  or  partly  free.  The  curators  of  in- 
dustrial homes  support  workshops  for  apprentices  which  are 
trade  schools  as  well  as  shops. 

M.  Preventive.  Educational  institutions  are  to  be  classed  as 
most  important  preventive  agencies  in  the  country  where  ignorance 
and  poverty  are  so  closely  connected.  So,  too,  are  the  ordinary 
schools.  Most  of  these  are  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Minister  of 
Instruction,  but  all  the  other  ministers  as  well  as  the  Holy  Synod 
have  also  organized  schools.  Those  of  the  Holy  Synod  are  peas- 
ant schools  and  aim  to  develop  good  citizens  and  orthodox 
Christians.  They  teach  religion,  reading  of  Church  Slavonic  and 
Russian,  writing  and  arithmetic.     They  number  some  40,000. 

There  are  84,544  public  schools,  out  of  which  number  40,131 
are  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Ministry  of  Public  Education, 
42,588  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Holy  Synod,  and  the 
remainder    under    other    departments.      Of    the    pupils,    73,167 


RUSSIA  651 

were  adults,  3,291,694  boys,  and  1,203,902  girls.  The  teachers 
number  72,000.  The  maintenance  of  all  these  schools  costs  more 
than  $25,000,000.  The  average  school  tax  for  city  schools  is  $9.50 
and  for  village  schools  $5  per  pupil. ^ 

The  Zemstvos  have  some  elementary  trade  schools  and  in 
nearly  all  of  the  schools  conducted  by  private  societies  manual 
training  is  taught.  Thus  the  school  for  the  children  of  railway 
employes  teaches  woodwork,  domestic  science,  nursing  and  the 
care  of  children.  The  schools  of  the  St.  Petersburg  Ladies'  Pa- 
triotic Society  give  instruction  in  sewing,  embroidery,  lace  mak- 
ing, porcelain  painting,  embossing  on  leather  and  other  semi- 
artistic  trades. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  illustrations  of  this  tendency 
to  make  the  schools  practical  in  the  true  sense  and  adapted  to 
the  needs  of  the  people  and  country  is  found  in  the  agricultural 
schools  of  all  grades  which  numbered  107  and  had  5,996  pupils 
in  1896.  In  1898  there  were  no  lower  schools.  The  instruc- 
tion covers  all  branches  of  agriculture,  horticulture,  sericulture, 
dairying,  etc.  School  gardens  have  also  been  introduced  to  a 
limited  extent  and  serve  for  considerable  elementary  instruction. 

Along  the  line  of  more  specific  preventive  work  we  find  some 
social  and  factory  legislation.  Marriage  with  an  imbecile  or  an 
insane  person  is  forbidden,  but  how  the  law  is  enforced  is  not 
stated  anywhere. 

Factory  acts  have  sprung  up  ready  made  and  compare  favor- 
ably with  those  of  countries  much  older  industrially.  Those  af- 
fecting child  labor  date  back  to  1882  and  1885.  No  child  under  12 
years  of  age  can  be  employed  in  factories  or  industrial  establish- 
ments. Between  12  and  15  they  can  be  employed  only  8  hours 
a  day,  exclusive  of  meals  and  only  four  hours  continuously. 
They  must  not  be  employed  in  any  dangerous  or  exhausting  oc- 
cupation. In  textile  factories  night  work  is  forbidden  to  youths 
between  15  and  17  and  to  women,  and  underground  work  is  for- 
bidden to  the  same  classes.  Any  child  who  has  no  certificate  of 
primary  studies  is  to  be  given  the  opportunity  to  attend  school 
18  hours  a  week.  For  railways,  steamboats  and  factories  there 
are  employer's  liability  acts  and  in  government  works  there  are 

*  Samuel  Smith,  Consul  at  Moscow;  Mon.  Con.  Rep.,  1904,  p.  847. 


652  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

relief  funds  formed  by  taking  2  to  3  per  cent,  of  wages  and  by 
owner's  contributions. 

The  industrial  regions  are  divided  into  districts,  each  of  which 
has  inspectors  and  a  labor  board.  There  are  laws  governing 
contracts  between  employers  and  employes,  which  aim  to  guard 
the  workmen  against  injustice  and  loss,  as,  e.  g.,  payments  must 
be  in  money  and  once  a  month  if  the  engagement  is  for  more 
than  that  time,  once  in  two  weeks  if  it  is  indefinite.  Medical 
aid  is  to  be  furnished  the  workman  and  he  may  Ijreak  his  con- 
tract if  the  work  affects  his  health.  The  employer  of  agricultural 
labor  is  likewise  bound  to  pay  in  money  to  provide  food  equal  to 
that  used  by  the  peasants  of  the  neighborhood  and  to  care  for 
the  sick  at  home  or  in  the  hospital. 

The  Peasants'  Banks,  established  in  1882,  have  done  good 
service  in  enabling  the  peasants  to  redeem  and  stock  their  land. 
The  original  rate  of  interest  proved  too  high  and  it  was  reduced 
in  1894  to  73/2-6j><  per  cent,  for  terms  of  from  13-15  years. 

There  also  exist  many  Mutual  Loan  and  Savings  Banks.  In 
1893  there  were  764  in  all;  662  of  these  had  211,400  members, 
capital  of  9,118,000  rubles,  and  borrowed  capital  of  12,343,000 
rubles,  and  made  loans  of  18,271,000  rubles. 

Rural  banks  loan  up  to  200  rubles  a  year  to  their  peasant 
founders  and  are  allowed  to  do  a  commission  business  for  them. 

Somewhat  similar  assistance  is  rendered  by  the  curators  of 
industrial  homes,  who  provide  funds  for  buying  cattle  and  tools. 
Another  very  necessary  and  characteristic  aid  is  fire  insurance. 
The  "red  cock"  crows  so  frequently  in  the  wooden,  straw- 
thatched  villages  that  special  legislation  has  become  necessary, 
prescribing  the  distance  between  houses  and  requiring  that  all 
peasants'  buildings  be  insured. 

The  Zemstvos  try  to  protect  the  peasants  in  another  way  by 
providing  public  granaries,  filled  by  levying  a  tax  in  grain  upon 
the  farmers.  Unfortunately  the  supply  is  never  sufficient  in 
times  of  widespread  want. 

Employment  bureaus  have  been  opened  by  the  curators  of 
industrial  homes,  by  the  Imperial  Society  of  Charity  and  by  a 
few  Zemstvos. 

The  industrial  homes  and  workshops  serve  to  a  limited  degree 
the  needs  of  discharged  prisoners,  but  only  in  a  few  localities. 


RUSSIA 


6S3 


Care  of  Discharged  Prisoners. — At  Moscow  there  is  a  society 
of  patronage  for  female  prisoners.  When  a  woman  is  arrested  the 
authorities  give  all  necessary  information  to  the  society.  The 
president  of  the  society  secures  the  cooperation  of  members  in 
her  behalf;  some  of  them  visit  her,  learn  from  her  whether  she 
will  accept  their  assistance,  the  kind  of  work  which  she  can  do, 
her  needs  in  respect  to  clothing,  passports,  etc.,  discover  whether 
she  has  a  family  at  home  in  need  of  their  help,  and  seek  to  per- 
suade her  to  behave  well  while  in  prison.  Before  the  day  for  dis- 
charge the  society  provides  a  place  for  her  to  work  or  a  temporary- 
asylum.  In  this  asylum  the  women  are  sheltered  and  maintained 
and  required  to  work.  If  the  discharged  prisoner  continues  to 
reside  in  Moscow  she  is  placed  under  the  care  of  a  friendly  visitor 
in  the  district  where  she  lives,  and  these  friendly  visitors  are 
organized  something  after  the  method  of  the  German  "Elberfeld" 
system,  and  they  give  such  advice  and  material  help  as  the  person 
requires.^ 

The  dwellings  of  the  poor  have  not  received  much  attention 
as  yet,  but  it  is  understood  that  the  general  sanitary  condition 
in  the  average  towns  is  bad.  As  we  have  seen,  sanitary  matters 
are  in  the  hands  of  special  departments  in  cities  and  Zemstvos. 
General  measures  looking  to  the  prevention  of  epidemics 
throughout  the  empire  are  the  care  of  the  State  Medical  Depart- 
ment. Local  outbreaks  are  looked  after  by  local  bodies.  The 
organization  in  St.  Petersburg  is  the  most  complete.  Its  com- 
mission has  a  plant  for  disinfecting  clothing,  etc.,  oversees  vac- 
cination, analyses  in  the  city  laboratory  milk,  water,  meat,  but- 
ter and  other  foods,  and  has  a  considerable  force  of  inspectors 
to  report  on  unhealthful  conditions. 

Probably  the  greatest  social  evil  in  Russia  next  to  the  habits 
of  begging  is  drunkenness  and  the  government  has  recognized 
this  by  taking  measures  to  suppress  it  somewhat  similar  to  those 
used  in  Sweden.  Beginning  in  1894,  a  system  of  government 
monopoly  of  the  sale  of  spirits  has  been  gradually  introduced 
into  the  provinces  of  European  Russia.  There  are  Guardians  of 
Temperance  organized  by  the  Minister  of  Finance  to  see  that  the 
sale  is  according  to  law,  to  educate  the  public  to  understand  the 
dangers  of  abuse  of  drinking,  to  open  asylums  for  drunkards,  to 

*Riv.  Ben.  Pubb.,  1902,  p.  841,  N.  Tabanelli. 


6S4  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

cooperate  with  temperance  societies  and  interested  individuals 
and  to  provide  amusements  for  the  people.  According  to  the 
lavv^  pure  spirits  rectified  by  the  government  are  sold  in  sealed 
bottles  having  labels  stating  the  price,  and  are  not  to  be  drunk  on 
the  premises.  Liquor  is  sold  for  half  a  day  on  Sundays  and  fes- 
tivals, not  at  all  on  Easter  Sunday  and  Christmas ;  on  other  days 
from  7  A.  M.  to  8  P.  M.  in  the  country,  from  7  A.  M.  to  10  P.  M. 
in  cities.  The  sales  are  never  on  credit  nor  to  children  or 
drunkards. 

Special  committees  on  temperance  are  authorized  by  the  Min- 
ister of  Finance.  That  of  St.  Petersburg  provides  popular  illus- 
trated lectures  on  history,  libraries,  restaurants,  children's  gar- 
dens, concert  halls,  theaters,  night-lodging  houses  and  hospitals. 
The  Minister  of  Finance  provides  in  the  Polytechnic  Institute 
for  Sunday  and  holiday  entertainments. 

The  Russian  government  estimates  that  the  total  revenue 
in  1904  from  the  liquor  trade  in  the  several  provinces  of  the 
Empire  where  the  business  is  monopolized  by  the  state  will  reach 
nearly  $385,500,000.^ 

Moscow  has  a  private  "Popular  Entertainment  Society"  which 
has  opened  parks  and  tea  houses  and  provides  amusements  such 
as  dancing,  theaters  and  both  band  and  orchestral  concerts  for 
a  small  price.  The  orchestra  which  plays  classic  Russian  music 
is  most  popular.  The  city  committee  has  opened  tea  houses  and 
has  a  people's  house  for  entertainment. 

In  1898  the  Guardians  had  45  committees  in  provinces  and  7 
in  cities,  1,713  restaurants  and  tea  houses,  747  lecture  halls  and 
libraries,  501  concert  halls  and  91  theaters.  In  1900  they  had  an 
income  of  750,000  rubles  and  23,600  cooperating  members.  Their 
funds  come  from  the  state,  from  gifts  and  from  the  entertain- 
ments. The  provincial  committees  consist  of  the  governor,  the 
bishop,  representatives  of  the  clergy,  the  marshal  of  nobility,  the 
procurator  of  the  district,  the  director  of  schools,  chief  of  police, 
medical  director,  president  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce,  the 
Peasants'  Bank  and  the  Zemstvos — a  typical  Russian  committee. 

When  the  system  was  first  introduced  there  seemed  to  be  an 
increase  of  street  drinking  and  disorder,  but  greater  vigilance  on 
the  part  of  the  police  and  above  all  a  multiplication  of  diversions 

^Consular  Reports,  April,  1904,  p.  308. 


RUSSIA 


6S5 


is  doing  away  with  this  and  the  general  verdict  is  favorable  to 
the  system.  It  is  one  of  the  hopeful  social  experiments  of  the 
country. 

Savings  Banks. — Reports  on  the  business  of  government  sav- 
ings banks,  April  i,  1903,  show:  Total  number  of  banks,  with 
departments,  6,288;  of  these,  4,087  are  at  post  and  telegraph 
offices.  The  amount  of  savings,  $412,524,785;  amount  of  notes, 
$75,462,950.1 

*  Consular  Reports..  April,  1904,  p.  308. 


PART  IV 

CHAPTER  XIII 

THE  JEWS 
SECTION  I.— EUROPEAN 

BY   RABBI    MORRIS    M.    FEUERLICHT 

In  many  quarters  the  belief  is  current  that  there  are  no  Jewish 
poor.  "Rich  as  a  Jew"  has  become  a  by-word  of  whose  truth 
the  popular  mind  is  convinced.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  however, 
recent  statistics  show  that  many  Jews  are  among-  the  poorest 
men  on  earth.  Scattered  throughout  every  part  of  the  globe  there 
are-  a  little  over  ten  million  Jews.  Half  of  these  live  in  Russia 
alone ;  and  it  has  been  calculated  that  the  total  wealth  of  the 
Russian  Jew  is  only  five  dollars  per  head.  W'ith  the  exception 
of  a  few  countries  like  England  and  America,  where  a  more  toler- 
ant spirit  has  allowed  a  few  families  to  acquire  wealth,  the  eco- 
nomic status  of  the.  Jew  in  Russia  is  fairly  typical  of  his  status 
elsewhere.  This  poverty  of  the  Jew  is  due  in  large  measure  to 
causes  quite  dififerent  from  the  general  causes  to  which  the  pov- 
erty in  the  world  around  him  is  attributed.  The  Jew  is  of  course 
subject  to  the  same  laws  of  economic  fluctuation  as  all  other  men 
are;  but  in  his  case,  these  natural  laws  are  made  heavier  by 
the  artificial  decrees  of  a  hostile  environment.  Crime,  inebriety, 
and  other  flagrant  moral  deficiencies  of  the  individual  are  not 
to  be  reckoned  with  as  conspicuous  factors  in  the  Jew's  impov- 
erishment, because  under  normal  conditions  these  are  everywhere 
conceded  to  be  rare.  It  is  the  burden,  rather,  of  continued  per- 
secution, religious,  political,  and  economic,  which,  certainly  more 
than  any  other  external  cause,  has  dragged  fully  75  per  cent, 
of  the  world's  ten  million  Jews  into  the  depths  of  the  direst  pov- 
erty and  economic  misery. 

656 


THE  JEWS  6S7 

To  attack  this  tremendous  problem  of  poverty,  which  is  by 
no  means  of  recent  origin,  the  Jews  throughout  the  world,  and 
especially  the  Jews  of  Europe,  who  number  over  three-fifths  of 
the  world's  Jewish  population,  have  for  many  centuries  had  an 
extensive  and  well-developed  system  of  charity.  The  Old  Testa- 
ment, the  Talmud,  and  the  Shulchan  Aruch  formed  the  basis  of 
this  charity.  The  Shulchan  Aruch,  a  mediaeval  compendium 
of  the  legislation  of  the  Bible  and  Talmud,  contains  an  elaborate 
code  of  charity  called  "Hilchoth  Zedeqah"  in  according  with 
whose  spirit  and  principle  Jewish  charity  is  largely  administered. 
The  underlying  principle  emphasized  in  this  code  is  that  ex- 
pressed in  the  Biblical  passage :  "Blessed  is  he  that  considereth 
the  poor."  (Psalm  41  :i.)  The  rabbis  took  this  passage  and 
made  it  one  of  the  bases  of  a  system  of  charity  whose  main  pur- 
pose was  to  help  the  poor  to  help  themselves ;  and  Maimonides, 
the  great  Jewish  philosopher  of  the  twelfth  century,  amplified 
it  into  eight  forms  or  grades,  which  have  characterized  the  ad- 
ministration of  Jewish  charity  of  all  lands  and  all  times.  These 
eight  grades  of  charity  he  gives  as  follows : 

1.  Charity  that  aids  the  poor  in  supporting  themselves  by  ad- 
vancing money  or  by  helping  them  to  some  lucrative  occupation. 

2.  Charity  that  is  administered  under  conditions  in  which  the 
beneficiary  is  unknown  to  the  benefactor  and  vice  versa. 

3.  Charity  that  is  administered  in  secret;  if  almsgiving,  by 
leaving  the  money  at  the  houses  of  the  poor  who  remain  ignorant 
of  the  benefactor.  This  is  especially  enjoined  whenever  public 
charity  is  not  properly  administered, 

4.  Charity  that  is  given  without  knowing  the  recipient,  and 
the  giver  remains  unknown  to  the  recipient. 

5.  Charity  that  is  given  before  being  asked  to  give  it. 

6.  Charity  given  after  being  asked  to  give  it. 

7.  Charity  given  inadequately,  but  with  good  grace. 

8.  Charity  given  with  bad  grace. 

While  these  grades  refer  more  directly  to  almsgiving,  their 
spirit  is  characteristic  of  Jewish  charity  in  all  its  phases  and 
serves  to  establish  its  ethical  value.  Its  sanction,  as  has  al- 
ready been  noted,  is  found  in  the  fundamental  meaning  of  Zeda- 
qah  as  justice.  The  Talmud  expressly  enjoins  that  the  poor  of 
the  non-Jew  be  treated  like  the  poor  of  the  Jew.     "The  poor  of 

42 


658  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

the  stranger,"  it  says  (Gittin  Gla),  "are  to  be  supported  with  the 
poor  of  Israel :  the  sick  of  the  stranger  are  to  be  nursed  with  the 
sick  of  Israel ;  the  dead  of  the  stranger  are  to  be  buried  with  the 
dead  of  Israel;  and  the  mourners  of  the  stranger  are  to  be  com- 
forted like  the  mourners  of  Israel,  on  account  of  the  ways  of 
peace."  The  catholicity  of  Jewish  charity  is  accentuated  by  its 
chivalrous  refinement.  A  woman's  claim  has  precedence  over 
that  of  a  man ;  and  a  student  of  the  law  over  an  ignorant  man, 
even  though  he  be  of  the  highest  rank.  (Horayoth  III,  7-8) 
(Kethuboth  6,  7).  Perhaps  the  best  illustration  of  the  ethical 
spirit  of  Jewish  charity  is  afforded  by  a  method  which  has  been 
in  vogue  for  almost  two  centuries  in  Berlin.  Here,  there  is  a 
society  called  "Mishan  Abelim"  ("Support  of  Mourners"),  whose 
purpose  is  to  aid  needy  families  when  bereaved  by  death  of  one 
of  its  members.  Each  member  of  the  society,  rich  and  poor  alike, 
is  given  two  locked  and  marked  boxes.  One  of  the  boxes  con- 
tains money,  whose  amount,  as  will  be  seen,  is  unknown  to  any- 
one. Every  recipient  of  this  box  is  given  a  key  in  a  sealed  pack- 
age, and  with  it  a  note  requesting  that  the  box  be  opened  by 
all  means  whether  the  contents  be  used  or  not.  According  to 
his  need,  he  may  keep  the  whole  or  part  of  the  contents.  If  he 
feels  he  does  not  need  it,  he  is  asked  to  turn  the  money  into  the 
second  box.  In  any  case  he  is  asked  to  add  of  his  own  means 
to  the  contents  of  the  second  box,  in  order  that  the  purpose  of 
the  society  may  be  accomplished.  This  second  box,  in  the  course 
of  its  distribution  through  various  families,  remains  unopened 
for  an  indefinite  period,  so  that  no  one,  not  even  the  society's 
agent,  can  know  who  has  given  or  who  has  received  charity. 

The  ethical  level  attained  by  the  Berlin  society  marks  the 
lofty  standard  attained  by  Jewish  charity  throughout  the  world. 
The  attainment  of  such  a  standard  has  been  rendered  possible  by 
the  intimacy  and  domestic  idealism  of  Jewish  social  life,  which 
found  its  center  in  the  synagogue.  The  synagogue  has  been 
for  the  Jew  for  many  centuries,  and  to  the  great  majority  of  Jews 
to-day  still  is,  the  center,  not  only  of  religious,  but  of  social  and 
philanthropic  activity  as  well.  Hence,  wherever  the  Jew  may 
be  located,  if  the  place,  however  isolated  or  desolate,  numbers 
only  ten  male  adults,  which  is  the  traditional  number  necessary 
to  form  a  synagogue  or  hold  a  religious  service — he  boasts  of  an 


THE  JEWS  659 

organized  chanty  based  on  the  loftiest  ethical  principles.  So  it 
happens  that  in  the  remotest  parts  of  the  earth,  in  Cochin  State 
on  the  Malabar  Coast,  for  instance,  the  Jews,  numbering  about 
2,000,  a  large  number  of  whom  are  known  as  black  Jews,  have 
ten  synagogues,  with  all  of  which  some  form  of  educational  or 
charitable  organization  is  associated.  Most  of  these  synagogues 
were  organized  and  built  from  the  fourteenth  to  the  seventeenth 
centuries.  The  synagogue  of  Paroor  in  Travancore,  dates  from 
the  year  750;  and  the  synagogue  of  Kadvoobagam  in  Cochin,  was 
built  in  1 1 50.  It  supports  the  poor,  and  belongs,  as  does  also  the 
synagogue  of  Paroor,  to  a  community  of  black  Jews,  descended 
from  settlers  who  are  said  to  have  come  to  this  territory  after  the 
destruction  of  the  Second  Temple  in  70  A.  D.  But  these  syna- 
gogues with  their  organized  charities  can  be  traced  all  over  Eu- 
rope as  early  as  the  thirteenth  century.  The  purpose  of  these  so- 
cieties was  to  support  and  clothe  the  poor,  educate  the  children 
of  the  poor,  nurse  and  educate  orphans,  provide  marriage  dowries 
for  poor  maidens,  visit  the  sick  and  lying-in  women  among  the 
poor,  provide  shelter  for  the  aged,  provide  free  burials,  and  in 
days  of  persecution,  to  ransom  captives  and  prisoners.  Each  so- 
ciety pledged  itself  to  such  comprehensive  philanthropy ;  though 
in  more  recent  times,  the  work  has  been  divided  among  various 
societies  devoted  to  special  purposes.  Many  of  these  societies, 
known  in  general  as  friendly  and  benefit  societies,  while  formally 
separated  from  the  synagogue,  are  still  more  or  less  connected, 
with  it. 

Manchester,  England,  afifords  a  fairly  ideal  type  of  modern 
synagogal  charity.  Its  Jewish  congregation  has  a  Sustentation 
Fund  whose  objects  are:  the  assistance  in  an  efficient  manner  of 
members  of  the  congregation,  or  of  the  widows  and  orphans,  if 
reduced  in  position  through  misfortune;  and  the  granting  of  a 
yearly  allowance  to  enable  members  of  small  means  to  ap- 
prentice their  children  to  a  profession,  business,  or  trade.  The 
work  of  lodges  or  fraternal  organizations,  inaugurated  during 
the  latter  half  of  the  nineteenth  century  and  covering  the  more 
advanced  countries  of  the  world  where  Jews  are  located,  is  car- 
ried on  entirely  distinct  from  the  synagogue.  Of  the  friendly 
and  benefit  societies,  however,  with  purposes  mentioned  above, 
there  are  no  less  than  170  in  London  alone,  which  numbers  104,- 


66o  MODERN  .AlETHODS  OF  CHARITY 

ooo  Jews  in  its  population.  In  the  provinces  there  are  96  socie- 
ties, making  a  total  of  266  societies  in  a  population  of  179,000  in 
the  British  Isles.  Australasia,  with  17,000  Jews,  has  27  societies. 
Canada,  numbering  16,000,  has  18.  South  Africa,  numbering 
30,000,  has  26.  India,  with  22,000,  has  5.  In  India,  Turkey  and 
elsewhere  in  the  Orient,  a  large  part  of  the  philanthropic  activity- 
is  in  the  hands  of  international  organizations  like  the  Alliance 
Israelite  and  the  Jewish  Colonization  Association.  In  Russia, 
with  its  5,000,000  Jews,  the  charitable  work  in  general  is  done  by 
the  synagogue  and  by  international  organizations.  In  Germany, 
the  public  charity  is  administered  by  the  synagogue.^ 

Until  the  middle  of  the  last  century,  most  of  these  societies 
did  their  work  independently  of  one  another.  In  1859  the  Eng- 
lish Board  of  Guardians  for  the  Relief  of  Jewish  Poor  was  organ- 
ized in  London ;  and  while  there  are  quite  a  number  of  organi- 
zations existing  apart  from  this  board,  most  of  the  public  char- 
ity in  London  is  administered  through  its  agency.  Its  work  is 
divided  among  sixteen  subsidiary  committees:  Loan  Committee, 
Committee  for  the  Conducting  of  Workrooms,  Investigation 
Committee,  Visiting  Committee,  Emigration  Committee,  Indus- 
trial Committee,  Fixed  Allowance  Committee,  Temporary  Allow- 
ance Committee,  Conjoint  Committee  for  Consideration  of  Leg- 
islative and  Parochial  Questions  concerning  Jewish  Poor,  Russo- 

^  Charities  Register  and  Digest  of  London  (1895)  has  in  the  Index  the  follow- 
ing titles,  alluding  to  Jewish  philanthropic  institutions.  The  enumeration  of  these 
various  institutions  will  enable  one  to  obtain  an  approximate  idea  of  the  extent  of 
Jewish  philanthropy  in  London  alone:  Jewish  Aged  Pension  Society;  Jewish 
almshouses  (there  are  several  asylums  for  aged  in  London)  ;  Society  for  Appren- 
ticing Jewish  Children ;  Anglo-Jewish  Association  (to  protect  Jewish  civil  and 
political  rights,  to  promote  Jewish  education)  ;  Jewish  Asylum  for  Aged  Trades- 
men ;  Jewish  Blind  Pension  Institution  ;  Jewish  Board  of  Guardians  (object,  relief  of 
Jewish  poor — pecuniary,  in  kind,  medical,  by  assistance  to  emigrate,  to  apprentice, 
and  loan  of  tools,  etc.)  ;  Jewish  Bread,  Meat,  and  Coal  Charity  (object,  to  distribute 
these  things  during  the  winter  season)  ;  Jewish  Charities  (object,  the  distribution  of 
marriage  gifts  or  dowries)  ;  City  of  London  Jewish  Benevolent  Society  (for  assist- 
ing Jewish  widows  in  distress)  ;  Jewish  Confined,  Mourning  and  Burial  Society; 
Jewish  Convalescent  Homes  (there  are  two  such  homes  in  London)  ;  East  London 
Jewish  Benevolent  Society  (relief  confined  to  persons  living  within  a  radius  of  i  J^ 
miles  of  Stepney  Green)  ;  Jewish  Excelsior  Relief  Fund  ;  Jewish  Food  Charity 
(object,  to  provide  Jewish  strangers  with  meals  on  Sabbaths  and  holy  days)  ;  Jewish 
Freemasons'    Daughters    (to    maintain,    clothe    and   educate    daughters    of    Free- 


THE  JEWS  66l 

Jewish  Committee,  Sanitary  Committee,  Ladies'  Conjoint  Visit- 
ing Committee,  Clothing  Committee,  Almshouse  Committee,  Dis- 
trict Canvassing  Committee.  The  Board  of  Guardians  in  Lon- 
don is  a  model  for  similar  organizations  in  twenty-three  cities 
and  towns  in  the  provinces,  Germany  has  a  similar  organization 
in  Berlin,  whose  Armen-Commission  der  Juedischen  Gemeinde 
is  directly  associated  with  the  Union  of  Jewish  congregations. 
Its  administration  is  in  the  hands  of  three  committees:  (i)  to 
afford  financial  relief;  (2)  to  give  work  and  mazzoth,  or  unleav- 
ened bread,  on  Passover;  (3)  to  give  food.  France  also  has  a' 
central  organization  in  its  Comite  de  Bienfaisance  de  la  Ville  de 
Paris.  It  consists  of  thirty-six  members,  divided  into  sub-com- 
mittees to  whose  supervision  the  various  communal  charities  are 
entrusted.  This  organization  grants  necessary  assistance  to 
worthy  poor  families ;  gives  tools  and  machines,  or  the  means 
to  purchase  them  ;  grants  money  to  purchase  goods  ;  makes  loans  ; 
provides  medical  relief;  conducts  an  employment  bureau,  and  two 
large  soup-kitchens.  Rome,  ever  since  the  seventeenth  century, 
has  four  central  organizations  comprising  thirty  societies  devoted 
to  almost  every  phase  of  philanthropic  activity.  Gibraltar  has 
four  societies  devoted  to  specific  charities,  but  regulated  along 
with  other  affairs  of  the  Jews  of  Gibraltar,  by  the  Managing 
Board  of  the  Hebrew  community. 

masons)  ;  Jewish  Girls*  Club ;  Jewish  Girls' Lodging  Home  (object,  care  of  unpro- 
tected, respectable  working  girls)  ;  Jewish  Incurables'  Home  (for  those  suffering 
from  chronic  disease,  accident  or  deformity)  ;  Jewish  Ladies'  Benevolent  Institu- 
tion (provides  clothing  and  other  necessaries  for  lying-in  married  women)  ;  Jewish 
Ladies'  Loan  Societies  (granting  to  poor  loans  without  interest)  ;  Jewish  Ladies' 
Association  for  Preventive  Work  (to  reclaim  the  fallen  Jewish  girls  and  women)  ; 
Jewish  Marriage  Gift ;  Jewish  Marriage  Portion  Society  (marriage  portion  is  £40, 
bestowed  biennially,  and  wedding  fees  are  defrayed)  ;  Jewish  Maternity  Institu- 
tion (see  Jewish  Ladies'  Benevolent  Institution)  ;  Jewish  Society  on  Circumcision 
(object,  provision  of  a  godfather  and  an  operator  on  occasion  of  circumcision)  ;  Jew- 
ish High  School  for  Girls,  and  Day  Training  College  for  Teachers  (open  to  all 
denominations)  ;  Jewish  Free  School  ;  Jewish  Infant  School ;  other  Jewish  schools, 
where  religious  education  and  partial  clothing  are  provided  ;  Jewish  Charities  of 
the  United  Synagogue  (engaged  in  various  phases  of  charitable  endeavor)  ;  Jewish 
Tailors'  Benefit  Soc. ;  Jewish  Training  College ;  Jewish  Deaf  and  Dumb  Home  (to 
educate  for  industrial  employment  indigent  deaf  and  dumb  children)  ;  Jewish  Emi- 
gration Society ;  Jewish  Orphan  Asylum  ;  Jewish  Tradesmen's  Benevolent  Society 
(to  assist  deserving  poor  of  all  denominations  during  inclement  season  of  the  year). 


662  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

Jewish  indoor  relief  is  administered  generally  through  par- 
ticular societies  connected  with  the  particular  needs  of  various 
institutions.  In  many  cases,  homes  for  the  aged,  orphanages, 
hospitals,  schools  and  other  institutions  have  been  endowed  by 
private  beneficence  and  are  maintained  and  managed  by  these 
societies.  The  names  of  Montefiore  in  England,  France,  Aus- 
tria, and  Palestine,  of  the  Sassoons  in  the  Orient,  of  Baron  Gins- 
berg in  Russia,  of  Baron  and  Baroness  de  Hirsch  throughout 
Europe  and  the  world,  are  especially  conspicuous  in  this  regard. 
But  there  are  many  others  of  lesser  wealth  in  the  various  Jewish 
communities  scattered  throughout  the  world  whose  philanthropy 
has  established  institutions  which  their  brethren  of  smaller  means 
have  organized  themselves  to  maintain. 

Perhaps  Germany  leads  all  other  countries  in  the  number 
of  Homes  for  the  Aged.  In  a  Jewish  population  of  less  than 
600,000,  it  has  twenty-three  institutions  for  the  protection  of 
destitute  old  men  and  women.  Three  of  these  are  in  Breslau, 
and  two  in  Berlin.  France,  with  a  Jewish  population  of  86,000, 
has  a  home  for  the  aged  in  connection  with  the  Jewish  Hospital 
in  Paris,  and  three  homes  in  Bordeaux,  Nancy,  and  Luneville. 
England  has  seven  homes  in  London,  known  as  almshouses,  and 
founded  by  private  individuals,  the  earliest  in  1730;  and  one  in 
Manchester,  supported  by  voluntary  contributions  and  donations. 
Though  the  London  homes  are  called  almshouses,  they  are  not 
to  be  understood  as  possessing  in  any  way  the  disagreeable  fea- 
tures ordinarily  attributed  to  that  term,  particularly  in  the  United 
States.  Nowhere  in  Jewish  charity  are  the  homes  for  the  aged 
burdened  with  such  a  stigma.  On  the  contrary,  they  are  in 
general  the  favored  recipients  of  public  and  private  philanthropy, 
which  makes  them  inviting  rather  than  repellent ;  and  no  Jew, 
however  self-respecting  or  proud,  ever  feels  humiliated  or  stig- 
matized by  entering  them.  This  is  readily  explained  by  the 
high  regard  that  characterize  grandparents  and  old  men  and 
women  generally  in  Jewish  domestic  life.  Moreover,  from,  few, 
if  any,  sources  has  the  complaint  arisen  that  such  generous  treat- 
ment of  Jewish  homes  for  the  aged  has  resulted  in  encouraging 
pauperism. 

London  has,  besides  its  almshouses,  an  Aged  Needy  Society, 
founded  in  1829,  whose  object  is  the  pensioning  of  indigent  mem- 


THE  JEWS  663 

bers  of  the  Jewish  community  who  shall  have  attained  the  age 
of  sixty  years,  by  making  them  a  permanent  allowance  of  five 
shillings  weekly.  Liverpool  and  Manchester  have  similar  organ- 
izations. In  London  there  are  two  societies  for  the  granting 
of  pensions  to  widows.  The  earlier  of  these  was  founded  in 
1867  and  grants  a  pension  of  five  shillings  a  week,  for  a  term 
of  thirteen  weeks,  and  one  pound  at  the  expiration  of  that  time. 
The  West  Indies  has  a  home  in  Jamaica,  at  Kingston.  Gibraltar 
and  Sidney,  New  South  Wales,  also  have  homes  for  the  aged. 
Temporary  homes  and  shelters  for  destitute  adults  are  coexistent 
with  Jewish  communities  everywhere.  If  the  community  is  too 
small  to  maintain  a  separate  inn,  or  Hachnosas  Orchim,  for  the 
reception  of  poor  strangers,  some  particular  family  is  selected  to 
afford  the  lodging  and  meals,  and  the  expense  incurred  is  after- 
wards repaid  by  the  community.  But  this  method  of  dealing 
with  transients  has  always  been  unsatisfactory  in  the  history 
of  Jewish  charity  because  of  the  peculiar  type  of  itinerant  beggar 
it  has  produced.  Because  of  the  ease  with  which  a  stranger  re- 
ceives free  accommodation,  shelter  and  even  money  to  proceed 
farther  on  his  journey,  many  a  man  has  travelled  around  the 
world  in  comparative  luxury,  and  without  the  slightest  return 
in  labor  or  money  on  his  part.  Indeed  he  considers  himself  the 
benefactor  rather  than  the  beneficiary  by  the  assistance  rendered, 
because,  according  to  the  Jewish  conception  of  charity  which 
makes  it  the  duty  of  every  Jew  to  give,  and  the  right  of  every 
poor  man  to  receive  charity,  he  feels  that  he  has  been  responsible 
for  his  fellow  Jew's  performance  of  duty.  He  does  not  consider 
himself  a  beggar,  therefore,  but  a  necessary  agent  in  the  fulfill- 
ment of  the  law  of  charity.  Europe  and  indeed  the  whole  Jew- 
ish world  outside  of  the  United  States  has  still  a  serious  problem 
in  its  itinerant  beggars.  Germany,  more  than  any  other  Eu- 
ropean country,  appears  to  be  active  in  suppressing  the  evil 
through  its  Societies  for  the  Prevention  of  Itinerant  and  House- 
to-House  Begging.  There  are  yj  of  these  societies  located  in  the 
various  cities  and  towns  of  Germany.  But  perhaps  no  method 
has  been  more  successful  in  combating  the  evil  than  that  adopted 
by  the  National  Conference  of  Jewish  Charities  in  the  United 
States,  at  Chicago  in  1900,  and  since  reported  upon  favorably  for 


564  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

adoption  by  the  National  Conference  of  Charities  and  Correc- 
tion in  its  treatment  of  the  same  problem. 

The  larger  cities  of  Europe,  particularly  London,  have  an- 
other serious  problem  to  contend  with  in  the  immigration  of 
persecuted  Jews  from  the  continental  countries  of  Europe.  So- 
cieties for  taking  care  of  these  refugees,  and  for  sending  them 
to  their  destination,  or  finding  employment  for  them  at  the  place 
of  landing,  have  therefore  been  established.  ]\Iany  of  these  so- 
cieties are  composed  of  recent  immigrants  who  have  organized 
themselves  for  the  purpose  of  assisting  those  who  come  from 
their  own  particular  section  of  their  native  land.  London  has  a 
Location  and  Information  Bureau,  conducted  by  the  Russo- 
Jewish  Committee  in  conjunction  with  the  Jewish  Board  of 
Guardians,  to  afford  organized  means  whereby  Russo-Jewish 
refugees  in  London  can  obtain  aid  and  information  as  to 
how  and  where  to  get  work  and  where  to  reside.  There  is  also 
a  Poor  Jews'  Temporary  Shelter,  which  was  founded  in  1885  to 
prevent  poor  immigrants  from  falling  into  the  hands  of  unscrupu- 
lous countrymen  on  landing.  The  latter,  it  was  discovered,  often 
took  advantage  of  the  newly-arrived  immigrants  by  conducting 
them  to  lodgings  where  they  were  robbed  of  their  effects;  while 
young  women  were  often  decoyed  into  houses  of  ill-fame.  The 
Poor  Jews'  Temporary  Shelter  was  founded  in  order  to  obviate 
this  evil.  The  immigrant  on  landing  is  met  by  accredited  officials 
and  conducted  to  the  Shelter,  which  is  notified  by  the  Board  of 
Trade  and  the  Dock  and  Police  officers  of  the  Thames  of  the 
arrival  of  every  immigrant  ship.  On  arriving  at  the  shelter,  the 
immigrant  is  allowed  to  remain  for  a  period  not  exceeding  four- 
teen days,  at  the  end  of  which  time,  he  proceeds  to  his  destination 
abroad  (the  United  States,  Canada,  South  Africa,  or  Australia) 
or  finds  employment  in  England.  The  numl)er  of  inmates  in 
1902  was  2,350,  of  whom  1,334  immediately  emigrated  to  different 
parts  of  the  world,  and  1,016  left  for  destinations  unknown.  Li 
the  same  year,  1885,  the  Jewish  Association  for  the  Protection 
of  Girls  and  Women  was  founded  to  care  for  female  immigrants. 
London,  Liverpool,  Birmingham  and  Manchester  have  naturali- 
zation societies,  also  general  culture  and  English  classes  for  Jew- 
ish immigrants. 

Relief  in   kind  has   prevailed   in   Jewish   charity   ever  since 


THE  JEWS  66s 

Talmudic  times.  In  modern  times  it  is  handled  by  special  funds 
and  societies.  London  has  no  less  than  six  of  the  latter,  besides 
numerous  Ladies'  Guilds  connected  with  the  various  synagogues, 
to  provide  clothing,  shoes,  coal,  bread,  meat,  groceries,  medicines, 
and  other  necessities.  In  general,  the  relief  is  obtained  through 
the  distribution  of  tickets.  In  this  connection,  it  may  be  men- 
tioned that  on  religious  holidays  and  occasions  of  domestic  joy, 
especially  anniversaries,  weddings,  and  births,  it  has  been  a  long 
and  widely  practiced  custom  for  well-to-do  Jews  and  even  those 
of  moderate  means  to  send  gifts  in  the  shape  of  goods  or  fuel  to 
the  houses  of  the  poor.  Soup  kitchens,  first  established  in  Eu- 
rope in  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century,  were  established 
among  Jews  in  the  early  days  of  the  Christian  era  in  the  form 
of  the  Tamchui,  already  referred  to  in  the  early  part  of  this 
chapter.  To-day,  the  Tamchui,  though  conducted  perhaps  more 
methodically,  still  exists  in  the  numerous  soup  kitchens  estab- 
lished in  the  larger  cities.  London  has  a  large  soup  kitchen 
conducted  by  the  Jewish  Board  of  Guardians.  Paris  has  two 
large  soup  kitchens  conducted  by  the  Comite  de  Bienfaisance. 
There  is  also  in  London  a  Society  for  Providing  Strangers 
with  Meals  on  Sabbaths  and  holidays.  Similar  societies  exist 
in  numerous  small  communities  throughout  Europe,  though 
the  duty  of  temporarily  boarding  strangers  on  Sabbaths  and 
holidays  is  more  generally  undertaken  by  well-to-do  private 
individuals. 

jMedical  relief  is  carried  on  through  hospitals  founded  by  pri- 
vate generosity  or  by  societies  organized  for  the  purpose.  Most 
of  the  hospitals  have  dispensaries  and  afford  outdoor  medical 
relief.  London  has  two  hospitals,  one  in  connection  with  the 
Spanish  and  Portuguese  Jews'  congregation,  founded  in  1747; 
and  the  other  founded  in  1795,  but  first  opened  in  1807;  it  has 
also  a  provident  dispensary,  whose  object  is  to  render  medical 
assistance,  on  a  provident  basis,  to  the  foreign  Jews  of  White- 
chapel.  The  number  of  attendances  at  the  latter  in  1902  was 
4,330;  and  the  number  of  doctor's  visits  to  the  homes  during  the 
same  period  was  2,069.  Besides  the  above,  London  has  two 
Convalescent  Homes,  one  founded  by  the  Baroness  de  Hirsch, 
and  the  other  by  public  subscription  in  memory  of  Judith  Lady 
Montefiore,     The  objects  as  stated  by  the  latter  are  to  provide  a 


666  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

home  for  poor  Jewish  patients  recovering  from  illness,  and  to 
train  Jewish  domestic  servants.  There  are  also  a  home  and  hos- 
pitals for  Jewish  incurables,  established  in  1889. 

Manchester  established  a  Jewish  hospital  in  1903.  France 
has  a  general  hospital  in  Paris,  founded  by  a  member  of  the 
Rothschild  family ;  and  connected  with  it  is  a  home  for  incurables, 
paralytics,  and  idiots.  Germany  has  over  thirty  hospitals.  Very 
recently,  in  Austria,  a  hospital  for  the  poor  who  are  compelled 
to  spend  some  time  at  Carlsbad  was  founded  with  accommoda- 
tions for  700  patients.  Lemberg  has  also  opened  a  hospital  dur- 
ing the  past  year.  Calcutta,  India,  has  a  Jewish  hospital  called 
the  Ezra  Hospital,  founded  by  Mrs.  E.  D.  Ezra.  It  is  managed 
by  the  government,  and  is  open  to  all  castes  and  creeds.  Other 
hospitals  are  located  at  Aden,  in  Arabia,  at  Salonica,  Jaffa,  Jeru- 
salem, Smyrna,  Tunis,  Constantinople  and  Florence.  The  nurs- 
ing of  invalids  is  attended  to  by  three  organizations  in  London. 
Presburg  in  Austria-Hungary  has  recently  established  a  Nurses' 
Training  Association.  Maternity  cases  are  cared  for  either  in 
special  hospitals  or  by  attendants  in  the  home  provided  by  vari- 
ous societies  organized  for  the  purpose.  In  London  there  are 
four  societies  organized  for  the  purpose  of  affording  clothing  and 
monetary  relief,  and  relief  in  general.  Paris  has  a  maternity  hos- 
pital. Hospitals  for  consumptives  are  not  numerous.  One  is 
located  in  Paris ;  while  in  other  places,  Jewish  consumptives  are 
cared  for  in  the  public  sanatoria  and  hospitals,  but  are  generally 
under  the  supervision  of  some  Jewish  philanthropic  organization. 
This  occurs  likewise  in  general  hospitals.  London,  for  example, 
has  special  wards  for  Jewish  patients  in  some  of  its  general  hos- 
pitals, and  maintained  by  Jewish  funds.  The  religious  and 
dietary  wants  of  these  patients  are  attended  to  by  certain  socie- 
ties formed  for  the  purpose. 

Defectives  are  in  most  countries  placed  in  the  care  of  public 
institutions,  because  of  the  comparative  absence  of  such  insti- 
tutions under  Jewish  auspices.  The  Jewish  Hospital  in  Paris, 
mentioned  above,  is  connected  with  a  home  for  incurables,  para- 
lytics and  idiots.  London  has  a  Jewish  home  for  the  indigent 
blind,  founded  in  1819;  and  Vienna  has  a  Jewish  Blind  Institute. 
Homes  for  Jewish  deaf  and  dumb  are  established  in  London,  in 
Berlin,  Tauberbischoffsheim,  and  Budapest.     In  Berlin  there  is 


THE  JEWS  667 

a  Society  for  the  Advancement  of  Israelitish  Deafmutes  in  Ger- 
many. 

The  care  of  children  has  always  occupied  the  most  prominent 
place  in  the  history  of  Jewish  philanthropic  activity.  Whatever 
the  condition  of  the  child, — whether  dependent,  defective,  or  de- 
linquent,— education,  and  not  mere  attendance  upon  his  physical 
needs,  was  the  prime  consideration.  Emphasis  was  especially 
laid  upon  the  necessity  of  teaching  him  some  trade  as  a  means  of 
averting  moral  delinquency.  This  was  based  upon  the  Talmudic 
maxim:  "He  who  does  not  teach  his  boy  a  trade  teaches  him 
to  steal."  That  this  was  more  than  a  mere  homiletic  maxim  is 
shown  by  the  treatment  of  the  Jewish  child  in  the  middle  ages 
and  by  the  various  institutions  and  organizations  for  the  care 
of  the  child  to-day.  The  care  of  dependent  children  is  mainly 
institutional.  The  adoption  by  relatives  or  friends  is  observed 
with  religious  sacredness  in  a  great  many  Jewish  communities 
throughout  the  world.  This  is  indeed  the  first  step  taken  in 
the  care  of  the  Jewish  orphan,  and  only  where  it  fails  is  the  child 
placed  in  an  orphan's  home.  The  method  of  boarding  out,  or 
placing  in  care  of  others  than  relatives  or  friends,  has  always  been 
more  or  less  unpopular  in  Jewish  communities ;  and  from  avail- 
able data,  the  system  appears  to  be  unsuccessful  to-day.  In  gen- 
eral, the  institutional  care  of  children  has  created  little  ground 
for  objection  beyond  the  minor  details  of  form  and  procedure  that 
characterize  the  management  of  large  institutions  elsewhere. 
Most  of  the  orphans'  homes  outside  of  the  United  States  have  too 
few  inmates  to  allow  the  criticisms  ordinarily  passed  on  the  sys- 
tem of  institutionalism.  Elementary  and  industrial  education 
are  almost  everywhere  afforded  within  the  homes,  though  in 
many  cases  boys  are  apprenticed  outside.  The  Jews'  Hospital 
and  Orphans'  Asylum  of  West  Norwood,  London,  was  opened  in 
1807,  and  until  1850,  the  boys  were  taught  trades  within  the 
home.  Since  that  time  the  boys  on  finishing  their  education  in 
the  home  are  apprenticed  to  independent  masters  outside.  The 
funds  of  the  institution  are  augmented  by  small  weekly  subscrip- 
tions paid  by  an  auxiliary  society.  The  Spanish  and  Portuguese 
Jewish  congregation  of  London  had  an  orphan  society  founded  in 
1703,  whose  object  is  the  education  and  clothing,  maintaining 
and  apprenticing  of  the  orphan  boys  of  the  congregation.     Simi- 


568  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

lar  organizations  are  common  elsewhere.  Germany  has  forty- 
one  institutions  of  various  kinds  in  the  interests  of  children.  Ten 
of  these  are  located  in  Berlin.  France  has  an  orphanage  in 
Paris,  founded  by  one  of  the  Rothschilds  in  1855,  that  educates 
100  children  of  both  sexes.  A  home  for  orphans  in  Switzerland 
was  opened  in  1903.  Two  homes  for  the  support  of  abandoned 
children  are  maintained,  one,  the  Refuge  de  Plessis  Piquet,  where 
boys  between  6  and  14  are  given  an  elementary  education  and 
taught  a  trade,  and  the  other,  Refuge  de  Neuilly,  for  girls.  Flor- 
ence, Italy,  has  two  orphans'  homes,  one  established  by  a  local 
society  in  1836,  and  the  other  by  private  philanthropy  in  1890. 
Melbourne,  Australia,  has  a  Jewish  Orphans'  and  Neglected  Chil- 
dren's Aid  Society. 

Societies  and  institutions  for  the  partial  care  of  children  are 
established  in  several  cities  of  England  and  the  continent.  Lon- 
don has  a  Jewish  Creche  established  in  1897;  its  fees  are  2d.  per 
day.  The  total  attendance  in  1901  was  5,070.  Nurses  for  invalid 
children  are  supplied  by  the  London  Board  of  Guardians.  Berck- 
sur-Mer  in  France  has  a  special  institution  founded  by  private 
beneficence,  for  receiving  feeble  and  scrofulous  children  under 
15.  Schools  for  the  free  tuition  of  poor  children  are  numerous. 
The  needs  of  schools  attended  by  poor  Jewish  children  are  pro- 
vided for  by  special  societies.  In  1883,  a  society  was  founded  in 
London  to  provide  penny  dinners  at  schools  and  elsewhere.  The 
number  of  dinners  given  in  1901  amounted  to  47,118.  Clothing 
and  shoes  are  also  provided  by  The  Ladies'  Clothing  Associa- 
tion and  the  Jewish  Schools'  Boot  Fund.  In  1901,  the  latter 
society  distributed  2,000  pairs  of  shoes.  Liverpool  has  a  He- 
brew School  Children's  Soup  Fund,  founded  in  1870,  which  pro- 
vides 367  children  with  hot  dinners  daily  during  the  winter.  It 
has  also  two  societies  for  making  and  distributing  clothes.  The 
Society  for  Clothing  Necessitous  Boys  of  the  Hebrew  Schools 
was  founded  in  1867;  and  makes  regular  attendance  at  school  and 
cleanliness  and  tidiness  in  appearance  its  conditions  of  relief. 
London  and  Manchester  have  children's  country  holiday  funds 
to  provide  means  whereby  poor  children  may  be  enabled  to  spend 
some  time  away  from  the  congestion  and  squalor  of  the  city. 
The  London  society,  founded  in  1889,  sent  1,711  children  to  the 
country  in  1901.     Recently  a  Seaside  Home  was  presented  by  a 


THE  JEWS  669 

member  of  the  London  community  for  the  accommodation  of 
the  children  in  the  London  Orphans'  Home.  The  Manchester 
Society  has  a  Children's  Holiday  Home  at  Chinley  in  Derbyshire, 
founded  and  maintained  by  the  women  of  Manchester,  Delin- 
quent children  are  generally  placed  under  the  care  of  public  insti- 
tutions. This  feature  of  Jewish  charity  is  at  present  receiving- 
serious  attention  in  many  of  the  larger  cities  of  Europe.  An  in- 
dustrial school  for  Jewish  boys  was  founded  in  1901  at  Hayes, 
Middlesex,  England,  in  response  to  the  need  created  by  the  petty 
offences  of  Jewish  boys  in  certain  quarters  of  London.  Its  spon- 
sor is  the  United  Synagogue  of  London,  which  appoints  a  Com- 
mittee of  Managers.  The  number  of  inmates  in  1902  was  47. 
Frankfort  has  a  society  in  the  interests  of  Feeble  or  Mor- 
ally Lnperilled  Jewish  Children.  ("Stift  fur  Gebrechliche  oder 
Verwahrloste  Israelitische  Kinder.")  Preventive  agencies  and 
organizations  for  the  physical,  mental,  and  moral  development 
of  youth  are  numerous,  particularly  in  the  larger  cities  of  Europe. 
There  are  no  less  than  twenty  literary,  choral,  dramatic,  athletic, 
and  recreational  clubs  for  young  people  of  the  working  classes  in 
London  alone,  while  almost  every  provincial  city  has  one  or  more 
societies  of  a  similar  character.  These  societies  are  mainly 
guided  and  conducted  by  prominent  members  of  the  Jewish  com- 
munity, who  seek  by  personal  contact  and  social  intercourse  to 
elevate  and  refine  the  lives  of  the  younger  working  classes.  The 
West  Central  Jewish  Girls'  Club  and  Institute  of  London  is  typ- 
ical. Its  objects  are:  (i)  to  provide  evening  continuation  classes 
for  working  girls  living  in  the  West  Central  District ;  (2)  to  pro- 
vide amusement  with  a  view  to  discourage  girls  from  harmful 
amusements;  (3)  to  encourage  social  intercourse  between  women 
of  different  education  and  varied  occupation.  Its  administration 
is  in  the  hands  of  a  General  Committee  consisting  of  three  offi- 
cers of  the  society,  9  workers  and  8  members. 

A  home  for  friendless  Jewish  working  girls  was  established 
in  1901.  It  has  accomodations  for  twenty-four  residents;  and 
the  charge  for  board  and  lodging  is  8s.  per  week.  There  is  also 
a  large  dining  hall  to  supply  dinners  to  working  girls  at  5d.  per 
head.     A  domestic  training  home  was  founded  in  1894. 

A  most  interesting  and — from  the  modern  philanthropic  view- 
point— novel  feature  of  Jewish  charity  is  its  provision  of  marriage 


670  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

dowries  for  poor  and  orphaned  girls.  For  many  centuries,  this 
feature  of  Jewish  charity  has  been  a  favorite  recipient  of  private 
and  organized  philanthropy.  London  alone  has  six  agencies  for 
the  purpose  of  assisting  young  men  and  women  in  providing  mar- 
riage dowries.  One  of  these  was  founded  in  1724.  Another, 
known  as  the  "Marriage  Portion  Society  for  Assisting  Young 
Men  and  Virtuous  Girls  of  the  Jewish  Faith,"  was  founded  in 
1850,  and  is  supported  by  voluntary  subscriptions.  The  amount 
of  the  dowry  is  £25,  besides  £1  is.  marriage  fee,  and  an  allow- 
ance not  exceeding  2s.  6d.  to  offer  in  the  synagogue  on  the  Sab- 
bath prior  to  the  marriage.  The  ages  of  the  candidates  are  18 
to  35  years.  In  1903,  a  ftmd  known  as  the  Barnato  Marriage 
Fund,  was  created  by  private  generosity  and  left  to  the  manage- 
ment of  the  Jewish  Board  of  Guardians.  The  occasion  of  the 
creation  of  the  fund  is  typical  of  similar  funds  elsewhere.  The 
amount  of  $25,000  was  donated  by  a  private  individual  in  honor 
of  the  marriage  of  an  only  daughter.  Every  year  on  the  anni- 
versary of  the  wedding,  the  income  is  to  be  distributed  among 
poor  girls  to  provide  a  dowry. 

The  Jewish  Lads'  Brigade  of  London  was  started  in  1895  to 
promote  the  physical  development  of  the  humbler  classes  of 
Jewish  boys.  It  is  organized  along  military  lines  with  a  staff  com- 
posed of  some  of  the  leading  members  of  the  Jewish  community. 
A  seaside  encampment  to  which  about  600  boys  are  taken  is  held 
annually.  Eight  similar  organizations  are  established  in  the 
provinces ;  one  in  Canada,  at  Montreal ;  and  two  in  South  Africa, 
at  Johannesburg  and  Port  Elizabeth. 

The  education  and  elevation  of  the  laboring  classes  is  con- 
ducted through  educational  institutes,  reading  rooms,  libraries, 
and  dramatic,  debating,  literary,  and  general  culture  clubs. 
Bombay,  India,  has  two  Chautauqua  classes  adapted  to  the  Jew- 
ish Chautauqua  System  of  America.  In  many  of  these  men  and 
women  are  admitted  alike.  Manchester,  England,  has  a  Jewish 
Workingmen's  Club,  consisting  of  886  members,  of  whom  412 
are  ladies.  The  Newcastle-on-Tyne  Club  has  250  members,  of 
whom  130  arc  ladies.  Liverpool  has  an  Educational  Institute 
whose  object  is  to  provide  an  English  education  for  foreign  co- 
religionists. 

For  the  cultivation  of  trades  and  handicrafts  there  are  socie- 


THE  JEWS  671 

ties  and  clubs  in  over  fifty  cities  of  Germany.  Workingmen's 
homes,  benefit,  loan  and  building  societies  are  numerous.  Lon- 
don has  a  Home  for  Workingmen,  containing  100  beds  and  is 
self-supporting.  London  has  at  least  six  laborers'  societies  with 
sick,  death,  and  general  insurance  benefits.  Besides  the  loan  so- 
cieties in  London  organized  among  workingmen  themselves, 
there  are  no  less  than  seven  lay  societies  to  grant  loans  without 
interest  to  laboring  and  trades  people.  Dispersion  movements 
in  the  congested  Jewish  quarters  of  large  cities  are  significant. 
Model  tenement  agitation  was  inaugurated  in  London  in  1885, 
by  the  Four  Per  Cent.  Industrial  Dwellings  Company.  Its  object, 
as  stated  by  the  constitution,  is  to  provide  the  industrial  classes 
with  healthy  and  commodious  dwellings — maximum  accommoda- 
tion at  minimum  rent,  compatible  with  yielding  a  net  4  per 
cent,  per  annum  dividend  upon  the  investment  of  the  paid-up 
capital  of  the  company.  The  buildings  of  the  company  afiforded 
accommodation  for  about  4,600  inhabitants ;  while  new  build- 
ings are  in  course  of  erection.  In  1903,  another  impetus  to  the 
dispersion  movement  was  given  by  the  donation  of  £  10,000  by 
Sir  Samuel  Montagu  to  the  Housing  of  the  Working  Classes 
Committee  of  the  London  County  Council.  Twenty-five  acres 
of  land  are  to  be  utilized  in  a  suburb  of  London  for  the  residence 
of  poor  families  now  living  in  the  crowded  quarters,  without  dis- 
tinction of  race  or  creed.  Preference  is  given  to  those  of  three 
years'  residence  in  the  congested  district.  The  sanitation  and 
cleanliness  of  poor  dwellings  is  conducted  by  many  societies  of 
ladies  organized  for  the  purpose  of  rendering  personal  service 
in  the  homes  of  the  poor.  The  Manchester,  England,  society 
is  called  the  Ladies'  Visiting  Association,  and  has  for  its  object 
the  popularization  of  sanitary  knowledge  along  with  the  inculca- 
tion of  habits  of  cleanliness  and  order. 

The  two  foremost  organizations  in  the  Jewish  world  of  philan- 
thropy to-day  are  the  Jewish  Colonization  Association  and  the 
Alliance  Israelite  Universelle.  They  are  international  in  scope, 
the  field  of  their  operations  covering  almost  every  land  in  which 
Jews  are  located.  The  Jewish  Colonization  Association  was 
founded  by  Baron  de  Hirsch  in  1891.  Its  objects  may  be  sum- 
marized as  follows:  (i)  To  promote  and  assist  the  emigration 
of  Jews  from  those  countries  of  Europe  and  Asia  where  they 


672  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

may  for  the  time  being  be  subjected  to  any  special  taxes,  or  po- 
litical or  other  disabilities,  to  other  parts  of  the  world,  and  to  form 
and  establish  colonies  for  agricultural,  commercial,  and  other 
purposes ;  (2)  to  accept  gifts,  donations,  and  bequests  of  money 
and  other  property  on  the  terms  of  the  same  being  applied  for 
all  or  some  one  or  more  of  the  purposes  of  the  company,  or  on 
such  other  terms  as  may  be  consistent  with  the  objects  of  the 
company. 

For  these  purposes  a  company  was  formed  in  1891  with 
registered  offices  in  London.  Its  capital  was  £2,000,000  divided 
into  20,000  shares  of  £  100  each.  Of  these,  19,992  were  allotted 
to  Baron  de  Hirsch,  who  transferred  them  to  six  different  organ- 
izations of  religious  and  philanthropic  character.  In  1896,  on  the 
death  of  Baron  de  Hirsch,  additional  property  was  bequeathed 
by  the  latter  giving  the  Jewish  Colonization  Association  a  total 
fund  of  something  more  than  £8,000,000.  The  offices  of  the 
company  are  in  Paris,  where  a  Council  of  Administration  consist- 
ing of  eleven  members,  three  directors,  and  a  secretary,  have 
the  control  of  its  operations.  It  is  impossible  here  to  give  even 
a  brief  resume  of  the  work  of  the  association  because  of  its  vari- 
ety and  scope.  Its  last  annual  report,  issued  by  the  Conseil 
d'Administration  in  July,  1903,  occupies  a  space  of  132  pages. 
The  merest  suggestion  of  its  activities  therefore  must  suffice. 
The  main  work  of  the  association  so  far  has  been  the  coloniza- 
tion of  Russian,  Roumanian,  and  Galician  Jews  in  the  Argentine 
Republic,  Brazil,  Canada,  Palestine,  Cyprus,  and  the  United 
States.  Some  idea  of  the  extent  of  its  colonizing  operations  may 
be  gained  from  the  number  of  acres  owned  by  the  association 
in  Argentine.  In  1902,  the  nvmiber  was  over  one  million  and  a 
half  acres,  of  which  over  150,000  were  being  cvdtivated  by  1,380 
families.  The  average  cost  of  colonizing  a  single  family  is,  ac- 
cording to  the  address  of  the  president  of  the  association  at  the 
last  annual  meeting,  from  8,000  to  10,000  francs.  The  form  of 
government  in  the  colonies  is  adapted  to  that  of  the  country  in 
which  they  are  located,  though  in  some  colonies,  a  system  of 
tutelage  prevails  under  the  regime  of  an  administrator  appointed 
by  the  association.  The  Woodbine  Colony  in  New  Jersey, 
founded  by  the  association,  was  incorporated  as  an  independent 
municipality  in   1903.       Elementary  and  industrial  schools  are 


THE  JEWS  673 

generally  established.  The  inspection  of  the  various  colonies 
is  carried  on  from  time  to  time  and  the  reports  are  sent  on  to 
the  Council  of  Administration  which  publishes  them  annually. 
Besides  colonization  in  outside  countries,  the  association  has 
established,  particularly  in  Russia,  farm  colonies,  elementary, 
agricultural,  and  industrial  schools.  Considerable  attention  in- 
deed is  paid  to  the  amelioration  and  development  of  the  perse- 
cuted Jews  in  the  lands  they  inhabit.  Elementary,  agricultural, 
and  industrial  schools  are  maintained ;  conditions  for  various 
forms  of  work  otherwise  prohibited  by  the  government  are  cre- 
ated; loan  funds,  mutual  savings  banks,  and  cooperative  work- 
shops are  started ;  model  sanitary  dwellings  erected ;  removal  bu- 
reaus for  the  placing  and  dispersion  of  immigrants  are  established 
in  several  of  the  larger  cities  of  Europe  and  America ;  and  finan- 
cial assistance  to  a  large  number  of  educational  and  philanthropic 
organizations  is  rendered. 

The  varied  activity  of  the  Jewish  Colonization  Association 
is  reenforced  by  that  of  the  Alliance  Israelite  Universelle.  This 
organization  was  founded  by  six  Jews  of  Paris  in  i860  with  the 
following  objects:  (i)  To  work  everywhere  for  the  emancipa- 
tion and  moral  progress  of  the  Jews;  (2)  to  give  effectual  sup- 
port to  those  who  are  suffering  persecution  because  they  are 
Jews ;  (3)  to  encourage  all  publications  calculated  to  promote 
these  ends.  Although  its  objects  are  confined  to  poor  and  per- 
secuted Jews,  the  Alliance  has  frequently  exerted  its  good  offices 
in  behalf  of  the  poor  and  persecuted  of  other  faiths.  Shortly 
after  the  Alliance  was  founded,  it  appointed  a  provisional  com- 
mittee and  opened  a  subscription  in  behalf  of  the  Christians  of 
Lebanon  suffering  as  a  result  of  famine  and  persecution  by  the 
Druses,  and  its  contribution  formed  no  small  part  of  the  general 
fund.  The  elementary  and  trade  schools  of  the  Alliance  are 
largely  attended  by  Mohammedans  and  Christians  of  various 
denominations. 

The  activity  of  the  Alliance  is  more  extensive  even  than  that 
of  the  Jewish  Colonization  Association.  As  with  the  latter, 
therefore,  it  is  impossible  here  to  do  more  than  merely  hint  at 
the  general  work  of  the  organization.  Its  last  annual  report, 
published  in  April,  1903,  covers  over  200  pages  of  actual  work 
accomplished.     The  Alliance  establishes  and  maintains  primary 

43      • 


574  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

and  normal  schools  for  males  and  females ;  industrial  schools, 
where  trades,  supplemented  by  agricultural  training,  are  taught ; 
apprentices  the  graduates ;  establishes  and  maintains  professional 
schools,  dispensaries,  and  hospitals  in  Jerusalem  and  wherever 
else  these  are  most  needed ;  aids  victims  of  expulsion ;  organizes 
bureaus  of  relief;  and  assists  in  establishing  farm  colonies.  The 
main  activity  of  the  Alliance,  however,  is  spent  in  education, 
while  colonization  and  similar  work  is  left  to  the  Jewish  Coloniza- 
tion Association.  The  schools  of  the  Alliance  are  chiefly  of  three 
kinds:  primary  schools,  trades  schools,  and  agricultural  schools. 
Of  these,  in  1903,  there  were  108,  74  for  boys  and  34  for  girls, 
attended  by  over  30,000  children.  The  schools  are  located  in 
Russia,  Roumania,  Bulgaria,  Turkey  in  Europe,  Turkey  in  Asia, 
Syria,  Palestine,  Persia,  Morocco,  Tunis,  Algeria,  and  Eg}'pt. 
With  the  exception  of  one  school  in  Constantinople,  and  another 
in  Bulgaria,  all  instruction  in  the  Alliance  schools  is  given  in 
French  because  of  the  prevalence  of  this  language  in  the  Orient. 
While  instruction  in  other  European  languages  is  given,  the  na- 
tional language  of  the  country  is  always  given  first  consideration. 
Almost  all  the  schools  being  located  in  territories  where  the 
population  is  extremely  congested,  and  where  the  ventilation  of 
homes,  and  sanitation  generally,  is  poor,  the  Alliance  has  directed 
special  attention  to  the  improvement  of  these  conditions. 
Through  the  generosity  of  Baron  and  Baroness  de  Hirsch,  who 
contributed  largely  for  the  establishing  of  the  schools,  the  poor 
children  are  served  with  a  warm  meal  daily  at  noon.  The  total 
expense  of  supplying  the  food  alone  is  50,000  francs  a  year.  By 
the  will  of  Baroness  de  Hirsch,  the  perpetuation  of  this  part  of 
the  Alliance's  work  is  provided  for.  The  instructors  of  the  vari- 
ous schools  are  educated  in  normal  institutes  founded  and  main- 
tained by  the  Alliance  in  Paris.  Many  of  these  teachers  are 
drawn  directly  from  the  schools  of  the  Alliance  whose  most 
promising  pupils  are  sent  to  the  normal  schools  in  Paris  to  com- 
plete their  studies.  The  establishing  and  development  of  trades 
schools  is  an  important  part  of  the  Central  Committee's  work. 
The  simple  and  overcrowded  trades,  like  those  of  tailor,  shoe- 
maker, hair-dresser,  and  so  forth,  are  not  taught.  Only  those 
trades  which  require  the  expenditure  of  physical  energy,  develop 
the  body  and  improve  the  general  health  of  the  pupil, — trades 


THE  JEWS  67s 

like  blacksmithing,  carpentry,  masonry,  machine-work,  and  so 
on, — are  favored.  The  apprentices  are  selected  from  the  highest 
graduates  of  the  school  and  are  placed  with  outside  employers. 
They  receive  a  monthly  allowance  of  from  four  to  eight  francs 
from  the  Alliance ;  and  a  portion  of  this  allowance  is  withheld 
for  several  years,  when  the  accumulated  amount  is  returned  to 
the  apprentice  to  enable  him  to  purchase  the  apparatus  necessary 
for  his  work.  The  trades  taught  the  girls  are  limited  in  number 
to  about  six,  owing  to  the  wretched  industrial  conditions  in  the 
Orient.  These  trades  are  seamstress,  needle-woman,  em- 
broiderer, laundress,  dressmaker  and  draper.  The  system  of 
apprenticing  girls  to  outside  employers  being  obviously  impos- 
sible in  the  Orient,  the  Alliance  has  established  workshops  in 
connection  with  the  schools  where  it  is  possible  for  them  to  earn 
a  livelihood,  or  assist  in  contributing  to  their  future  household 
expenses.  The  Alliance  has  laid  special  emphasis  upon  the  edu- 
cation of  girls.  Its  policy  has  been  to  lift  them  from  the  low  posi- 
tion occupied  by  women  in  the  Orient  by  affording  them  edu- 
cational and  other  privileges  equal  to  those  of  men.  One  impor- 
tant result  of  this  policy,  even  in  the  short  period  of  the  schools' 
activity,  has  been  the  almost  complete  disappearance  among  Jews 
of  the  common  Oriental  practice  of  early  marriages.  The  agri- 
cultural schools  of  the  Alliance  began  their  extensive  existence 
in  1870  with  the  founding  of  the  school  at  Jaffa,  in  Palestine. 
The  cultivation  chiefly  of  olives,  oranges,  grapes  and  fruit  is 
carried  on ;  also  fruit  culture,  kitchen  gardening,  cattle  raising, 
and  silk-worm  cultivation.  The  school  at  Jaffa  has  at  present 
over  200  resident  pupils,  and  is  one  of  the  important  sources 
whence  the  other  schools  and  colonies  of  the  Alliance  draw  their 
instructors  and  managers.  The  total  expenditure  of  the  Alliance 
on  all  its  schools  in  1903  was  over  1,280,000  francs. 

The  executive  management  of  the  Alliance  is  in  the  hands  of 
a  Central  Committee  limited  in  number  to  sixty  members,  about 
half  of  whom  reside  in  Paris,  and  the  rest  in  different  countries 
of  Europe  and  America.  These  are  elected  by  a  majority  vote 
of  the  members  of  the  Alliance  for  a  period  of  nine  years.  Three 
retire  every  three  years.  The  membership  fee,  from  which  the 
Alliance  derives  its  main  income,  is  6  francs.  Donations  and  be- 
quests, however,  are  frequent.     It  receives  a  subvention  likewise 


576  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

from  the  Jewish  Colonization  Association.  The  active  work  of 
the  Central  Committee  is  done  by  the  members  resident  in  Paris. 
The  non-resident  members  receive  monthly  notice  of  questions  to 
be  discussed;  while  at  the  more  important  meetings,  they  are 
either  present  in  person  or  send  in  their  written  opinions  to  the 
committee.  A  general  meeting  of  the  Central  Committee  is 
held  at  least  once  a  year.  The  committee  keeps  in  touch 
with  its  members  through  local  or  territorial  committees  who 
form  the  propagating  and  executive  agents  of  the  association 
everywhere.  The  Alliance  publishes,  besides  its  annual  re- 
port, monthly  bulletins  containing  generally  an  account  of 
work  accomplished  in  that  period.  The  representatives  of 
the  Alliance  are  officially  recognized  by  most,  if  not  all  of 
the  governments  within  whose  territory  they  are  located. 
The  work  of  the  Alliance  is  aided  by  smaller  organizations  of  a 
similar  character  established  in  several  countries  of  Europe. 
These  organizations  are  the  Anglo-Jewish  Association  in  Eng- 
land (established  in  1871),  the  Hilfsverein  der  Deutschen  Juden 
in  Germany  (1901),  and  the  "Israelitische  Allianz  zu  Wien" 
(1873).  While  concerned  chiefly  with  conditions  in  their  respec- 
tive countries,  they  are  all  more  or  less  connected  with  the  Al- 
liance Israeite  Universelle  and  with  the  Jewish  Colonization 
Association,  and  their  assistance  to  the  latter  takes  the  form 
chiefly  in  granting  subventions  to  their  schools  and  in  handling 
the  persecuted  immigrants  from  Russia,  Roumania,  and  Galicia. 

References  :  I.  Abrahams,  Jewish  Life  in  the  Middle  Ages  ;  M.  Lazarus,  Ethik 
des  Judenthums ;  Jewish  Encyclopedia,  Vol.  I,  Article,  Alliance  Israelite  Univer- 
selle, Vol.  Ill,  Art.  on  Charity,  by  K.  Kohler  and  L.  K.  Frankel ;  English  Jewish 
Year-Book,  1902-1903;  statistics,  reports,  and  statutes  of  various  organizations 
referred  to. 

It  is  gratefully  acknowledged  that  Dr.  Lee  K.  Frankel  of  New  York  and  Mr, 
Jacob  Billikopf  have  given  valuable  assistance  on  several  points  in  the  articles  on 
Jewish  charities,  but  they  are  not  responsible  for  any  possible  errors. — Editor. 


SECTION  2.— AMERICAN 

BY   RABBI    A.    HIRSCHBERG 

The  Jew  has  always  had  a  fair  name  for  thoughtfulness  and 
kindness  to  the  poor  and  unfortunate  of  his  own  people.     His 


THE  JEWS  (i'j'j 

love  and  affection  for  the  needy,  his  quiet,  gentle  method  of  alle- 
viating suffering  and  uplifting  the  fallen  have  been  a  cause  of 
admiration  by  the  world.  From  biblical  times  to  the  present 
day  he  has  felt  it  not  only  a  privilege  but  also  a  solemn  duty'  to 
still  every  cry  and  answer  every  plea  for  help.  Never  has  there 
been  an  importunate  knock  at  his  door  which  has  gone  unheeded, 
because,  for  him,  charity  has  been  one  of  the  pillars  upon  which 
the  world  rests.^ 

It  is  not  surprising,  therefore,  to  find  in  every  Jewish  com- 
munity in  this  country  and  Canada,  various  institutions  and 
agencies,  especially  designed  to  meet  the  pressing  wants  of  the 
unfortunate,  destitute,  sick  or  worthy  poor.  The  work  which  is 
now  done  by  these  charitable  organizations  was  formerly  consid- 
ered to  be  the  duty  of  each  individual.  In  the  Bible,  every  chari- 
table act  worthy  of  being  done  is  called  "tsedakah,"  a  term 
whose  literal  meaning  is  righteousness.^  In  later  days  a  dis- 
tinction was  made  between  the  charity  which  implied  a  gift  of 
money,  food  or  property  and  that  which  involved  a  gift  of  one's 
own  self.  "Tsedakah"  was  therefore  given  the  distinct  mean- 
ing of  "alms"  bestowed  upon  the  poor  and  it  became  a  duty 
chiefly  incumbent  upon  the  wealthy.*  The  term  "gemilluth- 
chesed"  was  then  introduced  to  denote  all  those  personal  acts 
of  kindness  which  ought  to  be  practiced  by  poor  and  rich  alike.^ 

^  The  Books  of  Exodus,  Deuteronomy,  Isaiah,  Psalms,  Proverbs  and  Job  abound 
in  beautiful  passages  which  emphasize  the  sacred  obligations  of  charity.  Cf.  Deut. 
xv.io:  "Thou  shalt  surely  open  thine  hand  unto  thy  brother,  to  thy  poor  and  to 
thy  needy  in  thy  land."     See  also  Prov.  iii.27,  28 ;  Job.  xxix.12-16,  etc. 

^Pirke  Aboth,  i,  2  (Sayings  of  the  Fathers):  "There  are  three  things  upon 
which  the  world  rests,  the  study  of  the  law,  divine  service  and  charity." 

*  It  may  therefore  be  inferred  that,  for  the  Jew  of  those  times,  charity  was  an 
act  of  righteousness  incumbent  on  every  one. 

*  In  the  sense  of  "tsedakah,"  charity,  according  to  rabbinical  literature,  in- 
cludes such  branches  of  philanthropic  work  as  (a)  alms-giving  to  the  poor  for  the 
purpose  of  alleviating  temporary  suffering ;  (fe)  providing  food  for  the  hungry, 
drink  for  the  thirsty  and  clothing  for  the  naked ;  (c)  sheltering  the  aged  and 
infirm,  the  widow  and  the  orphan  ;  (rf)  giving  aid  to  the  stranger;  (^)  assuring  the 
religious  and  secular  education  of  the  children  of  the  poor ;  (/)  teaching  the  needy 
a  trade  and  assisting  them  to  obtain  a  livelihood  ;  {g)  helping  those  who  have  gone 
astray  to  regain  their  self-respect  and  return  to  the  path  of  industry  and  honor ; 
(/O  providing  poor  maidens  with  wedding  dowries. 

^  Under  "gemilluth-chesed"  are  included  such  acts  as  (a)  visiting  the  sick  and 


578  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

With  such  a  broad  and  noble  meaning,  charity  became  a  sacred 
virtue  gracing  every  Jewish  home  and  heart. 

With  the  growth  of  population,  however,  and  the  increased 
complexity  of  the  social  life,  the  demands  for  assistance  became 
so  great  and  varied  that  individuals  found  they  could  no  longer 
cope  successfully  with  the  difficulties.  Communal  organizations 
were  thereupon  formed  to  meet  the  demands  of  the  situation.^ 
Each  century  witnessed  the  formation  of  new  societies  and  insti- 
tutions for  the  care  of  all  worthy  subjects  of  charity.  To  such 
an  extent  did  this  movement  develop  that,  in  the  thirteenth  cent- 
ury A.  D.,  no  Jewish  community  could  be  found  in  all  Europe 
which  did  not  have  some  philanthropic  association  or  institu- 
tion.^ 

Since  then  the  growth  of  Jewish  charity  societies  has  been  a 
steady  and  progressive  one.  In  this  country,  the  first  institution 
to  open  its  doors  was  the  Jewish  Orphan  Asylum  of  New  York, 
founded  by  Mr.  Jacob  S.  Solis  in  the  year  1829.  Thirty  years 
later  the  first  Hebrew  benevolent  society  was  established.  Now, 
there  are  over  590  philanthropic  organizations,  the  fundamental 
purpose  of  which  is  the  care  and  assistance  of  the  needy  poor.^ 

cheering  the  suffering;  (b)  burying  the  dead;  (c)  comforting  the  mourners;  (d) 
promoting  peace  and  good-will  among  men  ;  (e)  judging  charitably  the  words  and 
deeds  of  our  fellows  ;  (/)  raising  the  moral,  spiritual  and  social  condition  of  the 
lowly  by  personal  service  and  encouraging  sympathy.  Cf.  M.  Friedlander,  "The 
Jewish  Religion,"  pages  302-303. 

^  About  the  third  century  B.  C,  Simon  the  Just  propounded  the  principle  that 
charity,  in  all  its  phases,  should  be  a  matter  of  public  concern  and  administration. 
It  seems  that  it  was  in  accord  with  this  maxim  that,  in  the  first  century  of  the 
Christian  era,  according  to  historical  data,  a  body  of  men  was  appointed  by  the 
community  to  take  entire  charge  of  its  relief  work.  See  Josephus,  "Antiquities," 
chapter  20,  25.  We  also  know  that  in  the  second  century.  Rabbi  Akiba  held  the 
position  of  charity  overseer.      (Tal.  Kid.,  28,  a.) 

*  Each  community  had  a  charity-box  in  which  were  deposited  funds  for  the 
support  of  indigent  townsmen  and  transients :  there  was  also  a  charity-bowl,  in 
which  were  kept  victuals  needed  for  immediate  use.  There  was  also  a  clothing 
and  a  burial  fund.  Some  communities  had  public  inns,  where  food  and  shelter 
were  given  to  poor  and  homeless  travelers.  These  communities  also  contributed 
to  the  support  of  the  non-Jewish  poor  and  they  were  actuated  by  the  loftiest  of 
motives  in  the  dispensation  of  their  charity. 

*  In  this  number  are  not  included  the  numerous  benevolent  organizations,  fuel 
societies,  invalid  aid  societies,  burial  associations,  sheltering  homes  and  benefit 
societies  which  have  been  organized  by  Russian,  Galician  and  Roumanian  Jews  for 


THE  JEWS  679 

There  are,  besides  these,  16  asylums  for  dependent  children,  12 
hospitals  for  the  sick,  i  national  hospital  for  consumptives  and 
13  homes  for  the  aged.^  All  these  institutions  are  conducted 
along  the  sanest  lines  of  modern  charity  administration.^ 

In  recent  years  the  various  charitable  organizations  have,  in 
a  few  large  cities,  been  combined  under  one  centralized  system. 
To  the  federation  is  assigned  the  duty  of  collecting  the  funds, 
and  of  apportioning  these  to  the  different  constituent  societies. 
The  affairs  of  each  society  are  administered  by  a  board  of  direc- 
tory, chosen  from  among  the  members.  The  object  of  the  federa- 
tion is :  (0)  to  bring  about  a  closer  and  more  intimate  union  be- 
tween the  various  beneficial  societies ;  (b)  to  eliminate  as  far  as 
possible  unnecessary  duplication  of  work  and  to  abolish  the  per- 
nicious system  of  collecting  funds  by  means  of  charity  balls  and 
entertainments.  In  each  case  the  federation  has  met  with  consid- 
erable success,  and  has  fully  justified  its  existence.^ 

their  countrymen.  These  organizations  generally  act  independently  of  each  other. 
In  New  York  City,  where  there  are  many  such  unaffiliated  societies,  the  United 
Hebrew  Charities,  the  largest  Jewish  relief  organization  in  New  York,  is  trying  to 
bring  about  a  closer  cooperation  between  them.  Since  the  latter  part  of  the 
eighteenth  century  the  Jewish  congregations  have  carried  on  benevolent  work 
similar  to  that  done  by  congregations  in  Europe.  For  example,  the  Rodeph 
Sholem  Congregation  of  Philadelphia,  organized  in  1800,  originally  began  work  as 
a  society  for  the  burial  of  the  dead,  and  this  is  characteristic  of  a  number  of  other 
large  societies. 

^  There  are  also  several  foster  homes,  lying-in  hospitals,  homes  for  the  friend- 
less, manual  training  schools  and  numerous  other  similar  institutions.  All  the 
large  cities  maintain  dispensaries. 

^In  former  days  only  the  immediate  want  was  relieved.  Imposition  and  pau- 
perization were  frequent  results  of  the  indiscriminate  and  injudicious  charity 
which  then  prevailed.  Now,  not  only  the  temporary  distress  but  the  future  wel- 
fare of  the  needy  ones  is  carefully  considered.  Great  care  is  exercised  that  their 
self-respect,  their  manhood  and  womanhood  is  preserved.  Charity  is  now  admin- 
istered on  the  principle  that  the  best  way  to  aid  the  poor  is  to  help  them  to  help 
themselves.  The  chronic  "Schnorrer,"  a  parasite  whose  growth  was  encouraged 
by  the  old  methods,  has  thereby  been  almost  eliminated. 

'  Cincinnati,  Detroit,  Chicago,  Philadelphia,  St.  Louis,  Kansas  City  and  Cleve- 
land have  their  charities  at  present  federated,  while  such  a  movement  is  now  on 
foot  in  Milwaukee,  Louisville  and  Baltimore.  The  time  is  not  far  off  when  all  the 
large  cities  will  federate  their  charities,  while  those  of  moderate  size  will  undoubt- 
edly combine  them  also.  Of  course,  there  is  no  need  for  this  in  the  small  cities, 
where  one  society  can  dispense  the  charity  of  the  community. 

In  Chicago  last  year,  $135,000  were  collected  and  distributed  among  the  United 


68o  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

In  the  gradual  evolution  of  relief  giving,  and  relief  administra- 
tion, very  important  changes  have  been  brought  abovit ;  such  as 
the  substitution  of  more  intelligent  cooperative  effort  for  crude 
forms  of  almsgiving  and  the  amalgamation  of  many  small  relief 
societies  into  one  large  organization,  under  the  special  charge 
of  persons  trained  in  the  social  sciences.  Scientific  methods  pre- 
vail in  the  conduct  of  relief  organizations,  as  a  result  of  which 
pauperism  has  been  considerably  lessened.  Relief  is  given  in 
the  shape  of  money,  clothing,  coal,  medicine,  food,  etc.  Employ- 
ment bureaus,  work  rooms  for  unskilled  women  and  in  some 
cases  day  nurseries  are  conducted  under  the  direct  supervision 
of  the  relief  organizations.  In  offering  relief  their  aim  is  both  to 
make  it  adequate  for  the  applicant's  needs  and  to  consider  the 
future  welfare  of  the  recipients.  The  relief  societies  have  been 
greatly  aided  in  their  work  by  various  societies  of  women,  known 
as  sisterhoods.  These  are  generally  affiliated  with  synagogues, 
and  their  chief  work  consists  in  acting  as  friendly  visitors  and  in- 
vestigators ;  in  conducting  kindergartens  and  religious  classes. 
There  are  13  such  sisterhoods  in  New  York  city,  and  the  good 
they  have  accomplished  can  not  be  overestimated.  The  moral 
tone  of  the  communities  in  which  they  are  situated  has  been 
raised  considerably. 

A  few  of  the  large  relief  societies  in  this  country  maintain 
loan  departments,  but  these  have  not  met  with  much  success.  It 
is  found  that  only  a  small  per  cent,  of  the  money  loaned  is  re- 
turned. The  smaller  loan  societies  which  are  connected  with  the 
synagogues,  and  of  which  there  are  14  in  this  city  alone,  have 
met  with  greater  success.  This  may  be  due  in  part  to  the  fact 
that  loans  are  made  only  to  members.  But  in  some  of  the  large 
cities  there  are  highly  systematized  loan  organizations,  which 
are  conducted  along  scientific  lines.  A  loan,  without  interest, 
and  which  is  to  be  repaid  in  regular  installments,  is  extended 
to  anyone  upon  the  securit}^  offered  by  the  borrower's  personal 
note,  endorsed  by  one  or  two  responsible  persons.  The  chief  aim 
of  such  societies  is  to  make  the  loan  serve  as  a  substitute  for 

Hebrew  Charities,  the  Home  for  Aged  Jews,  the  Orphan  Home,  the  Michael  Reese 
Hospital,  the  Manual  Training  School,  the  Seventh  Ward  Bureau,  the  Dispensary, 
the  Lying-in  Hospital  and  the  Maxwell  Street  Settlement.  Money  was  also  sent  to 
national  institutions  at  Denver  and  Cleveland. 


THE  JEWS  68l 

alms.  Many  a  family  has  thus  been  kept  away  from  the  relief 
societies  and  made  self-sustaining  by  the  intervention  of  the  loan 
organizations.  Conducted  as  the  larger  ones  are  on  a  business 
basis,  they  have  sustained  very  little  loss.^ 

Prior  to  1900  a  few  abortive  attempts  had  been  made  to  form 
a  National  Conference  of  Jewish  Charities,  but  not  till  that  year 
was  the  association  formed.  It  was  found  necessary  to  introduce  a 
national  organization  which  should  deal  with  the  ever  increasing 
problems  of  the  Jewish  poor  in  this  country.  "The  objects  of  this 
association,"  to  quote  the  constitution,  "are  to  discuss  the  prob- 
lems of  charities  and  to  promote  reforms  in  their  administration ; 
to  provide  uniformity  of  action  and  cooperation  in  all  matters 
pertaining  to  the  relief  and  betterment  of  the  Jewish  poor  of  the 
United  States,  without,  however,  interfering  in  any  manner  with 
the  local  work  of  any  constituent  society."  Any  Jewish  philan- 
thropic society  may  become  a  member  of  the  association  on  pay- 
ment of  dues  varying  from  $5  to  $50,  according  to  the  size  of  the 
society.  And  each  society  may  be  represented  by  one  or  more 
delegates  at  the  biennial  meetings  of  the  conference.  It  is  grow- 
ing constantly,  having  had  in  1900  a  membership  of  40;  in 
1902  of  54  organizations.  Several  reforms  have  already  been 
effected  by  it.  The  abuse  of  free  transportation  has  been 
greatly  mitigated  by  the  adoption  at  the  conference  of  cer- 
tain rules  and  regulations  by  which  the  constituent  societies  are 
guided.^  The  provision  of  free  scholarships  at  our  universities 
for  young  men  and  women  who  may  equip  themselves  for  phil- 
anthropic work,  will  tend  to  raise  the  efficiency  of  the  work  in 
behalf  of  the  poor.  But  it  is  by  educating  the  public  to  the  ne- 
cessity of  substituting  more  scientific  methods  in  the  administra- 
tion of  relief,  that  so  many  wholesome  results  have  already  been 
accomplished.     Hence,   many   societies   have   adopted   a  system 

^  For  a  fuller  discussion  of  this  subject  see  Proceedings  of  2d  National  Confer- 
ence of  Jewish  Charities,  1902,  p.  50. 

'  According  to  its  rules,  no  city  can  send  a  transient  to  any  other  city  without 
the  consent  of  the  city  to  which  transportation  is  desired.  Impostors  now  find  it 
a  very  difficult  task  to  secure  free  transportation.  Since  the  formation  of  this 
conference,  the  work  of  the  different  societies  has  been  greatly  facilitated  and  the 
professional  beggar  and  itinerant  now  shun  their  relief  officer,  for  they  know  that 
no  assistance  is  given,  except  in  extraordinarily  exceptional  cases,  and  only  after 
a  thorough  investigation  has  been  made. 


682  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

of  uniform  records,  so  that  statistics  are  now  being  kept  and 
the  duphcation  of  charity  has  been  minimized. 

Since  biblical  days,  the  hoary  head  has  been  an  object  of  Jew- 
ish reverence  and  respect.^  It  is  quite  natural,  therefore,  that  we 
should  find  numerous  "homes"  scattered  over  this  land,  provid- 
ing for  the  comfort  and  contentment  of  those  who,  in  the  decline 
of  their  lives,  have  no  home  of  their  own.  The  thirteen  institu- 
tions for  the  aged  in  this  country  have  been  models  of  their  kind 
and,  to  their  inmates,  have  been  veritable  homes  of  shelter  and 
protection  against  the  wintry  storms  of  life.^ 

The  Jewish  sick  have  always  received  the  best  of  care  and 
attention.  To-day,  the  many  excellent  hospitals^  and  dispen- 
saries* testify  most  eloquently  to  this  fact.  Every  large  city 
has  a  hospital,  while  even  the  smallest  community  provides 
medical  aid  for  the  needy.  The  consumptive  Jew  has  recently 
awakened  the  deepest  sympathies  of  his  co-religionists  and  just 
now  the  question  of  his  suffering  and  its  proper  alleviation  is 
prominently  occupying  their  minds.  While  the  hospital  at  Den- 
ver and  the  Bedford  Sanitarium  have  done  admirable  work,  yet 
their  resources  are  not  adequate  to  the  demands  of  this  ravag- 
ing disease.  The  problem  is,  in  reality,  too  large  for  private 
treatment  alone. 

There  is  no  Jewish  institution  in  the  United  States  for  the 
care  of  defectives  such  as  blind,  feeble-minded,  insane  and  epilep- 
tic persons.  Knowing  as  we  do  that  the  sight  of  affliction  has 
always  deeply  touched  the  well-springs  of  the  Jewish  heart,  this 

'^  Leviticus  xix.32 :  "Thou  shalt  rise  up  before  the  hoary  head  and  honor  the 
face  of  the  old  man,  and  thou  shalt  fear  thy  God." 

*  Of  this  number,  one  of  the  two  institutions  in  Chicago  provides  "Kosher"  food 
for  its  inmates  in  accordance  with  the  requirements  of  orthodox  Judaism. 

'The  hospitals  have  introduced  every  improvement  known  to  modern  medical 
science.  No  expense  is  spared  in  improving  the  efficiency  of  their  work.  Training- 
schools  for  nurses  are  also  maintained  in  conjunction  with  some  of  these  hospitals 
and  their  success  has  been  eminently  satisfactory. 

*  The  free  dispensaries,  usually  located  in  the  heart  of  the  poor  district,  do  a 
world  of  good.  Here  the  city's  best  physicians  are  at  the  service  of  the  poor.  A 
diet  kitchen  prepares  and  distributes  to  the  babies  of  the  neighborhood  modified 
milk,  beef  juice,  etc.  In  Chicago,  last  year,  24,000  poor  patients  were  given  treat- 
ment, while  22,000  prescriptions  were  furnished  them  at  a  nominal  cost.  As  many 
as  3,000  bottles  of  certified  milk  have  been  distributed  in  a  month  during  the 
heated  term. 


THE  JEWS  683 

fact  might  appear  strange  were  not  the  further  fact  taken  in 
consideration  that  the  number  of  these  has  been  so  small  that 
the  necessity  of  such  an  institution  has  never  been  felt.^ 

The  Jew  had  been  an  ardent  advocate  of  the  institutional  plan 
of  charity  administration.-  This  is  not  at  all  surprising  when  we 
consider  the  fact  that  Jewish  institutions  have  always  possessed 
to  a  very  large  extent  those  qualities  which  characterize  the  race, 
namely,  intimate  family  relationship  and  domesticity.  At  present 
there  are  16  orphan  asylums  in  this  country,  and  from  statistics 
gathered  in  1902  it  was  found  that  19,569  children  have  been  in- 
mates of  the  different  institutions  since  their  reception,  and  that 
of  the  above  number  3,572  children  were  cared  for  that  year.  Of 
the  children  then  in  asylums,  309  were  full  orphans,  2,362  were 
half  orphans,  and  both  parents  of  630  children  were  living.  No  sta- 
tistics were  procurable  from  the  institutions  in  New  York,  New 
Jersey,  and  Atlanta,  Ga.  The  age  of  admission  varies  in  the  insti- 
tutions from  3  to  5  years,  and  the  discharge  from  14  to  18  years. 
Up  to  within  a  few  years,  the  above  was  the  only  method  for  the 
care  of  dependent  children  which  appealed  to  the  Jewish  heart.  A 
change  of  sentiment  has  recently  been  experienced,  however, 
which  has  crystallized  into  a  strong  movement  for  the  boarding 
out  and  placing  ovit  of  such  children  to  responsible  families  and 
under  careful  guardianship.^  In  the  exhaustive  report  quoted 
below,  Dr.  L.  K.  Frankel  mentions  a  number  of  societies  which 
have  attempted  to  place  out  children  in  free  homes,  and  to  have 
them  adopted  and  indentured,  as  well  as  some  which  have  at- 
tempted to  board  out  children.     The  result  has  been  that  in  the 

^  In  one  or  two  communities,  notably  in  Baltimore,  crippled  children's  guilds 
exist.  The  object  of  the  work  which  the  guild  undertakes  is  to  teach  poor 
crippled  children  in  their  homes.  Each  member  is  assigned  a  child,  whom  she 
teaches  once  or  twice  a  week.  At  their  monthly  meetings  each  case  is  discussed, 
and  they  are  generally  assisted  by  some  one  who  is  a  special  authority  on  ortho- 
pedic disease.  (See  Proceedings  of  Nat.  Council  of  Jewish  Women,  1900,  Report 
on  Crippled  Children's  Guild  of  Baltimore.) 

^  See  a  complete  and  admirable  report  of  the  committee  on  dependent  children, 
presented  by  Dr.  L.  K.  Frankel  at  2d  N.  C.  J.  C.  ('02)  ;  also  a  paper  on  Jewish  child 
saving  in  U.  S.  before  N.  C.  C.  C.  ('97)  by  Michel  Heyman. 

^In  New  York,  the  United  Hebrew  Charities  annually  disburses  $30,000  in  an 
effort  to  preserve  the  family  life  and  prevent  the  sending  of  children  to  orphan 
asylums.     Private  charity  in  Chicago  aims  at  the  same  result. 


684  MODERN  AIETHODS  OF  CHARITY 

former  case  Chicago,  Dallas  and  Cleveland  have  been  success- 
ful; New  Orleans  and  San  Antonio  have  been  very  successful; 
St.  Paul,  Tacoma,  Baltimore  and  Montgomery,  Ala.,  have  been 
unsuccessful.  In  New  York  the  recently  introduced  movement 
of  placing  a  number  of  children  in  free  and  boarding  homes  has 
met  with  considerable  success.  In  Boston  and  Philadelphia  the 
boarding  out  of  children  has  been  going  on  for  years,  and  the 
results  achieved  in  these  two  cities  justify  the  hopes  that  the 
movement  will  spread  and  that  institutionalism  may  eventually 
become  a  thing  of  the  past. 

The  day  nurseries  and  foster  homes  provide  for  those  children 
who  are  only  temporarily  deprived  of  parental  attention. 

At  present  there  are  no  special  institutions  for  delinquent 
children,  though  there  is  a  very  well  defined  movement  now  in 
New  York  City  to  establish  a  Jewish  Protectory.  Chicago  was 
the  first  place  in  this  country  to  establish  a  Bureau  of  Personal 
Service,  which  has  had  charge  of  all  the  Juvenile  Court  work 
for  the  Jews  as  well  as  the  rendering  of  free  legal  aid.  At  pres- 
ent there  are  other  communities  (New  York,  Philadelphia,  Cin- 
cinnati) in  which  there  are  Jewish  Juvenile  Officers  and  to  whom 
incorrigible  children  are  paroled.  So  salutary  have  been  the 
effects  of  this  system,  that  in  Chicago  alone  there  has  taken  place 
a  marked  decrease  in  the  number  of  Jewish  ofifenders.  Of  the 
forty  new  delinquents  brought  before  the  Juvenile  Court  in  the 
year  ending  on  May  i,  1903,  only  thirty  were  boys,  as  compared 
to  over  one  hundred  a  year  previous  to  that  one.^ 

The  Manual  Training  Schools  act  as  a  most  healthy  restrain- 
ing influence  upon  those  children,  who,  by  virtue  of  their  sur- 
roundings, are  morally  imperilled.-  In  New  York,  the  Educa- 
tional Alliance  has  established  a  building  in  the  heart  of  the 
Ghetto  district,  which  is  the  Hull  House  for  all  the  Jewish  poor 
of  that  densely  settled  vicinity.  Besides  all  these  worthy 
agencies  for  good,  the  sisterhoods  of  churches,  in  connection  with 

^  See  Report  of  Bureau  of  Personal  Service  from  May  i,  1902-May  i,  1903,  by 
Miss  Minnie  F.  Low,  Superintendent,  published  in  Reform  Advocate,  Chicago, 
June  6,  '03.  Also  "Juvenile  Delinquents  and  Probation  Officers,"  by  Hannah 
Solomon,  2d  Conference  of  Jewish  Charities,  '02. 

*The  Manual  Training  School  in  Chicago  and  Hebrew  Technical  School  in  New 
York  are  among  the  finest  institutions  of  their  kind  in  this  country. 


THE  JEWS  685 

the  local  charities,  conduct  religious  and  industrial  schools, 
kindergartens,  sewing  and  cooking  classes,  girls'  clubs  and  dra- 
matic circles  and  thus  encourage  a  healthier  moral  life. 

Other  corrective  and  preventive  movements  are  being  cham- 
pioned by  the  Jewish  Agriculturists'  Aid  Society  of  America,^ 
the  National  Farm  School,^  the  Society  for  the  Aid  of  Jewish 
Prisoners,^  and  the  Jewish  Agricultural  and  Industrial  Aid  So- 
ciety, with  headquarters  at  New  York.*  All  of  these  organiza- 
tions may  be  said  to  be  the  result  of  the  terrible  conditions  which 
now  exist  in  the  so-called  Ghetto  or  congested  districts  of  Chi- 
cago, New  York  and  Philadelphia.  These  are  undoubtedly  re- 
sponsible for  the  great  bulk  of  the  misery,  crime  and  degrada- 
tion which  now  threaten  the  fair  name  of  the  Jew.  The  heads  of 
the  charities  of  these  cities  realize  that  the  proper  dismember- 
ment of  the  ghettos  and  the  placing  of  their  residents  in  decent 
localities  and  suroundings  will  do  much  towards  the  solution  of 
the  largest  and  most  perplexing  problem  which  has  ever  con- 
fronted them.  The  traditional  energy  and  indomitable  per- 
severance of  the  Jew  augur  well  for  their  future  success. 

In  the  last  century  various  places  in  the  United  States  and 
Canada  have  been  the  scenes  of  praiseworthy  attempts  to  win 
the  Jew  back  to  the  soil  and  give  to  every  deserving  and  willing 
unfortunate  of  the  race  an  opportunity  to  become  independent 
and  self-supporting.  But,  of  the  numerous  colonies  that  have 
been  established  since  the  great  Russo-Jewish  immigration  of 
1881,  very  few  now  remain  and  only  two  or  three  may  be  said 
to  be  successful.  In  Canada  but  one  colony  remains  to  tell  the 
story  of  the  many  heroic  but  fruitless  efforts  to  give  to  the  sub- 

^  During  the  first  decade  of  the  activity  of  this  Society  it  assisted  from  three  to 
six  families  annually,  and  since  1900  it  has  helped  each  year,  respectively,  28,  32, 
56  and  80  poor  families  who  have  taken  up  farming  as  their  vocation.  See  the 
Report  of  the  Secretary,  Rabbi  A.  R.  Levy,  of  Chicago,  in  Reform  Advocate,  Jan. 
23,  1904. 

^This  school,  located  near  Philadelphia,  was  founded  in  1895,  and  instructs 
Jewish  youths  in  the  rudiments  of  scientific  farming,  encouraging  them  to  make 
this  their  life-work.     It  is  an  immense  step  forward  in  Jewish  child-saving. 

°  This  society  cares  for  the  families  of  prisoners  and  aids  the  latter  to  again 
become  law-abiding  citizens  after  their  discharge  by  securing  positions  for  them. 

*  This  fund  is  the  result  of  the  munificence  of  the  great  philanthropist  and  is 
devoted  to  the  amelioration  of  the  condition  of  all  struggling  Jews. 


686  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

merged  an  opportunity  to  cultivate  the  soil.  The  colony  of 
Hirsch,  founded  by  Baron  Hirsch  in  1892  in  the  district  of  As- 
siniboi,  near  the  border-line  of  the  United  States,  is  now  the  only 
struggling  community  of  Jewish  farmers  in  the  dominion  apart 
from  those  established  at  Moosomin,  Oxbow,  Hirsch,  Wapella, 
Red  Deer,  and  other  places.  In  the  United  States,  the  first  ex- 
periment was  unsuccessfully  made  in  1837  at  Warwarsing,  N.  Y., 
by  13  Jewish  families.  After  five  years  of  struggle  and  disaster, 
the  little  colony,  discouraged  by  the  many  difficulties  which  beset 
it,  gave  up  the  struggle.  Like  many  of  its  successors,  it  failed 
because  of  the  inexperience  of  the  settlers,  the  infertility  of  the 
soil  and  the  great  distance  from  the  nearest  railroad  station.  To- 
day, four  colonies  are  carrying  on  the  same  experiment  in  New 
Jersey. 

The  most  successful  of  these  is  located  at  Woodbine  and  com- 
prises a  population  of  1,400,  there  being  160  Jewish  and  34  Gentile 
families.  It  was  established  in  1891  by  the  Baron  Hirsch  fund 
and  is  still  maintained  under  their  supervision.  The  tract  of 
land  comprised  5,330  acres,  of  which  1,800  are  now  cleared  and 
improved.  The  original  population  consisted  of  300  persons, 
and  to  each  family  were  assigned  15  acres  of  land.  The  pay- 
ments were  in  installments.  In  1897  the  town  site  was  laid.  Fac- 
tories were  transplanted  there  from  crowded  cities,  and  houses 
were  erected.  To-day  50  per  cent,  own  their  homes,  40  per  cent, 
are  engaged  in  agriculture,  60  per  cent,  in  industrial  pursuits. 
There  are :  i  clothing  factory,  employing  168  hands ;  i  lock  fac- 
tory (40  hands)  ;  a  machine  and  tool  company  (28  hands). ^  At 
Alliance,  N.  J.,  the  colonists  are  meeting  with  much  success,  and 
at  Rosenhayr,  which  now  has  a  population  of  800,  one-quarter 
of  the  1,900-acre  tract  of  land  is  under  cultivation.  Russian  Jew- 
ish farmers  have  succeeded  well  in  Connecticut.  It  happens  to 
be  a  good  neighborhood  for  summer  boarders.  Two  hundred 
families  living  there  are  quite  successful.  Recently  there  has 
taken  place  a  considerable  colonization  of  Russian  Jews  in  New 
England  States.  While  on  the  whole  attempts  at  the  founding 
of  Jewish  agricultural  colonies  have  not  met  with  as  great  suc- 
cess as  might  have  been  wished,  yet  Jewish  philanthropy  is  not 
discouraged  in  its  endeavor  to  encourage  and  assist  worthy  and 

^Industrial  Commission  Report,  Vol.  XV,  p.  512,  Jewish  Agriculture. 


THE  JEWS  687 

deserving  poor  to  establish  themselves  as  farmers  in  the  United 
States  or  Canada.  The  Jewish  Agricultural  Aid  Society  of 
America,  with  offices  at  Chicago,  is  one  of  the  new  agencies  which 
has  entered  the  field,  determined  to  succeed  where  others  have 
failed.  Since  its  establishment  in  1888,  it  has  been  a  decided 
factor  in  the  campaign  against  the  misery  of  the  sweat-shop  and 
the  poverty  of  the  "Ghetto."  It  has  taken  no  Jewish  families 
out  of  the  most  sordid  and  degraded  of  conditions  and  has  made 
manly  and  self-respecting  citizens  of  them.  Its  beneficiaries 
have  not  been  established  in  one  or  two  colonies,  but  have  been 
scattered  throughout  such  States  as  Illinois,  Michigan,  Indiana, 
Wisconsin,  Minnesota,  Iowa,  North  and  South  Dakota,  Florida  and 
Oklahoma.  It  has  discouraged  mendicancy  and  alms-receiving.  It 
has  made  its  beneficiaries  feel  their  responsibility  and  recognize 
that  their  relations  with  the  society  were  strictly  business  ones. 
It  has  seen  to  it  that  these  families  have  received  all  the  neces- 
saries for  successful  farming  and,  as  a  result,  it  can  to-day  point 
proudly  to  its  thriving  farms  and  energetic  farmers.  Money  is 
furnished  by  the  society  in  the  shape  of  a  loan,  protected  by  a 
lien  on  the  property  of  the  settler.  Sufficient  time  is  given  for 
the  liquidation  of  the  debt.  This  plan,  if  followed  out,  promises 
to  be  an  important  factor  towards  the  solution  of  the  Jewish 
question  which  now  looms  up  largely  on  the  horizon. 

Statistics  in  Cities. — Taking  Chi(5ago  as  typical  of  all  the  Ameri- 
can cities,  a  few  statistics  are  given  as  to  the  amount  of  money 
collected  and  the  methods  employed  in  its  distribution.  Last 
year  $136,000  were  collected  from  the  Jewish  citizens.  This  sum 
is  independent  of  numerous  subscriptions  and  endowments  which 
were  given  to  some  of  the  institutions.  This  money,  controlled 
by  the  Associated  Jewish  Charities,  was  used  to  defray  the  ex- 
penses of  such  local  institutions  as  a  hospital,  a  home  for  aged, 
an  orphan  home,  the  Jewish  Training  School,  a  dispensary,  a 
settlement  and  a  home  for  friendless.  Of  this  money,  $40,000 
were  used  by  the  United  Hebrew  Charities  in  its  relief  v.^ork ; 
2,351  cases,  comprising  a  total  of  9,087  persons,  were  assisted  and 
not  one  worthy  applicant  was  refused  the  desired  aid ;  496  per- 
sons made  application  for  employment ;  453  were  provided  with 
work ;  43  did  not  return,  while  yy  refused  the  work  provided.  At 
the  hospital,  1,814  patients  were  treated,  while  in  the  dispensary 


688  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

26,840  patients  were  given  the  proper  medical  attention. 
Twenty-six  thousand  seven  hundred  prescriptions  were  filled  at 
the  dispensary,  for  all  of  which,  except  4,630,  a  nominal  charge 
of  10  cents  was  made.  Loans  have  been  given  to  many  in  need 
of  temporary  help  and  nearly  all  of  these  have  been  returned  at 
the  proper  time,  A  workroom,  employing  50  women,  at  a 
monthly  expense  of  about  $500,  was  for  a  while  maintained  with 
great  benefit  to  the  beneficiaries  in  teaching  them  lessons  of  thrift 
and  energy. 

Working  independently  of  the  charities,  but  doing  good  work, 
are  14  loan  societies,  all  in  the  district  falsely  termed  the  Ghetto, 
but  which  may  with  all  propriety  be  called  the  district  of  the 
submerged.  There  are  also  16  congregations  in  this  same  dis- 
trict, each  of  which  maintains  a  cemetery  and  provides  free  burial 
to  the  poor  besides  contributing  to  Hebrew  free  schools,  to 
charity  in  Palestine  and  to  the  orthodox  schools  of  Russia. 

In  Canada  the  charity  problems  that  demand  solution  are  not 
so  complex  nor  insistent.  The  entire  population  does  not  num- 
ber more  than  twenty  thousand  souls,  and  the  great  majority  of 
these  live  in  Montreal,  Toronto  and  Winnipeg.  The  Jewish 
communities  of  these  cities  maintain  benevolent  societies  and 
are  as  zealous  in  their  ministry  to  the  worthy  poor  as  are  their 
brethren  of  this  country.  In  fact,  what  has  been  said  of  the 
charities  of  this  country  applies  equally  as  well  to  those  of  the 
Dominion. 

In  conclusion,  it  seems  hardly  necessary  to  say,  that  the  past 
excellent  record  of  the  Jew  and  his  present  activity  in  the  vine- 
yard of  noble  charity  endeavor,  promise  golden  efforts  in  the 
future  for  the  advancement  of  civilization  and  the  glorification 
of  God. 

References  :  The  Jewish  Encyclopedia,  Articles  on  Alms,  Charity  and  Can- 
ada;  The  American  Jewish  Year  Book  of  the  years  1899,  1900,  and  1901  ;  the 
Annual  Reports  of  the  Charity  Organizations  of  New  York,  Philadelphia,  Balti- 
more, Boston,  Cincinnati,  Chicago,  St.  Louis,  Pittsburg,  Cleveland,  San  Francisco 
and  other  cities;  Proceedings  of  ist  Nat.  Conference  of  Jewish  Charities,  1900,  in 
Chicago;  Proceedings  of  2d  Nat.  Conference  of  Jewish  Charities,  1902,  in  Detroit 
(most  important)  ;   The  Poor  in  Great  Cities,  R.  A.  Woods,  etc.,  pp.  221-2,  352-3. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 

It  has  been  concluded,  though  with  some  misgiving',  not  to 
print  the  elaborate  bibliography  which  was  prepared  for  this 
work.  The  chief  reason  for  the  numerous  omissions  is  that  there 
are  lists  of  authorities  and  sources  easily  accessible  and  to  which 
reference  may  here  be  made  once  for  all.  Chief  among  these  is 
the  Bibliographic  des  Armenwesens,  by  Dr.  E.  Miinsterberg. 
Camille  Granier,  Essai  de  bibliographic  charitable  is  useful.  Th. 
Schafer  (Die  weibliche  Diakonie,  1887,  and  Leitfaden  der  inneren 
Mission,  1904)  gives  many  titles.  G.  Uhlhorn  (Die  christliche 
Liebesthatigkeit)  at  the  end  of  each  volume  supplies  numerous 
references  to  the  literature. 

The  writers  are  greatly  indebted  to  the  Schriften  des 
Deutschen  Vereins  fiir  Armenpflege  und  Wohlthatigkeit,  the  va- 
rious articles  of  which  are  carefully  indexed  in  the  Bibliographic 
of  Dr.  Miinsterberg,  the  secretary  of  that  society.  In  this  same 
connection  may  be  mentioned  the  lists  appended  to  the  very 
valuable  articles  on  poor-relief  ("Armenwesen")  in  the  Hand- 
worterbuch  der  Staatswissenschaften  (2d  edition,  1898).  In  foot- 
notes many  references  are  cited. 

American  references  are  found  in  A.  G.  Warner's  excellent 
treatise,  American  Charities  (1894)  ;  and  in  Introduction  to  the 
Study  of  the  Dependent,  Defective  and  Delinquent  Classes,  by 
C.  R.  Henderson  (2d  ed.,  1901).  The  list  of  books  and  articles 
here  presented  is  not  complete,  but  it  will  serve  as  an  introduc- 
tion to  the  field  and  will  indicate  the  more  important  titles.  The 
books  having  chiefly  historical  interest  are  generally  omitted. 

It  is  thought  that  these  indications  will  guide  any  student  who 
needs  such  help  for  the  beginning  of  his  investigations.  After 
the  earlier  studies  one  makes  his  own  list. 

44  689 


690  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

I.    POOR  RELIEF  IN  GENERAL 
I.    Systematic  and  Historical 

Chalmers,   Thomas :     The   Christian   and   Civic   Economy  of  Large   Towns. 

Glasgow,  1821-26.     (Abridged  ed.  published  by  Charles  Scribner's  Sons, 

New  York.     Edited  by  C.  R.  Henderson.) 
Bohmert,  V. :     Das  Armenwesen  in  "]"]  deutschen  Stadten  und  einigen  Land- 

armenverbanden. 
Emminghaus,   A. :     Das   Armenwesen   und   die  Armengesetzgebung  in  euro- 

paischen  Staaten.     1870.     (Translated  into  English.) 
Loning,    Edgar :     Armenwesen.     In    Schonberg's    Handbuch    der    politischen 

Oekonomie ;  4  Aufl.,  1898.     Lauppsche  Buchh,  Tubingen. 
Monnier,  A. :     Histoire  de  I'assistance  publique  dans  les  temps  anciens  et  mo- 

dernes.     1866. 
Miinsterberg,  Emil :     Die  deutsche  Armengesetzgebung  und  das  Material  zu 

ihrer  Reform.     Duncker  und  Humblot,  1887. 
Ibid.,  Die  Armenpflege.     Einfiihrung  in  die  praktische  Pflegethatigkeit.    213 

S.  Berlin,  O.  Liebmann,  1897. 
Ratzinger,  Georg ;     Geschichte  der  kirchlichen  Armenpflege.     2  umgearb.  Aufl. 

Freiburg  i.  Br.,  1884. 
Uhlhorn,   G. :     Die   christliche   Liebesthatigkeit.     3   Bde.     2   Aufl.     Stuttgart. 

I   Bd.,  In  der  alten  Kirche,  421   S.     2  Bd.,  Im  Mittelalter,  531   S.,  1884. 

3  Bd.,  Seit  der  Reformation,  520  S.,  1890. 
Florian,  Eugenio :     Cavaglieri,  Guido.     I  vagabondi.     Torino,  1900, 

Important  Sources  and  Discussions 

Schriften  des  Deutschen  Vereins  fijr  Armenpflege  und  Wohlthatigkeit  (the 
national  conference  of  charities  for  all  Germany).  Die  Berichte  des  Ve- 
reins wurden  anfanglich  den  Mitgliedorn  direkt  zugesendet  und  sind  daher 
im  Wege  des  Buchhandels  (mit  Ausnahme  der  zleichzeitig  in  Carl  Hey- 
mann's  Verlag,  Berlin,  erscheinen  Schriften,  1881-83)  nicht  erhaltlich. 
Seit  1886  erscheinen  sie  in  fortlaufend  numerirten  Heften  bei  Duncker  & 
Humblot,  Leipzig.  Seit  1887  erstattet  E.  Miinsterberg  regelmjissige  Be- 
richte fiber  die  Jahresversammlungen  des  Vereins  in  dem  Jahrbuch  fiir 
Gesetzgebung,  Verwaltung  und  Volkswirtschaft  von  G.  Schmoller. 

Congres  international  pour  I'etude  des  questions  relatives  au  patronage  des 
detenus  et  a  la  protection  des  enfants  moralement  abandonnes.  Anvers, 
1890.  Compte  rendu  stenographique.  I  Partie :  Documents,  Bibliogra- 
phic.    II  Partie:  Discussions.     Bruxelles,  E.  Guyot,  1891,  533  p. 

Congres  pour  I'etude  des  questions  relatives  au  patronage  des  condamnes,  des 
enfants  moralement  abandonnes,  des  vagabonds  et  des  alienes.  Anvers, 
1894,  2  vols.  I  vol. :  Documents.  II :  Discussions.  394  p.  Bruxelles,  J. 
Brouwers,  1894-95. 

Congres  pour  I'etude  des  questions  relatives  au  patronage  des  condamnes,  des 
enfants  moralement  abandonnes  et  des  alienes.     Anvers.  1898. 

Handworterbuch  der  Staatswissenschaften.  Herausg.  von.  Conrad,  Elster, 
Lexis,  Loning.  2  Aufl.,  i  Bd.,  S.  1052-1231 ;  20  vcrschiedene  Aufsatze 
fiber  Armenwesen.     Jena,  G.  Fischer,  1898. 

International  Congress  of  Charities,  Correction  and  Philanthropy,  Chicago, 
June,  1893,  5  vols.     Baltimore,  J.  Hopkins  Press,  1894. 

National  Conference  of  Charities  and  Correction :  Proceedings.  (One  vol- 
ume each  year  since  1874.) 

Der  Arbeiterfreund,  Organ  des  Centralvereins  fur  das  Wohl  der  arbeitenden 
Klasscn.  Erscheint  seit  1863,  zucrst  unter  Leitung  von  K.  Briimer,  dann 
von  V.  Bohmert.  Dazu  ein  General-.  Sach-  und  Namcnregistcr  liis  1895 
einschliesslich,  bearbeitet  von  P.  Schmidt,  Berlin,  1896,  Leonh.  Simion. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  69I 

Charitas.  Zeitschrift  fur  die  Werke  der  Nachstenliebe  im  kath.  Deutsch- 
land.  Mit  der  Beilage  „Katholische  Massigkeitsblatter."  Unter  Mitwirk- 
ung  von  Fachmannern  herausgegeben  voni  Vorstand  des  Charitasver- 
bandes  fiir  das  kathol.  Deutschland.  Verantwortlicher  Redakteur:  Geist- 
licher  Rat  Dr.  Lorenz  Werthmann  zu  Freiburg  i.  Br. ;  erscheint  seit  1896 
monatlich  einmal.     No.  4,  5,  6,  8,  12  des  i  Jahrg.  sind  vergriffen. 

Fliegende  Blatter  aus  dem  Rauhen  Hause  zu  Hamburg-Horn.  Organ  des 
Central-Ausschusses  fiir  die  innere  Mission  der  deutschen  evangelischen 
Kirche,  herausgeg.  von  Lindner,  Hesekiel,  Wichern.  Jahrlich  12  Hefte. 
Erschienen  seit  1844:  1864  und  1875  sind  vergrififen.  Dazu  ein  General- 
register  fiir  die  Jahrgange  1844-45-1890,  bearbeitet  von  Brandt,  Hamburg, 
1891,  116  S.  Agentur  des  Rauhen  Hauses. 

Monatschrift  fiir  Diakonie  und  innere  Mission.  Herausgegeben  von  Theodor 
Schafer.  Hamburg,  W.  L.  Oemler,  1876-1880.  i38i  forgesetzt  als  Monat- 
schrift fiir  innere  Mission. 

Das  Rothe  Kreuz.  Central-Organ  fiir  alle  deutschen  Wohlfarts-  und  Wohl- 
thatigkeitsbestrebungen,  fiir  offentliche  und  hausliche  Gesundheitspflege, 
mit  besonderer  Beriicksichtigung  des  Heilstattenwesens.  Organ  des  Cen- 
tral-Komites  der  Deutchen  Vereine  vom  Rothen  Kreuz.  Herausgegeben 
von  Dr.  Gotthold  Pannwitz,  Berlin.  Dazu  die  Monatsbeilage :  Verein- 
samtliche  Mitteilungen. 

Soziale  Praxis.  Centralblatt  fiir  Sozialpolitik.  Zugleich  Organ  der  Verbind- 
ung  deutscher  Gewerbegerichte.  Herausgegeben  von  Dr.  E.  Francke, 
Berlin. 

Zeitschrift  fiir  das  Armenwesen.  Organ  der  Centralstelle  fiir  Arbeiter-Wohl- 
fahrtseinrichtungen,  Abteilung  fiir  Armenpflege  und  Wohlthatigkeit. 
Herausgegeben  von  Stadtrath  Dr.  Miinsterberg,  Berlin. 

Zeitschrift  der  Centralstelle  fiir  Arbciter-Wohlfahrts-Einrichtungen.  Heraus- 
gegeben von  Geh.  Rat  Post,  Prof.  Hartmann,  Prof.  Albrecht.  Berlin,  C. 
Heymann. 

Der  Congress  der  katholischen  Wohlthatigkeitsvereins  Oesterreichs  in  Wien. 
1900. 

Congres  international  du  patronage  des  liberes.     Paris,  1900. 

Congres  international  d'assistance  publique  et  de  privee  tenu  du  30  juillet  an 
5  aoiit,  1900,  a  Paris. 

Charities,  a  weekly  review  of  local  and  general  philanthropy. 

The  Charity  Review,  quarterly  by  Charity  Org.  Society  of  Melbourne,  Aus- 
tralia. 

Austria 

Der  Armenrath.  Mittheilungen  iiber  das  gesammte  Armenwesen.  Wochent- 
liche  Beilage  der  „Sozialen  Rundschau"  in  Wien,  seit  Jan.  i,  1900. 

Die  Soziale  Reform.  Halbmonat-Schrift  fiir  soziale  Wissenschaft,  Gesetzge- 
bung  und  Praxis.     Herausgeber  C.  v.  Zenker,  Wien. 

Switserland 

Schweizerische  Zeitschrift  fiir  Gemeinniitzigkeit.  Organ  der  schweizereschen 
Gemeinnutzigen  Gesellschaft,  Zurich. 

England 

The  Charity  Organization  Review.  Monthly.  Published  by  the  Charity  Org. 
Society,  London,  1884. 

Russia 

Trudowaja  Pomoschtsch  (Die  Arbeitshilfe).  Herausgegeben  von  dem  Kura- 
toriuni  der  Hauser  der  Arbeitshilfe  unter  Redaktion  von  Prof.  W.  Djeru- 
shinski,  St.  Petersburg.     (Since  1897.) 


6g2  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

France 

Bulletin  de  la  Societe  Internationale  pour  I'etude  des  questions  d'assistance. 
Siege  social  a  Paris,  1890-1893. 

Revue  d'Assistance,  bulletin  de  la  Soc.  intern,  pour  I'etude  des  questions  d'as- 
sistance.    (Since  1894.) 

La  Revue  Philanthropique,  paraissent  le  10  de  chaque  mois.  P.  Straus,  Di- 
recteur.     (Since  1897.) 

Italy 

Rivista  della  Beneficenza  pubblica,  delle  istituzioni  di  previdenza  e  d'igiene 
sociale.     Roma.     (Since  1873.) 

The  United  States  of  America 

Charities.     The  official  organ  of  the  Charity  Organization  Society  of  the  City 

of  New  York.     Editor,  Edward  T.  Devine.     1897. 
The  Indiana   Bulletin  of  Charities  and   Correction.     Published  quarterly  by 

Board  of  State  Charities. 
Proceedings  of  National  Conference  of  Charities  and  Correction. 
The  Ohio  Bulletin  of  Charities  and  Correction.     Published  quarterly  by  the 

Board  of  State  Charities,  Columbus,  Ohio.     (Since  1895.) 
The  Quarterly  Record.     A  review  of  charitable  work  in  New  York  State. 

Published  by  State  Board  of  Charities,  Albany,  N.  Y.     (Since  1900.) 


PARTICULAR   BRANCHES   OF    POOR   RELIEF 

Vagrancy 

Der  Wanderer.  In  Verbindung  mit  dem  Central-vorstand  deutscher  Arbeiter- 
kolonien  und  dem  Gesamtvorstand  deutscher  Verpflegungs-stationen, 
herausgeg.  vom  Deutschen  Herbergsverein.     Gadderbaum  bei  Bielefeld. 

Medical  Relief  and  Nursing 

Deutsche  Krankenpflegezeitung.     Fachzeitschrift  fiir  die  Gesamtinteressen  des 

Krankenpflegeberufs.     Herausgegeben  von  Dr.  Paul  Jacobsohn,  Berlin. 
Zeitschrift  fiir  Krankenpflege.     Herausgeg.  von.  Prof.  Dr.  Martin  Mendelsohn, 

Berlin. 
Zeitschrift  fiir  Samariter-und  Rettungswesen.     Zeitung  des  Deutschen  Samari- 

terbundes. 
Der  Alkoholismus.     Fine  Vierteljahrschrift  zur  wissenschaftlichen  Erorterung 

der  Alkoholfrage.     Herausgeg.  von  Geh.  San. -Rat  Dr.  A.  Baer,  Berlin, 

Prof.  Dr.  Bohmert,  Dresden,  et  al. 
Zeitschrift   fiir  Tuberculose   und   Heilstattenwesen.     Herausgeg.   v.    Prof.   C. 

Gerhardt,  B.  Friinkel  und  E.  v.  Leyden.     I.  Jahrg.  1900. 

Care  of  Defectives 

Der  Blindenfreund.     Zeitschrift  fiir  Verbesserung  des  Looses  der  Blinden. 
The  Association  Review.     Published  by  the  American  Association  to  Promote 

Teaching  Speech  to  the  Deaf.     Frank  W.  Booth,  Philadelphia.     1899. 
Blatter  fiir  Taubstummcnfreund.     Herausgeg.  von.  Fran  Anna  Schcnk,  Berlin. 
Die  Irrenpflege.     Monatsschrift  zur  Hebung,  Belehrung  und  Unterhaltung  des 

Irrenpflegepersonals,  mit  besondcrer  Riicksicht  der  freien  Bchandlung,  der 

kolon,  u.  famil.  Krankenpflege.     Herausgeg.  von  Direktor  C.  Alt.     Ucht- 

springe.     1897. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  693 

Care  of  Children  and  Youth 

Bulletin  de  la  Societe  des  Creches,  Paris.     Parait  tous  les  trois  mois.     1875. 
Bulletin  de  la  Societe  centre  la  mendicite  des  Enfants.     Parait  tous  les  mois. 

Redaction:  M.  Zeller,  90  rue  d'Assass,  Paris.     (Since  Oct.  1896.) 
Die  Kinderfehler.     Zeitschrift  fiir  Kinderforschung  mit  besonderer  Beriick- 

sichtigung   der  padagogischen    Pathologie.     Herausgeg.   von.   J.   Triiper, 

Jena.    1896. 

Education  and  Training  for  Social  Service 

Brackett,  J.  R. :     Supervision  and  Education  in  Charity.     1903. 

Richmond,  Mary :     Friendly  Visiting  Among  the  Poor. 

Sociology  in  Institutions  of  Learning.  Report  from  seventh  section,  Interna- 
tional Congress  of  Charities,  Correction  and  Philanthropy,  Chicago,  1893. 
Edited  by  A.  G.  Warner. 

Rathbone,  William :  The  History  and  Progress  of  District  Nursing.  Intro- 
duction by  Florence  Nightingale.     London,  Macmillan  &  Co.,  1890. 

Bourneville :  L'enseignement  pratique  dans  les  ecoles  d'infirmieres  laiques. 
Paris,  1899. 

Programme  de  I'Enseignement  des  Ecoles  municipales  d'Infirmiers  et  d'infir- 
mieres de  Bicetre,  de  la  Salpetriere,  de  la  Pitie  et  de  Lariboisiere.     1899. 

Circulars  of  the  schools  connected  with  Harvard  University,  the  New  York 
C.  O.  S.,  and  the  University  of  Chicago,  1904. 

Austria 

Oesterreichs  Wohlfahrts-Einrichtungen  1848-1898.     Festschrift  zu  Ehren  des 

50  jahr.   Regierungs-jubilaums   S.   M.    Kaisers   Franz  Joseph   I.    4  Bde. 

Herausgegeben  von  der  Commission  des  Oesterr.  Wohlfahrts-Ausstellung, 

Wien,  1898. 
Oesterreichisches  Stadtebuch.     Statistische  Berichte  von  grosseren-osterreich. 

Stadten.     Sternegg  und  Josef  v.  Friedenfels.    Wien,  K.  K.  Staatsdruck- 

erei,  1893. 
Berichte  von  Miinsterberg  in  den  Schriften  des  Deutschen  Vereins  fiir  Armen- 

pflege  u.  Wohlthatigkeit.     Heft  35  und  52,  C. 
V.  Call  in  Handworterbuch  der  Staatswissenschaften.     i   Bd.,  2  Auf.,   1898. 

(References.) 
Gerenyi,  Fedor:     Die  Wohlfahrtspflege  des  Landes  Nieder-osterreich.     1901. 
Die  Wohlthatigkeitsvereine  der  k.  k.   Reichshaupt-und  Residenzstadt  Wien. 

Wien,  1900. 
Kanocz,  Etienne :     L'assistance  publique  en  Hongrie.     Budapest,  1900. 
Schindler,  Fr. :     Das  sociale  Wirken  der  katholiscTien  Kirche  in  Oesterreich. 
^Mitteilungen  des  Vereins  gegen  Verarmung  und  Bettelei  in  Wien. 
Das  Armenwesen,  die  offentliche  Armenpflege  in  Wien  und  deren  geschicht- 

liche  Entwicklung.     Wien,  Selbstverlag  des  Magistrats,  1898. 
Inama-Sternegg,    K.    Th.   von :     Die    pcrsonlichen   Verhaltnisse   der   Wiener 

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Dupin :     Histoire  de  I'administration  des  secours  publics. 
Haussonville,  Comte  d' :     Assistance  publique  et  bienfaisance  privee.     Paris, 

1901. 
Lallemand,  Leon:     La  liberte  de  la  charite.     Rapport  presente  au  congres  ca- 

tholique  de  1892.     Besangon,  1892. 
Lallemand,   Leon :     De   I'organization   de  la  bienfaisance  publique   et  privee 

dans  les  campagnes  au  XVIIIe  siecle.     Chalons-sur-Marne,  Thouille,  1895. 
Lefebure,  Leon:     L'organization  de  la  charite  privee  en  France.     Paris,  1900. 
Monod,  Henri :     L'assistance  publique  en  France  en  1889  et  en  1900.     Paris, 

Imprimerie  Nationale,  1900. 
La  charite  au  XIXe  siecle.     Paris,  Office  Central,  1900. 
Balch,  Miss :     Public  Assistance  in  France.     1893. 
Larrive :    L'assistance  publique  en  France. 
Witt :     La  Charite  a  travers  les  siecles. 
Rapports  du  Jury  International  de  1900,  4  part.,  cl.  112. 
Congres  National  d' Assistance  tenu  du  26  Juin  au  3  Juillet,   1894,  a  Lyon. 

Lyon,  1894.     (Also  for  later  years.) 
Conseil  Superieur  1' Assistance  Publique.     (Many  numbers  of  "facicules.") 
(La)  France  charitable  et  prevayante.     1899. 
Lallemand,  Leon :     De  l'assistance  des  classes  rurales  au  XIXe  siecle.     Paris, 

Picard,  1889. 
Lefebure,  Leon :     L'organization  de  la  charite  privee  en  France.     Paris,  1900. 
Reitzenstein,  Fr.  v. :     Die  Armengesetzgebung  Frankreichs  in  den  Grundziigen 

ihrer  historischen  Entwicklung.     Leipzig,  1881. 
Reitzenstein,  Fr.  v. :     Die  Armengesetzgebung  in  Frankreich.     1886. 
Du  Camp,  Maxime:    La  charite  privee  a  Paris.     Paris,  Librairie  Hachette  & 

Cie,  1887. 

Italy 

Rivista  della  Beneficenza  pubblica  e  d'igiene  sociale.     Roma. 

Atti  Parlamentari.     Camera  dei  Deputati,  1889-1890. 

Atti  Parlamentari.  Senato  del  Regno.  Sessione  1889.  Sulle  istituzione  pub- 
bliche  di  beneficenza. 

Atti  della  commissione  reale  d'inchiesta  sulle  opere  pie  del  regno  della  sua  isti- 
tuzione avvenuta  col  regio  decreto  3  gi«gno  1880.     g  vols.,  1880-1892. 

Commissione  reale  d'inchiesta  sulle  opere  pie  istitiuta  col  regio  decreto  3 
giugno  1S80.    Roma. 


700  MODERN  METHODS  OF  CHARITY 

Statistica  delle  Opere  Pie  e  delle  spese  di  beneficenza  sostenute  dai  communi  e 

dalle  provinzie.     8  vols. 
Legge  sulle  opere  pie.     Napoli,  1890. 
Codice  della  Beneficenza  Pubblica.     Ed.  Saredo.     Toroni,  Unione  Tipografico, 

1897. 
Bodio,   Luigi :     Armenwesen  und  Armengesetzgebung  in   Italian.     Emmuig- 

haus. 
Lessona,   Carlo :     La   nuova  legge   sulle   istituzioni   pubbliche   di   beneficenza 

commentata  coi  lavori  preparatori.     Roma,  1890. 
Lucchini,  Odoardo:     Le  istituzioni  pubbliche  di  beneficenza  nella  legislazione 

italiana.     Firenze,  1894. 
Miinsterberg,   E. :     Armengesetzgebung  in  Italian.     In  Handworterbuch   der 

Staatswissenschaften,  1898. 
Niceforo,  Alfredo,  e  Scipio  Sighele :     La  mala  vita  a  Roma.     Torino,  1899. 
Querini,  Quirino :     La  beneficenza  romana  dagli  antichi  tempi  fino  ad  oggi. 

Studio  storico  critico.     Opera  pie  di  Roma  a  tutto  I'anno  1890.     Roma. 
Statistica  dei  ricoverati  in  ospedali  pubblici  e  privati  e  in  altri  instituti  di  assis- 

tenza  nell'  anno  1898.    Roma,  1900. 

Belgium 

Code   admnistratif   des   etablissements    de  bienfaisance.     Bruxelles,    Berthot, 

1833. 
Loi  du  14  mars  1876  sur  le  domicile  de  secours.     Documents  parlamentaires. 

Bruxelles,  1876. 

Lois  du  2-]  novembre  1891  sur  Tassistance  publique,  sur  I'assistance  medicale 
gratuite  et  pour  la  repression  du  vagabondage  et  de  la  mendicite.  Docu- 
ments legislatifs.     Bruxelles,  1893. 

Barron,  P.  T. :  Report  on  Poor  Laws  and  Pauperism  in  Belgium.  "Poor 
Laws  in  Foreign  Countries." 

Belgique  charitable.     Charite,  Bienfaisance,  Philanthropic.     Bruxelles,  1893. 

Emminghaus,  A. :     Armenwesen  und  Armengesetzgebung  in  Belgien.     1870. 

Miinsterberg,  E. :  Armengesetzgebung  in  Belgien.  Handworterbuch  der 
Staatswissenschaften,  1898. 

Nave,  J.  J.  de :  Domicile  de  secours.  Loi  du  14  mars  1876.  Commentaire, 
extrait  de  I'expose,  des  motifs,  des  rapports  et  des  discussions  a  la  chambre 
des  representants  et  au  Senat.     Anvers,  van  Merlen,  1877. 

Overbergh,  Cyr.  van :  Reforme  de  la  Bienfaisance  en  Belgique.  Rapport  de  la 
commission  speciale.     Bruxelles,  1900. 

Maison  de  refuge  de  Wortel.  Depot  de  mendicite  de  Merxplas.  Bruxelles 
1900. 

Holland 

Verslag  over  de  verrichtingen  aangaande  het  armbestuur  in  het  Koninkrijk 
der  Nederlanden  over  1881-1891. 

Armenzorg  (Assistance  publique).  Overdruck  van  het  Statistisch  Jaarboek 
der  Gemeente  Amsterdam.     1898. 

Armenzorg  in  Nederland.  In  opdracht  der  vereeniging  voor  de  Staathuis- 
houdkunde  en  de  Statistick. 

Baumhauer,  M.  van :  Armenwesen  und  Armengesetzgebung  in  den  Nieder- 
landen.     Emminghaus,  1870. 

Esquiros,  Alphonse :     The  Dutch  at  Home;  ch.  15  and  16.     1863. 

Falkenberg,  Ph. :     L'assistance  publique.     Amsterdam,  Gebr.  Willems,  1898. 

Falkenberg,  Ph. :  Armengesetzgebung  in  den  Niederlanden.  Handworter- 
buch der  Staatswissenschaften.     Jena,  1898. 

Sendall,  Walter  J. :  Report  on  the  Laws  relating  to  the  Relief  of  the  Poor  in 
Holland.     1876. 


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Exposition,  Paris,  1900. 

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Miinsterberg,  E. :     Das  auslandische  Armenwesen.     Schriften  des  Deutschen 

Vereins.     1898. 
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Handworterbuch  d.  Staatswissenschaften.     Jena,  1898. 
Warner,  Amos :     American  Charities.     New  York,  1894. 

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State  Board  of  Lunacy  and  Charity  of  Massachusetts.    Boston. 
Manual  for  Use  of  Overseers  of  Poor  of  Massachusetts.     Boston,  1889. 
Report  of  commission  to  investigate  public  charitable  and  reformatory  inter- 
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A  Directory  of  Charitable  and  Beneficent  Organizations  of  Boston.     1899. 
Shaw,  Henry:     The  Settlement  Laws  of  Massachusetts.     Boston,  1900. 

New  York  State 

The  Quarterly  Record. — State  Board  of  Charities  Reports  since  1867. 

State  Charities  Aid  Society.     Annual  reports  to  State  Board  since  1873. 

Minnesota — Reports  of  State  Board  of  Control.     1903. 

Iowa — Reports  of  State  Board  of  Control. 

California — Reports  of  State  Board  of  Charities. 

Pennsylvania — Reports  of  Board  of  Commissioners  of  Public  Charities  of  the 

Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania.     Harrisburg. 
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Ohio 

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Indiana 

Indiana  Bulletin  of  Charities  and  Correction. 
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1870. 

Wisconsin 

State  Board  of  Charities  and  Reform.     Madison.     (1883-1890.) 

State  Board  of  Control  of  Wisconsin  Reformatory,  Charitable  and  Penal  Insti- 
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Cummings,  John :     Poor  Laws  of  Massachusetts  and  New  York.     1895. 

Mayo-Smith,  R. :     Statistics  and  Sociology. 

Mayo-Smith,  R. :     Statistics  and  Economics. 

Boies,  H.  H. :     Prisoners  and  Paupers.     1893. 

Hull  House  Papers  and  Maps.     1895. 

Summary  and  Index  of  Legislation  by  States.  New  York  State  Library  Bul- 
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Devine,  Edw'd  T. :  The  Practice  of  Charity;  Individual,  Associated  and  Or- 
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Devine,  Edw'd  T. :     Principles  of  Relief.     1904. 

The  Salvation  Army  in  the  United  States.     Annual  reports. 

State  Board  of  Charity  of  Massachusetts.     22d  annual  report.     1900. 

State  Board  of  Insanity  of  Massachusetts.     1900. 

Coler,  Bird  S. :     Municipal  Government.    New  York,  1900. 

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Delvaille,  C. :    L'assistance  en  Espagne.    Revue  Philanthropique,  1897-98. 
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Congres  int.  d'assistance,  Paris,  1889. 
Jemingham,   H.   J.:     Constantinople.     In   Poor  Laws   in  Foreign   Countries. 

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Flakky,    J. :     Charity    in    Turkey.     International    Congress   of   Charities   and 

Correction,  Chicago,  1893. 
Bechir,  Sfar:     L'assistance  publique  musulmane  en  Tunesie.     Revue  d'Assis- 

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Goodolphim,   Costa:     Assistance  publique   en   Portugal.    Exposition   univer- 

selle  de  1900.     Lisbonne. 
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The  Charity  Review.     Quarterly.     Charity  Organization  Society  of  Melbourne. 
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vee  et  l'assistance  publique  au  Chili.     Paris,  1900. 
Chikadzumi :     Contribution  a  I'etude  de  l'assistance  et  de  la  bienfaisance  au 

Japan.     Paris,  1900. 
Communaux,  V. :    L'assistance  publique  en  Tunesie.     1900. 


INDEX 


Abstainers,  insurance,  304. 

Accident  insurance,  Germany,  71  ;  Hol- 
land, 348 ;  Scandinavia,  362. 

Adaptation  of  methods,  8. 

Administration  of  relief,  Austria,  80 ; 
Australasia,  307;  Belgium,  616;  Den- 
mark, 366;  England,  181;  France, 
521  ;  indoor  relief,  Germany,  41  ;  Ire- 
land, 276  ;  Quebec,  320  ;  Russia,  635  ; 
Scandinavia,  353 ;  Scotland,  239 ; 
U.  S.,  402. 

Admission  and  discharge,  poorhouse, 
Scotland,  256. 

Adoption  of  children,  England,  209. 

After-care,  insane,  England,  202. 

Aged,  Jewish,  care,  682. 

Aged  poor-relief,  Denmark,  21^- 

Agricultural  colonies,  Holland,  342  ff. 

Agricultural  banks,  India,  301. 

Agricultural  colonization,  Jews,  685. 

Alcohol,  463. 

Alcoholism,  Russia,  641,  653. 

Alcohol  tenth,  Swiss,  158. 

Aliens,  relief,  Italy,  572. 

Alliance  Israelite  Universelle,  671. 

Allowance  system,  England,  175. 

Almsgiving,  mediaeval,  167. 

Almshouse,  U.  S.,  401,  450. 

Almshouses.     See   Poorhouses. 

Alsace-Lorraine,  3. 

Alt,  Dr.,  60. 

America,  relief  system,  16. 

Amount  of  relief  Scotland,  241.  See 
Standard  of  Relief. 

"Angel  makers,"  6.';. 

Apparatus,  for  sick,  153. 


Apprenticing  children,  England,  209. 

Arbeiterkolonien,  44. 

Assessments  of  poor  tax,  Scotland,  244. 

Associations  of  nurses,  52, 

Auditing  local  accounts,  England,  182. 

Australasia,  302. 

Austria-Hungary,  "jS. 

Baby  farming,  63. 

Bacteriological  examinations,  259. 

Banerji,  J.  N.,  299. 

Barnardo,  children's  work,  330. 

Barnett,  S.  A.,  234. 

Barton,  Clara,  458. 

Bavaria,  3,  46. 

Bavaria,  private  charity,  24. 

Beggars,   Belgium,  622;   Scotland,  257; 

Russia,  639. 
Beggar  colonies,  Holland,  345. 
Beggars,  society  to  prevent,  38. 
Begging,     India,     290 ;     Ireland,     279 ; 

Italy,    572;    Naples,    578;     Scotland, 

236  ;  societies  to  prevent,  Austria,  93, 

133- 
Belgium,  610. 
Benevolent    associations,    France,    524; 

England,  222  ;  Swiss,  150. 
Berenger,  Senator,  550,  553. 
Bevilaqua,  P.  G.,  596. 
Berlin,  conferences,  37. 
Bertillon  measurements,  tramps,  453. 
Bibliography,  689. 
Bielefeld,  colony  of  mercy,  31,  61. 
Biggs,  H.  M.,  459. 
Billikopf,  J.,  &7(i. 
Birtwell,  C.  W.,  430. 


703 


704 


INDEX 


Bismarck,  28. 

Blind,  Australasia,  312;  Austria,  107; 
Belgium,  625  ;  Canada,  325  ;  Copen- 
hagen, 373;  England,  198;  France, 
537  ;  Germany,  58  ;  Italy,  585  ;  Rus- 
sia, 64s  ;  Scotland,  262  ;  Switzerland, 
154;  U.  S.,  464. 

Board  of  Control,  Wisconsin,  468. 

Boards  of  directors,  U.  S.,  404. 

Boarding  children,  Australasia,  313; 
England,  207  ;  Ireland,  283  ;  Scotland, 
264. 

Boarding  out,  insane,  England,  202. 

Boarding  paupers,  84 ;  Austria,  95  ; 
Scandinavia,  354;  Switzerland,  147; 
U.  S.,  402. 

Bodelschwingh,  Pastor,  31,  61. 

Bohemia,  Catholic  societies,  92. 

Booth,  "General,"  219. 

Booth,  Mrs.  Maud  B.,  511. 

Boston,  endowed  charities,  414. 

Boys'  clubs,  U.  S.,  418,  423. 

Boys,  training,  France,  548. 

Brace,  C.  L.,  493. 

Brackett,  J.  R.,  447- 

Brahmo-Somaj,  India,  300. 

Braille,  Louis,  537. 

Bread  tickets,  England,  195. 

Breslau,  37  ;  infants,  63. 

Budapest,  133. 

Buehl,  Dr.,  40. 

Buffalo,  C.  O.  S.,  431,  439. 

Building  society,  Denmark,  378. 

Building  societies,  France,  553. 

Bureaux  de  Bienfaisance,  529. 

Bureau  of  Charities,  Chicago,  384. 

Burial,  aid,  Swiss,  150. 

Burial  of  paupers,  U.  S.,  402. 

California,  relief,  389. 

Canada,  316. 

Canadian  Jews,  688. 

Cantons,  Switzerland,  method,  145. 

Casimir-Perier,  463. 

Casual  ward,  England,  194. 

Catherine  II,  632-633. 


Catholic  benevolent  committees.  Lower 

Austria,  94. 
Catholic  charity,  Germany,  24. 
Catholic  societies,  Bohemia,  92. 
Causes  of  pauperism,  Ireland,  272. 
Census  Bureau,  U.  S.,  474. 

Central  board,  English  178;  Ireland, 
276 ;  Scotland,  239,  242,  244 ;  State, 
U.  S.,  408  ff. 

Central  inspection,  Belgium,  619. 

Centralizing  tendency,  England,  178. 

Central  organizations  of  charity,  Ger- 
many, 39. 

Central  State  control,  U.  S.,  403. 

Ceremonies,  cost,  Italy,  576. 

Chalmers,  Thomas,  237,  247. 

Chaplain,  workhouse,  England,  191. 

Charities  Collection  Central  Agency, 
Scotland,  254. 

Charities  Endorsement  Committee,  444. 

Charity,  India,  290. 

Charity  Organization  Society,  431  ; 
Australasia,  309  ;  Canada,  321  ;  Eng- 
land, 225  ;  Scotland,  249  ;  U.  S.,  439. 

Charity,  principles  of  Jewish,  657. 

Charitas-Verband  fiir  das  katholische 
Deutschland,  25. 

Charlemagne,  513. 

Charteris,  A.  H.,  248. 

Chicago,  anti-tuberculosis  movement, 
461. 

Chicago  Commons,  424. 

Child  labor,  Germany,  64. 

Child  labor  laws,  U.  S.,  505. 

Child  saving,  Italy,  598. 

Children,  care  and  relief,  Australasia, 
312;  Belgium,  627  ;  Canada,  328. 

Children's  courts,  Australasia,  314; 
Canada,  330.     See  Juvenile  Courts. 

Children,  dependent,  Denmark,  374; 
Austria,  112;  Germany,  61;  France, 
540;  Holland,  346;  Hungary,  133; 
India,  299;  Ireland,  283;  Italy,  588; 
Jewish  institutions,  683  ;  Jews,  667. 

Children,  morally  imperilled,  67. 

Children's  hospitals,  Austria,  122, 


INDEX 


70s 


Children,   neglected,    Switzerland,    157; 

U.  S.,  398. 
Children,  protected  by  women,  416. 
Children,     Russia,     648 ;     Scandinavia, 

360 ;      Scotland,     264 ;      Switzerland, 

142  ;  U.  S.,  474. 
Children,  workhouse,  England,  193,  205. 
Christmas     dinners,     Salvation     Army, 

U.  S.,  433. 

Chronic  invalid  consumptives,  57. 

Churches  and  C.  O.  S.,  443. 

Churches,  Canada,  317. 

Church  charity,  England,  166,  169; 
mediaeval,  France,  513;  Germany,  i, 
24;  Italy,  559. 

Churches,  Holland,  332. 

Church  relief,  Austria,  90. 

Church,  Scotland,  237,  247. 

Church  relief,  mediaeval,  Switzerland, 
138. 

Church,  women  of,  U.  S.,  419. 

City  charity,  U.  S.,  402. 

Civic  League,  U.  S.,  420. 

Claimants  to  relief,  France,  520. 

Classification,  almshouse,  England,   191. 

Classification  of  paupers,  U.  S.,  396. 

Classification,  poorhouse,  Scotland,  257. 

Classes  in  settlements,  426. 

Clergy,  on  charity  boards,  Italy,  573. 

Clothing  of  paupers,  42. 

Clothing  scheme,  poor  children's,  Scot- 
land, 253. 

Clubs,  boys,  491. 

Clubs,  youth,  U.  S.,  499. 

Coffee  houses,  429. 

Collecting  savings  banks,  England,  231. 

Collecting  savings  bank,  Scotland,  254. 

Colonies,  Dutch,  342  ff. 

Colonies,  Salvation  Army,  U.  S.,  437. 

Colonization  of  poor,  France,  532. 

Commission  of  1895  on  poor  law,  Bel- 
gium, 613. 

Commissioners,  Poor  Law,  177. 

Commitment  of  insane,  England,  202. 

Communism,  influence  on  patjperism, 
139- 


Communal  relief,  Swiss,  149. 

Compulsory  assessment,  Scotland,  237. 

Compulsory  insurance,  507. 

Compulsory  insurance,  Austria,  126. 

Conferences,  England,  235. 

Conferences,  France,  529. 

Conferences,  national,  German,  39. 

Conferences  of  charity,  U.  S.,  445. 

Congregazione  di  Carita,  565,  578. 

Connecticut,  relief,  387. 

Consumptives,  Australasia,  311. 

Consumption,  see  Tuberculosis. 

Consumptives,  U.  S.,  398. 

Convalescents,  54. 

Convalescent  consumptives,  56. 

Convalescents,  France,  535. 

Cooperation,  public  and  private  charity, 
32- 

Cooperation  in  charity,  Australasia, 
309;  Austria,  92;  Belgium,  621; 
Canada,  321  ;  Denmark,  371  ;  Eng- 
land, 225  ;  France,  528  ;  Ireland,  286  ; 
Italy,  577  ;  Jewish  charity,  679  ;  Rus- 
sia, 637;  U.  S.,  439;  Scotland,  249; 
Swiss,  151. 

Cooperative  kitchens,  132. 

Coordination,  see  Cooperation. 

Copenhagen,  relief,  370. 

Correction,  houses,  Scotland,  237. 

Correctional  schools,  Hungary,  136. 

Cost  of  relief,  U.S.,  385.  See  Statistics. 

Cottolengo,  597. 

Council  of  Trent,  557. 

Country  outings,  France,  545  ;  Ger- 
many, 65. 

Country  week.  See  Vacation  Out- 
ings. 

Country  week,  487. 

County  care  of  insane,  468. 

County  commissioners,  U.  S.,  404. 

County  relief,  U.  S.,  403. 

County  system,  U.  S.,  391. 

Craig  Colony  for  Epileptics,  472 

Creche,  Austria,  118. 

Creches,  see  Day  Nurseries. 

Creches,  France,  542 ;  Russia,  649. 


45 


7o6 


INDEX 


Crime,  cost,  U.  S.,  390. 

Cripples,   England,   204 ;    Germany,   59 ; 

Russia,  648 ;  U.  S.,  486. 
Cruelty,  of  law,  236. 
Cruelty  to  animals,  508. 
Cruelty  to  children,  Scotland,  26^. 
Cruelty,  prevention,  Italy,  598. 
Crusades,  513. 
Curzon,  Lord,  291. 

Dalldorf,  insane  colony,  60. 

Dancing  girls,  India,  300. 

Dartmouth  College,  decision,  415. 

Day  industrial  schools,  England,  213. 

Day  nurseries,  see  Creches. 

Day  nurseries,  Jewish,  684. 

Day  nurseries,  U.  S.,  482. 

Deaconesses,  28 ;  Austria,  91  ;  France, 
527  ;  Germany,  52 ;  Scotland,  247  ; 
U.  S.,  419,  431- 

Deaf,  Australasia,  312;  Austria,  no; 
Belgium,  625  ;  Canada,  325  ;  Den- 
mark 374;  England,  199;  France, 
538;  Germany,  58;  Italy,  580;  Rus- 
sia, 646  ;  Scandinavia,  359  ;  Scotland, 
262;  Switzerland,  155;  U.  S.,  464. 

Debts,  India,  293. 

Defectives,  Australasia,  312;  Austria, 
106 ;  Belgium,  625 ;  Canada,  325 ; 
Denmark,  373;  England,  198; 
France,  536 ;  Germany,  58 ;  immi- 
grants, U.  S.,  396 ;  India,  299 ;  Ire- 
land, 282 ;  Italy,  585  ;  Jewish  care, 
666,  682  ;  Russia,  645  ;  Scandinavia, 
359  ;  children  in  schools,  464  ;  Scot- 
land, 262;  Switzerland,  154;  U.  S., 
464. 

Degenerates,  U.  S.,  396. 

Delinquent  children,  475. 

Denmark,  363. 

Desertion  of  family,  U.  S.,  393. 

Desertion  of  wives,  Scotland,  241. 

Diet  for  sick,  57. 

Dietaries,  German,  42. 

Directory  of  charities,  Zurich,  151. 


Directories  of  charity,  France,  530, 

Discharge,  poorhouse,  Scotland,   256. 

Discharged  prisoners,  Russia,  652,  653; 
U.  S.,  509- 

Discipline,  workhouse,   England,   193. 

Discipline,  in  poorhouses,  42. 

Discipline  of  reformatories,  504. 

Discipline,  poorhouse,  Scotland,  257. 

Disinfection,  51. 

Dispensaries,  Austria,  102;  England, 
198;  France,  534;  U.  S.  456. 

District  of  Columbia,  U.  S.,  392. 

Domestic  science,  427. 

Domicilio  di  soccorso,  571. 

Domicile,  see  Settlement  Law. 

Dorothy  Dix  Hall,  Boston,  491. 

Dowries,  for  poor  girls,  Jews,  670. 

Drage,  G.,  376. 

Dramatic  clubs,  426. 

Drehlade,  Austria,  113. 

Dresden,  39. 

Drink  evil,  see  Alcoholism. 

Drunkards,  see  Inebriates. 

Drunkenness,  Germany,  41,  58. 

Dwellings,  for  poor,  Belgium,  627 ; 
Denmark,  378 ;  England,  232 ; 
France,  553  ;  Ireland,  286  ;  Italy,  609  ; 
Russia,  653  ;  Scandinavia,  361  ;  Scot- 
land, 269  ;  U.  S.,  383.     See  Housing. 

Ecclesiastical  charity,  24 ;  Australasia, 
303;  England,  216;  France,  526; 
Russia,  637 ;  Scotland,  247 ;  U.  S., 
430. 

Economists  attack  poor  laws,  176. 

Educational  guardianship,  65. 

Educational  institutions,  teaching  char- 
ity methods,  445. 

Education,  Ireland,  285. 

Education  of  the  public,  414. 

Einlage  system,  84. 

Elberfeld  system,  s,  40. 

Elberfeld  system  in  Austria,  87. 

Elberfeld  system  in  Russia,  637. 

Ellwood,  C.  A.,  448,  450. 

Emergency  relief  for  unemployed,  47. 


INDEX 


707 


Emergency  relief,  England,  186. 
Emigration  to  Canada,  330. 
Emigration  of  orphans,  England,  209. 
Emigration,  aided,  Ireland,  279. 
Employment  bureau,  45;  Austria,   129; 

France,  551;   Russia,  652;    Salvation 
Army,  U.  S.,  435. 

Employment,  workhouse,  England,  192. 
Emergency  help,  unemployed,  Scotland, 

258 ;  U.  S.,  506. 
Employers'  liability,  England,  229. 
Empress  Marie,  Russia,  633. 
Endowed    charities,    23  ;    Austria,    88 ; 

England,  214;   Scotland,  244;  U.   S., 

414. 
Endowed  schools,  Scotland,  266. 
England,  Jewish  charity  in,  660,  663. 
English  relief,   165. 
Epee,  Abbe  de  1',  no. 
Epidemics,  124. 
Epileptics,  Canada,  328  ;  England,  200  ; 

Russia,  646;  U.  S.,  398,  450,  470,  471. 
Episcopal  Church,  Scotland,  248. 
Expositions,  530. 
Expositions,  charity  at,  447. 

Factory  laws,  Austria,  129 ;  France, 
55:;  Hungary,  137;  Italy,  608;  Rus- 
sia, 651  ;  Swiss,  164. 

Factory  industry,  U.  S.,  384. 

Family  care  of  insane,  60 ;  Belgium, 
626 ;  France,  522 ;  Massachusetts, 
468. 

Family  care,  children,  Germany,  62. 

Family  care,  Jewish  children,  683. 

Famine,  India,  290. 

Farm  colonies,  Australasia,  310. 

Farm  colonies,   Salvation  Army,  436. 

Farm  colonies,  England,  Salvation 
Army,  220. 

Federation  of  children's  societies,  493. 

Federated  clubs,  women,  U.  S.,  416. 

Federations,  day  nurseries,  483. 

Feeble  minded,  Canada,  328 ;  England, 
199  ;  Russia,  646  ;  Scandinavia,  359  ; 
Scotland,  262;  Switzerland,  135: 
U.  S.,  470. 


Feudal  charity,  166. 

Ferreri,  G.,  465. 

Finances,  private  charity,  413. 

First  aid  to  sick  and  injured,  Austria, 

102 ;  Italy,  585. 
First  aid  to  sick  and  injured,  50. 
Fliedner,  T.,  28,  247,  431. 
Folks,  Homer,  460,  492. 
Form  of  relief,  England,  189. 
Foundlings,  481;  Austria,  113;  France, 

540;     Germany,    62;     Hungary,    135; 

Ireland,  283;  Italy,  588;  Russia,  648. 
France,  512. 

France,  Jewish  charity,  661,  662. 
Frankel,  Dr.  L.  K.,  413,  676,  683. 
Frankfort,  household  care,  53. 
Friendly  societies,  Australasia,  303. 
Friendly  societies,  England,  223. 
Friendly  visiting,  England,  227. 
Froebel,  Friedrich,  119. 
Froebel,  Hungary,  136. 
Funds  for  relief,  France,  522. 
Funds  for  early  English  relief,  171,  183. 
Funds,  Italian,  563. 
Funds,  method  of  raising,  23. 
Funds,  Scandinavia,  354. 
Fiirsorgeerziehungsgesetz,    65. 

Gairdner,  W.  T.,  261. 

Gerenyi,  Austria,  96. 

Germany,  Jewish  charity,  661,  662. 

Germany,  system  of  relief,  i. 

Gifts  to  charity,  U.  S.,  413. 

Gilbert's  act,  England,  174. 

Girard  College,  415. 

Girls,  schools  for,  German,  30. 

Girls,  training,  France,  548. 

Glasgow,  262,  268. 

Government  control  of  charity,  Italy,  559. 

Government  relief,   India,   295. 

Grants    of   government,    Scotland,    260. 

See  Subsidies. 
Guardians,  board,  England,   183,  187. 
Guardianship,  children,  England,  210. 
Guardian  schools,  Hungary,  135. 
Guilds,  English,  167. 
Gurteen,  S.  A.,  439. 


7o8 


INDEX 


Hagar,  G.  J.,  413. 

Hamburg  system,  9. 

Hauy,  Valentine,  537. 

Health,  care  for,  U.  S.,  422. 

Health  Protective  Agency,  U.  S.,  420. 

Health  of  school  children,  485. 

Hebrew  charity,  see  Jewish. 

Heinicke,  S.,  59. 

Henley,  J.  J.,  265. 

Herberge  zur  Heimat,  30,  44. 

Herrmann-Haus,  57. 

Hill,  Octavia,  131,  233. 

Hirsch,  Baron  de,  671. 

History  of  charity,  Italy,  556. 

Holland,  332. 

Home  libraries,  430,  492. 

Homeless  lads,  490. 

Homeless  persons,  Australasia,  310. 

Home  colonies,  Holland,  342. 

Homeless  men,  Italy,  581. 

Homeless  people,  Russia,  642. 

Homeless   men,   shelter,    Scotland,    252, 

257. 

Homeless  dependents,  Swiss,  152. 

Honor  offices,  Germany,  7,  41. 

Hospices,  30. 

Hospitals,  sec  Medical  Relief. 

Hospitals,  Austria,  103,  122;  Canada, 
324  ;  France,  530,  634  ;  Germany,  49  ; 
Italy,  582  ;  Jewish,  666  ;  deficits,  New 
York,  455;  Paris  in  1786,  515;  Rus- 
sia, 638,  643  ;  U.  S.,  454. 

Household  arts,  schools,  63. 

IIot:Gchold  care  (HauspHegc),  53. 

House  of  Industry,  Toronto,  222. 

Housing,  see  Dwellings. 

Housing  of  the  peer,  Austria,  131. 

Howe,  S.  G.,  471. 

Hull  House,  424. 

Hungary,   133. 

Hunter,  Sir  W.,  292. 

Idiots      and      imbeciles,      see      Feeble 

Minded. 
Illegitimate  children,  481,  482. 
Illegitimate  children,  Italy,  601. 


Imperial  grants  to  parishes,  Scotland, 
244. 

Immigration,  U.  S.,  394. 

Impotent  poor,  168. 

India,  287. 

Indiana,  care  of  children,  479. 

Indiana,  county  hospitals,  457. 

Indiscriminate  alms,  evils,  36. 

Individualization,  16. 

Indoor  relief,  Australasia,  309  ;  Austria, 
94;  Canada,  321  ;  Denmark,  365,  376; 
England,  190  ;  France,  530  ;  Germany, 
39;  Hungary,  134;  Ireland,  278; 
Italy,  578;  Quebec,  322;  Russia,  638; 
Scandinavia,  35s;  Scotland,  255; 
U.  S.,  400,  447. 

Industrial  schools,  Belgium,  627  ;  Eng- 
land, 211;  Ireland,  284;  Jewish,  667, 
684;  Russia,  651  ;  Scotland,  267,  499, 
501. 

Inebriates,  58  ;  England,  203  ;  Scotland, 

261  ;  Swiss,   154;  U.  S.,  398,  473- 
Infants,  Germany,  62-63. 
Infants,  care  of,  France,  541. 
Infirmaries,  England,  196. 

Inner  Mission,  German,  26. 

Information  to  givers,  38. 

Insane,  Australasia,  312;  Austria,  iii; 
Gheel  and  Lierneux,  Belgium,  626 ; 
Canada,  325  ;  England,  201  ;  France, 
518,  538;  Germany,  60;  India,  299; 
Ireland,  282  ;  Italy,  587  ;  Russia,  646, 
647 ;     Scandinavia,     359 ;      Scotland, 

262  ;  U.  S.,  397,  465  ;  paupers,  U.  S., 
450. 

Inspection,  English,  181. 

Inspectors  of  poor,  Scotland,  243. 

Inspectors,  Swiss,  146,  148. 

Institutions  of  Belgium,  613  ;  for  chil- 
dren, France,  542 ;  Jewish  charity, 
662  ;  for  children,  U.  S.,  478. 

Insurance,  see  Workingmen's  Insur- 
ance. 

Insurance  of  workingmen,  Belgium, 
628;  France,  551;  Germany,  18,  69, 
73  ;  Holland,  347  ;  Italy,  606  ff. 


INDEX 


709 


Insurance,  Austria,  126. 

Insurance,  life,  304. 

Insurance  and  poor  relief.  Saxony,  126. 

Insurance,     workingmen,     Scandinavia, 

361. 
Insurance,       accident      and       sickness, 

Swiss,  159. 
Insurance  of  unemployed,  needed,  259. 
Insurance  of  workingmen,  U.  S.,  507. 
Invalid  insurance,  56. 
Invalidism,  insurance,  Germany,  71. 
Investigation,  15. 

Investigation,  neglected,  England,   187. 
Ireland,  2"] 2. 
Italy,  556. 

Italian  poor  law  of  1890,  562. 
Italy,  poverty  of  people,  561. 
Italian  regulations  of  charity,  563. 

Jane  Club,  Hull  House,  425. 
Janssen,  Mr.,  Holland,  346. 
Jewish  Agricultural  and  Industrial  Aid 

Society,  685. 
Jewish  care  of  deaf,  Austria,  iii. 
Jewish  charities,  32,  90,  91. 
Jewish  charities,  England,  221. 
Jewish  charities,  U.  S.,  432. 
Jewish  Colonization  Association,  671. 
Jewish  nurses,  52. 
Jewish  Orphans'  Home,  478. 
Jews,  American,  676. 
Jews,  European,  656. 
Juvenile   Court,   417,    212;    U.    S.,   442, 

475.     See  Children's  Courts. 
Juvenile  female  offenders,  505. 

Kaiserswerth,  431. 
Kelso,  J.  J.,  317,  320,  328. 
Kindergartens,     Austria,      121  ;     clubs, 
425  ;  Hungary,  136  ;  Italy,  601  ;  U.  S., 

483. 
Klein,  teacher  of  blind,  107,  109. 
Knightly  orders,  Austria,  89. 
Knopf,  S.  A.,  460,  463. 

Labor,  in  poorhouses,  Germany,  42. 


Labour  Bureau,  Glasgow,  270. 

Labor  statutes,  167. 

Labour  Yard,  Scotland,  252. 

Labor  Museum,  429. 

Lamond,  258,  268. 

Landlords'  Association,  Glasgow,  271. 

Land  purchase,  Ireland,  285. 

Latin  countries,  512  ff. 

Law,  Italy,  of  1862,  560. 

Law,  see  Poor  Law. 

Legal  advice,  Germany,  69. 

Legal  aid,  settlements,  428. 

Legal  protection,  U.  S.,  496. 

Lepers,  India,  298. 

Leppington,  C.  H.  D'E.,  377. 

Levering,  F.  H.,  296. 

Liability,  Denmark,  364. 

Liability  of  relations,  Ireland,  275. 

Liability  of  parish,  Scotland,  242. 

Libraries,  429. 

Libraries,  traveling,  U.  S.,  418. 

Liquor  traffic,  Switzerland,  158. 

Little  Sisters  of  the  Poor,  527, 

Loans  to  poor,  20. 

Local  administration,  England,  180. 

Local  authorities,  England,  182. 

Local     Government     Board,     Scotland, 

239,  242. 
Loaning  Charities,  Jewish,  680. 
Loch,  C.  S.,  225,  226. 
Lodging     houses,      44 ;      Austria,      80 ; 

France,    531  ;    Glasgow,    270 ;    Italy, 

581;     municipal,     47;     U.     S.,     451; 

Vienna,  99;  for  women,  U.  S.,  417. 
Lunacy    Commissioners,   England,   202 ; 

Scotland,  262. 

MacLean,  F.  H.,  318,  321,  322. 

Malaria,  Italy,  585. 

Malthus,  on  poor  laws,  176. 

Manual  training,  427. 

Marbeau,  Firmin,  118,  543. 

Marsh,  B.  C,  452. 

Massachusetts,  dipsomaniacs,  474 ;  epi- 
leptics, 472  ;  insane,  467  ;  relief,  385  ; 
vagrancy,  453. 

Matlekovitz,  A.  von,  134. 


710 


INDEX 


Maternity  hospitals,  Austria,  114; 
Vienna,  104. 

Material  relief,  441. 

McNeill,  Sir  John,  264. 

Measure  of  relief,  Swiss,  146. 

Mediaeval  charity,  76;  England,  165; 
France,  512;  Holland,  332;  Norway 
and  Sweden,  350  ;  Russia,  632  ;  Scot- 
land, 23s,  259. 

Mediaeval  relief,   Switzerland,   138. 

Medical  relief,  Australasia,  311;  Aus- 
tria, loi  ;  Canada,  323;  Denmark, 
368,  373  ;  workhouse,  England,  192, 
196;  France,  532;  Germany,  i,  48; 
Hungary,  134;  India,  297;  Ireland, 
276,  280 ;  Italy,  582 ;  Jewish,  665  ; 
Russia,  638,  643 ;  Scandinavia,  358 ; 
Swiss,  153  ;  U.  S.,  454- 

Medical  examination  of  school  chil- 
dren, 64. 

Medical  science  promoted,  124. 

Medicines  and  appliances,  51. 

Mendicancy,  society  to  prevent,  47. 

Mendicancy,  Russia,  632. 

Men's  clubs,  U.  S.,  426. 

Methodist  deaconesses,  247. 

Methods  of  relief,  Belgium,  620,  625. 

Methods,  to  be  adapted  to  needs,  8. 

Michigan,  care  of  children,  399,  479, 
480. 

Michigan,  relief,  388. 

Migration  prevented,  173. 

Migration  of  paupers,  Canada,  317. 

Migration  of  Jews,  664. 

Migration  of  dependents,  U.  S.,  394, 
452. 

Minnesota,  care  of  cripples,  486. 

Missionaries,  India,  296. 

Missouri  almshouses,  448. 

Monasteries,   166. 

Monti  di  Pieta,  602. 

Morally  imperilled  children,  488  ;  Eng- 
land, 210  ;  France,  546. 

Mortality  from  consumption,  463. 

Municipal  lodging  house,  U.  S.,  452. 

Miinsterberg,  E.,  10,  32,  39,  138. 


Mutual     benefit     associations,     Canada, 

331- 
Mutual  benefit  societies,  Italy,  605. 
Murdoch,  D.  J.,  292. 
Music  clubs,  426. 

Nagarker,  B.  B.,  300. 
National  Children's  Home  Society,  495. 
National  conference,  German,  47. 
National  society  of  charity,  German,  10, 

39- 

National  Conference  of  Jewish  Chari- 
ties, 681. 

National  farm  school,  Jewish,  685. 

National  Conference  of  Charities  and 
Correction,  U.  S.,  446. 

Naturalverpflegungsstationen,  46,  182; 
Naturalverpflegungsstationen,  Aus- 
tria, 99  ;  Swiss,  163. 

Needlework  Guild  of  America,  420. 

Neglected  children,  489. 

Negroes,  poor,  U.  S.,  406. 

Nervous  diseases,  chronic,  57. 

Newsboys,  490. 

New  York,  care  of  children,  399. 

New  York  Children's  Aid  Society,  493. 

New  York  dispensaries  law,  457. 

New  York,  epileptics,  472. 

New  York,  relief,  387. 

Nicholls,  274. 

Non-resident  paupers,  U.  S.,  395. 

Norway,  350. 

Nurses,  trained  in  infirmaries,  England, 
197. 

Nurses,  training,  France,  536. 

Nurses,  Germany,  51. 

Nurses,  schools,  Holland,  347. 

Nurses,  India,  298. 

Nursing,  Ireland,  280. 

Nurses,  Quebec,  325. 

Nursing  sick,  poorhouse,  Scotlsnd,  257. 

Nurses,  school,  Zurich,  150. 

Oberlin,  Pastor  Friedrich,  119. 
Oeuvre  de  Bienfaisance,  525. 
Officials  of  relief,  U.  S.,  404. 
Ohio,  care  of  children,  479. 


INDEX 


711 


Ohio,  relief,  388. 

Old  age  pensions,  Denmark,  376. 

Old  age  insurance,  Germany,  71. 

Old  age  pensions,  New  Zealand,  305. 

Old  women's  home,  Russia,  643. 

Orders  of  Sisters,  Catholic,  25. 

Orphans,  Austria,  112;  Germany,  62; 
Hungary,  13s;  Italy,  599;  Russia, 
649 ;  Vienna,  85. 

Outdoor  relief,  Australasia,  314;  Den- 
mark, 365;  England,  178,  179,  180; 
Ireland,  2■]^ ;  Italy,  571  ;  Quebec, 
318;  Ontario,  318;  U.  S.,  400. 

Outdoor  medical  relief,  49. 

Overbergh,  Cyr  Van,  613. 

Over-population,  India,  292. 

Overseers  of  poor,  Vienna,  86. 

Ozanam,  F.,  24. 

Parental  responsibility,  476. 

Parental  schools,  U.  S.,  497. 

Parish,  Holland,  337. 

Parish  councils,  Scotland,  243. 

Parochial  organization,  31. 

Paroled  boys,  491. 

Passavant,  Rev.  W.  A.,  431. 

Pauper  schools,  England,  179. 

Pauperism,  English,  176. 

Pawning  agencies,  Italy,  602. 

Pawnbrokers,  Scotland,  271. 

Pawnbroking,  U.  S.,  508. 

Peasants'  banks,  Russia,  652. 

Pellagra,  Italy,  585. 

Penal  code,  Germany,  45. 

Pennsylvania,  relief,  388. 

Penny  provident  banks,  428. 

Pensions,  508;  Austria,  128;  Holland, 
348 ;  New  Zealand,  305  ;  old  age, 
Germany,  71-72;  workingmen,  Italy, 
607. 

Pension  scheme,  Scotland,  253. 

People's  kitchens,  57. 

Permanent  relief,  England,  186. 

Personal  causes  of  poverty,  385. 

Personal  influence,  442. 

Peter  the  Great,  632. 

Pharrarmen-institute,  "JT. 


Philadelphia,  endowed  charities,  414. 

Phipps,  Henry,  459. 

Physicians  of  poor,  Austria,  loi. 

Physicians,  Hungary,  134. 

Physicians  of  poor,  U.  S.,  454. 

Physicians  for  the  poor,  50. 

Picture  loan  work,  429. 

Placing  out  children,  481. 

Playgrounds,  city,  488. 

Playgrounds,  France^  546. 

Poorhouse,  16,  17.  40;  Austria,  95; 
needed  in  Canada,  321  ;  Denmark, 
372 ;  Ireland,  279 ;  needed,  Quebec, 
2,22  ;  children  in,  Scotland,  264  ;  Scot- 
land, 255  ;  Swiss,  147  ;  removing  chil- 
dren, 492. 

Poor  laws,  Australasia,  304 ;  Austria, 
T]  ;  Belgium,  611:  none  in  Canada, 
317;  Denmark,  363  ff ;  of  1834,  Eng- 
land, 177;  of  Elizabeth,  170;  France, 
520 ;  German,  3  ;  Holland,  334  ;  Hun- 
gary, 133 ;  none  in  India,  295  ;  Ire- 
land, 274  ;  Russia,  633  ;  Scandinavia, 
351  ;  Swiss,  143  ;  U.  S.,  390. 

Poor  law  conferences,  235. 

Poor  rate,  England,  183. 

Popular  action,  Italy,  570. 

Porto  Rico,  poor  relief,  407. 

Posen,  22,  39. 

Postal  savings,  England,  231. 

Postal  savings  banks,  India,  301. 

Poverty,   India,  290. 

Poverty  of  Jews,  656. 

Poverty,  in  Russia,  632. 

Prevention,  Australasia,  314;  Austria, 
126;  Belgium,  627;  Canada,  331; 
Denmark,  375  ;  England,  229  ;  France, 
550;  Germany,  69;  Hungary,  136; 
Ireland,  284  ;  Italy,  602  ;  Russia,  650  ; 
Scandinavia,  361  ;  Scotland,  268 ; 
Swiss,  158 ;  U.  S.,  506. 

Prevention  of  consumption,  461. 

Principles  and  aims  of  C.  O.  S.,  440. 

Principles  of  relief,  Germany,  5. 

Prison  society,  Rhine  and  Westphalia, 
28. 


712 


INDEX 


Prisoners,  discharged,  Belgium,  629. 
Prisoners'  aid,  Canada,  331. 
Prisoners'  aid  societies,  England,  224. 
Prisoners,  discharged,  France,  552. 
Prisoners,  discharged,  Italy,  605. 
Prisoners'  aid,  Scotland,  2T2. 
Prisoners'  League,  Volunteers  of  Amer- 
ica, 438. 
Private  charity,  Australasia,  303  ;  Aus- 
tria,   87  ;     Belgium,    621  ;     Denmark, 
370;     England,     213;     France,     522; 
German,  22  ;    Holland,  338  ;    Ireland, 
277;    Italy,    576;    Nova    Scotia,    320; 
Quebec,    320 ;    Russia,    635  ;    Switzer- 
land, 149.     See  Voluntary  Charity. 
Probation,  youth,  Australasia,  314. 
Probation,  youth,  Canada,  329. 
Probation  officers,  453,  476. 
Procedure  in  granting  relief,   England, 

186. 
Professional  training  of  charity  work- 
ers, U.  S.,  444. 
Prostitutes,  Italy,  605. 
Protection  of  children,  Austria,  113. 
Protection  of  laborers,  Austria,   129. 
Protection  of  girls,  France,  550. 
Protection  of  children,  Italy,  599. 
Protective  agencies,  U.  S.,  420. 
Protective    association,    youth,    Vienna, 

125. 
Protestant  charity,  Austria,  90. 
Protestants,  France,  527. 
Protestant  charity,  U.  S.,  430. 
Provident  dispensaries,  England,  232. 
Provident  loans,  509. 
Provident  Loan  Society,  428. 
Prussia,  neglected  children,  65. 
Public  and  private  relief,  defined  limits, 

34- 
Public  relief,  France,  519. 
Public  relief  and  private  charity,  404. 
Public  sentiment,  education,  U.  S.,  411. 
Public  works,  311. 
Pucci,  G.,  592. 

Raiffeisen  banks,  Ireland,  287. 
Railway  pensions,  Denmark,  377. 


Ratzinger,  557, 

Reception  hospitals,  insane,  U.  S.,  469. 

Recreation  League,  U.  S.,  420. 

Recreation  for  the  people,  Russia,  654. 

Recreation,  settlements,  427. 

Red  Cross,  Austria,  89 ;  France,  526 ; 
German,  56  ;  Italy,  584 ;  Russia,  636, 
644,  645  ;  U.  S.,  458. 

Reformatories,  502. 

Reformation  period,  i. 

Reformatory  schools,  England,  211, 

Reform  schools,  Ireland,  284. 

Refuges,  Belgium,  623. 

Registration,  35,  2)7' 

Relatives  of  dependents,  19. 

Relatives,  duty  of  support,  Hungary, 
134- 

Relatives,  responsibility,  Austria,   79. 

Relatives,  liable,  Scandinavia,  352. 

Relatives,  responsible,  Swiss,   146. 

Relief,  amount,  18,  19,  20. 

Relief,  extent,  Austria,  79. 

Relief  in  homes,  Denmark,  367. 

Relief  in  money  and  kind,  Hungary, 
134- 

Religious  instruction,  poorhouses,  Scot- 
land, 257. 

Removal  of  paupers,  149. 

Removing  paupers,  England,  185. 

Rent-collecting,  233. 

Repression,  England,  167,  168. 

Repression,  Scotland,  236. 

Responsibility  of  relatives,  Scotland, 
241. 

Responsibility  of  relatives,  U.  S.,  392. 

Reunion  protestante  de  charite  A  Paris, 
528. 

Revolution,  French,  517. 

Right    to    relief,    Denmark,    364 ;    Eng- 
land,    184;    Ireland,    275;    Scotland, 
240. 
Riviere,  M.,  527. 
Road  stations,  Austria,  99. 
Roman  Catholic,  England,  218. 
Roman  Catholics,  French,  526. 
Roman  Catholic  charity,  U.  S.,  432. 


INDEX 


7^3 


Ruota,  Italy,  590. 

Rural  places,  defects  of  hospitals,  457. 
Rural  industrial  schools,  500. 
Russia,  631. 

Salvage     warehouse,     Salvation     Army, 

436. 
Salvation  Army,  511  ;  Australasia,  303  ; 

Denmark,  371  ;  England,  219  ;  France, 

528,   sss  ;   Holland,  338  ;   India,   297  ; 

Russia,    637;    Scotland,    271;    U.    S., 

433- 

Sanitation,  teaching,  India,  298 ;  Ire- 
land, 281,  286;  France,  553;  Russia, 
644;  U.  S.,  383,  422. 

Sanitary  precautions,  462. 

Sanatoria  for  children,  France,  544. 

Sanatoria,  Austria,  loi  ;  Germany,  56; 
Swiss,  154;  U.  S.,  485  ;  for  consump- 
tives, U.  S.,  460. 

Sanborn,  F.  B.,  395. 

Savings,  507. 

Savings  banks,  Austria,  130;  England, 
229;  Hungary,  136;  Italy,  604;  Rus- 
sia, 632,  655. 

Saxony,  insurance  and  relief,  126. 

Schafer,  T.,  29. 

Schools  of  charity,  Belgium,  622. 

School  children's  aid,  Chicago,  484. 

Schools,  Denmark,  375. 

Schools,  dependent  cliildren,  England, 
206. 

School  children,  France,  544. 

School  for  mothers,  France,  536. 

School  for  training  social  workers,  Hol- 
land, 346. 

School  children,  aid,  Italy,  599. 

Schools,  Russia,  650. 

Scotland,  poor  laws,  235. 

Scotland,  settlement,  240, 

School  yards,  488. 

Seaside  outings,  487. 

Secrecy  of  charity,  India,  295. 

Semmelweiss,  105. 

Settlement  law,  Austria,  77  ;  Belgium, 
610;  of  Charles  II,  172;  Denmark, 
364;    England,    184,    233;    rights    of. 


Germany,  2 ;  Holland,  336  ;  Ireland, 
274;  Scandinavia,  351;  Scotland, 
240  ;  Switzerland,  140  :  U.  S.,  393. 

Settlements,  social,  France,  526. 

Settlement,  Social,  Holland,  346. 

Shaw,  Albert,  85. 

Sick  children,  France,  544. 

Sick,  consumptives,  56. 

Sick,  relief,  51. 

Sickness  insurance,  Germany,  70. 

Sieveking,  Amalie,  28. 

Sisters,  Catholic,  25,  52. 

Sisterhoods,  U.  S.,  419. 

Smith,  Eugene,  390. 

Social  science,  of  relief,  35. 

Social  settlements,  charity  of,  U.  S., 
421. 

Social  settlement,  England,  23;^. 

Social  policy,  Hungary,  136. 

Societe  philanthropique,  524. 

Societies  for  study  of  charity,  U.  S., 
447- 

Society  for  aid  of  Jewish  prisoners,  685. 

Society  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul,  U.  S., 
432. 

Solis,  J.  S.,  678. 

Soup  houses,  44. 

Southern  clubs,  women,  U.  S.,  418. 

South,  U.  S.,  406. 

Spalding,  Warren  F.,  390,  472. 

Spoils  system,  U.  S.,  404,  467. 

Stage  children,  491. 

Standard  of  living,  Chicago,  381. 

Standard  of  relief,  Scotland,  245. 

State  boards  of  charity,  U.  S.,  407. 

State  system,  English,  180. 


Stat 
Stat 
Stat 
Stat 
Stat 
Stat 
Stat 
Stat 
Stat 
Stat 


ons  for  help,  46. 

ons,  police,  Chicago,  453. 

sties,  Belgium,  614. 

sties  of  relief,  Denmark,  379. 

sties  of  relief,  England,  184. 

sties  of  charity,  Italy,  575. 

sties,  Scotland,  245. 

sties,  indoor  relief,  U.  S.,  447. 

sties  of  Jewish  charity,  U.  S.,  687. 

sties  of  private  charity,  U.  S.,  413, 


714 


INDEX 


Statistics  of  relief,  U.  S.,  385. 

Stock  yards,  Chicago,  384. 

St.  Vincent  de  Paul  Society,  24. 

St.  Vincent  de  Paul,  Bohemia,  92. 

St.    Vincent    de    Paul    Society,    France, 

527- 
St.   Vincent   de    Paul    Society,    Ireland, 

278. 
Styria,  84. 

Subsidies,  see  Grants. 
Subsidies,  Denmark,  373,  375. 
Subsidies  of  state,  Scandinavia,  353. 
Subsidies,  state,  Swiss,  145,  150. 
Summer  outings,  Germany,  65. 
Superintendents   of   almshouses,   U.    S., 

405- 
Supervision,  English,  181. 
Supervision  and  control,  Italy,  568. 
Supervisors  of  poor,  U.  S.,  405. 
Supervision,  State  boards,  U.  S.,  407. 
Support      of      youth      in      correctional 

schools,  502. 
Sweden,  350. 
Switzerland,  138  ff. 
Synagogue,  charity  of,  658  ff. 

Tax,  see  Poor  Rate. 
Tax,  poor,  Scandinavia,  354. 
Teachers  of  feeble  minded,  Swiss,  157. 
Teachers'  pensions,  Denmark,  377. 
Technical  education,  Ireland,  285. 
Temperance  movement,  Russia,  653. 
Tenement  building,  Austria,  131. 
Territorial  principle,  Swiss,  146. 
Test,  see  Workhouse  Test. 
Theological  seminaries,  U.  S.,  445. 
Thrift,  441,  507. 
Thrift,  teaching,  India,  298. 
Tour,  Austria,  112. 
Tour,  France,  540. 
Township  system,  U.  S.,  391. 
Toynbee  Hall,  234. 
Trade  unions,  429,  463. 
Tramps,  see  Vagrants. 
Tramps,  U.  S.,  452. 

Training  of  teachers  of  feeble  minded, 
157. 


Travel,  right  to,  Germany,  i. 

Truant  officers,  484. 

Truant  schools,  England,  212. 

Tuberculosis,  Austria,  106 ;  Canada, 
325  ;  France,  536 ;  Germany,  55  ; 
Italy,  584  ;  Russia,  645  ;  Switzerland, 
153;  U.  S.,  459.     See  Consumptives. 

Tuke,  D.  H.,  326,  469. 

Unemployed,    Australasia,    315  ;     Ital/^ 

579  ;  Russia,  641. 
Unemployment,  43. 
Unemployment,    insurance,    Swiss,    159, 

164. 
Unemployment,    Salvation  Army,  435. 
Unemployment,  U.  S.,  382. 
United  States  of  America,  380. 
Universities,  science  of  charity,  446. 
Ursel,  Duke  of,  613. 

Vacation  outings,  Swiss,  157.  See  Coun- 
try Week. 

Vacation  colonies,  U.  S.,  487. 

Vaccination,  Austria,  106;  England, 
198  ;  Scotland,  259. 

Vagrants,  Australasia,  310;  Austria, 
99  ;  Belgium,  622 ;  Denmark,  ZT^  \ 
England,  166,  168,  194;  France,  530; 
Germany,  43;  Hungary,  134;  Ireland, 
279  ;  Italy,  579  ;  mediaeval,  2  ;  Rus- 
sia, 639  ;  Scandinavia,  358  ;  Scotland, 
236,  257  ;  U.  S.,  395,  451  ;  Swiss,  152. 

Vegetable  gardens,  France,  554. 

Verpflegungsstationen,  Swiss,  163. 

Vienna,  institutions,  94. 

Vienna  system,  85. 

Visiting  kindergarten,  429. 

Visiting  nurses,  U.  S.,  421. 

Visitors,  German  and  Austrian,  81. 

Visitors  to  poor,  Austria,  80. 

Visitors  to  the  poor,  German,  17. 

Visitors,  to  insane  hospitals,  469. 

Voluntary  assessments,  Scotland,  238. 

Voluntary  charity,  U.  S.,  413. 

Voluntary  charity,  see  Private  Char- 
ity. 

Volunteers  of  America,  438,  511. 


INDEX 


715 


Wages  and  cost  of  living,  U.  S.,  380. 

Wahrendorff,  Dr.,  60. 

Wanderer,  der,  30. 

Wanderers,  Swiss,  163. 

Warming  halls,  44. 

Warner,  A.  G.,  16,  34,  35. 

Washington,  B.  T.,  500. 

Wayfarers'  lodges,  U.  S.,  452. 

Wet  nurses,  Austria,  115,  116. 

White  Cross,  Austria,  89. 

Wichern,  J.  H.,  2-]. 

Widows  and  orphans,  Germany,  75. 

Widows,  Scotland,  245. 

Wines,  F.  H.,  on  State  boards,  408. 

Wisconsin,  care  of  insane,  468. 

Wisconsin,  relief,  389. 

Women,    on    charity    boards,    Belgium, 

619. 
Women  in  charity,  Germany,  21. 
Women,    Italy,   on   charity  boards,    567, 

573- 
Women    in    church    charity,    Scotland, 

247. 
Woman's  Relief  Corps,  U.  S.,  421. 
Women  in  charity,  Swiss,  149,  151. 
Women's  clubs,  U.  S.,  445. 
Women  and  children  in  industry,  U.  S., 

382. 
Women,  in  confinement,  care  of,  54. 
Women's        educational        associations, 

U.  S.,  420. 
Woman's  Guild,  Scotland,  248. 
Women,  societies  of,  U.  S.,  415. 


Woodbine  colony,  Jews,  686. 

Woods,  E.  B.,  510. 

Workhouse,  16,  45. 

Workhouses,  Belgium,  623. 

Workhouse,  England,  173,  190. 

Workhouse  test,  174. 

Workhouse  test,  Scotland,  255. 

Workingmen,  on  poor  commissions, 
Belgium,  618. 

Workingmen,  associations,  Dennic.rk, 
371- 

Workingmen's  insurance,  48 ;  Austria, 
126;  Holland,  347;  Scandinavia,  361. 
See  Insurance. 

Working  girls'  clubs,  U.  S.,  417. 

Working  women,  U.  S.,  418. 

Workmen's  colonies,  30  f¥,  43,  44. 

Workmen's  compensation  law,  Den- 
mark, 377. 

Work  test,  U.  S.,  401. 

Young  Women's  Christian  Association, 

U.  S.,  421. 
Youth,  morally  imperilled,  Austria,   114. 
Youth,  care  of,  France,  547. 
Youth,  schools  of  correction,  Hungary, 

136. 
Youth,      Ireland,      284;      Russia,     650; 

Swiss  care,  158;  U.  S.,  498. 

Zeller,  28. 

Zemstvos,    Russia,    633,    634,    635,    638, 

643,  647,  651,  652,  6S4. 
Zurich,  poor  law,  143. 


THE  PRINCIPLES  OF  RELIEF 

By  EDWARD  THOMAS  DEVINE 

General  Secretary  of  the  NeiJU  York  Charity  Organization  Society 
Author  of  ' '  The  Practice  of  Charity, ' '  etc. 

Cloth  12mo.  $2.00  net 

"The  Principles  of  Relief,  by  Edward  T,  Devine,  is  by  far  the  most  original  and  valu- 
able book  in  its  general  field  which  has  appeared  since  the  publication  of  'American  Charities' 
by  the  late  Amos  G.  Warner,  ten  years  ago.  The  volume  may  be  said  to  be  a  re-statement  of 
the  entire  subject  of  relief  work,  all  the  various  forms  of  relief  being  grouped  around  the  cen- 
tral theme  of  the  book— the  standard  of  living.  Dr.  Devine  has  a  most  hospitable  mind,  and, 
although  his  immediate  work  has  been  more  directly  in  connection  with  the  relief  of  families 
in  their  homes,  this  subject  is  not  given  undue  prominence  in  the  volume.  All  phases  of  relief 
are  considered  and  in  regard  to  each  Dr.  Devine  lays  aside  traditional  phraseology  and  has 
something  interesting  and  original  to  say.  Dr.  Devine  has  pronounced  opinions  on  all  matters 
pertaining  to  charity  and  has  well  earned  the  right  to  have  them.  From  some  of  his  views  we 
are  obliged  to  register  unqualified  dissent,  particularly,  in  the  writer's  case,  as  to  certain  of  his 
opinions  in  regard  to  institutional  and  placing-out  methods  in  the  care  of  children.  While  the 
writer  dissents  from  some  of  Dr.  Devine's  opinions,  he,  nevertheless,  would  strongly  urge  all 
workers  in  the  child-saving  field,  as  in  all  the  other  lines  of  charity,  to  read  Dr.  Devine's  book, 
feeling  confident  that  each  of  them  will  receive,  as  the  writer  has  done,  stimulus,  encourage- 
ment and  inspiration  in  so  doing." — Homer  Folks,  Secretary  State  Charities  Aid  Association, 
Ex-Commissioner  of  Public  Charities,  New  York  City. 


POVERTY 

By  ROBERT  HUNTER 

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formerly  Headivorker  of  the  University  Settlement  of  Ne^uo  Ytrk 

Cloth  12mo.  $1.50  net 

The  book  is  a  study  of  the  ten  million  persons  in  this  country  who  are  estimated  by  the 
writer  to  be  in  poverty;  that  is,  underfed,  underclothed  and  poorly  housed.  It  is  the  first  effort 
that  has  been  made  to  determine  the  general  prevalence  of  distress  and  to  compare  our  condi- 
tions with  those  of  European  countries.  It  deals  with  certain  forces  that  have  come  under  the 
writer's  own  observation,  which  are  causing  the  poorest  of  the  working  classes  to  degenerate 
into  the  wastrel  and  dependent  classes.  The  writer  has  lived  for  several  years  in  the  industrial 
communities  and  foreign  colonies  of  the  largest  cities  in  this  country  and  in  England,  and  is 
therefore  able  to  describe  at  first  hand  the  misery  and  wretchedness  of  those  in  poverty.  The 
chapters  on  the  working  child,  the  street  child,  and  the  vagrant,  touch  upon  some  of  the  most 
vital  problems  of  our  national  life,  while  the  chapter  on  the  sick  deals  with  some  of  the  most 
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is  a  careful  survey  of  conditions  and  of  certain  causes  which  are  fast  producing  in  this  new 
country  a  widespread  misery  which  will  soon  rival  that  of  Europe. 


THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY 

66  Fifth  Avenue,  New  York 


The  Care  of  Destitute,  Neglected, 
and  Delinquent  Children 

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to  the  public  wise  and  reliable  counsel." 

—Prof.  Charles  R.  Henderson, 

in  The  Tale  'lieview. 


Constructive  and  Preventive 
Philanthropy 

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Friendly  Visiting  Among  the  Poor 

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— Prof.  Charles  R.  Henderson, 

in  American  Journal  of  Sociology. 


The  Principles  of 
Sociology 

An  Analysis  of  Phenomena  of  Association 
and  of  Social  Organization .  By  Frank- 
lin Henry  Giddings,  M.A.,  Professor 
of  Sociology  in  Columbia  Uni'versity. 
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It  is  a  treatise  which  will  confirm  the  highest 
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thoroughly  satisfactory  treatise  on  the  subject  in  the 
English  language."— iircrary  World. 

The  distinctive  merit  of  the  work  is  that  it  is 
neither  economics  nor  history  .  .  .  He  has  found  a 
new  field  and  devoted  his  energies  to  its  explora- 
tion. .  .  .  The  chapters  on  Social  Population  and  on 
Social  Constitution  are  among  the  best  in  the  book. 
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trines in  detail,  nor  would  such  work  be  of  much 
value.  A  useful  book  must  be  read  to  be  under- 
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The  Elements  of 
Sociology 

A  Text-book  for  Colleges  and  Schools. 
By  Franklin  Henry  Giddings,  M.A., 
Professor  of  Sociology  in  Columbia 
Uni'versity.    Cloth.    8'vo.    $1 .10  net. 

"it  is  thoroughly  intelligent,  independent,  sug- 
gestive, and  manifests  an  unafJected  enthusiasm  for 
social  progress,  and  on  the  whole  a  just  and  sober 
apprehension  of  the  conditions  and  essential  fea- 
tures of  such  progress." 

—Prof.  H.  Sidgwick, 

in  The  Economic  Journal. 

"  Of  its  extreme  interest,  its  suggestiveness,  its 
helpfulness  to  readers  to  whom  social  questions  are 
important,  but  who  have  not  time  or  inclination  for 
special  study,  we  can  bear  sincere  and  grateful 
testimony,"  —  New  York  Times. 

"  Professor  Giddings  impresses  the  reader  equally 
by  his  independence  of  judgment  andbyhist  ho  rough 
mastery  of  every  subject  that  comes  into  his  view." 
—  The  Churchman. 


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